With Support From: NWRPCA, BASTYR UNIVERSITY, NAPCP, WANP, OANP & NUNM

The Task Force: Benefits of Hiring a Naturopathic Doctor

Mission:

To spearhead outreach at underserved rural and urban health centers resulting in the creation of primary care positions for naturopathic physicians in Oregon and Washington.

Vision:

Improved health outcomes for underserved populations and an expanded Oregon and Washington State primary care workforce through the addition of naturopathic physicians.

In October 2018, INM launched its Primary Care Task Force. Thus far, the Task Force has Approved Partnership Agreements with Washington Association of Naturopathic Physicians (WANP), Naturopathic Academy of Primary Care Physicians (NAPCP), Northwest Regional Primary Care Association (NWRPCA), Oregon Association of Naturopathic Physicians (OANP), and Bastyr University. The Task Force has been spearheading outreach to rural and underserved clinics and health service providers that includes opportunities for integration with naturopathic doctors in primary care roles in Oregon and Washington. The Task Force promotes naturopathic physicians as an answer to the primary care provider shortages across the Pacific Northwest region.

Goals:

• Increased community and provider knowledge about NDs

• Education to clinics regarding utility of evidence-based clinical nutrition approaches to chronic illness

• Increase primary care career opportunities for NDs as primary care physicians, not adjunctive roles

• Increase loan forgiveness opportunities for licensed NDs in OR and WA through state-funded loan repayment programs

• Assess feasibility of primary care ND residencies in rural clinical settings

• Create and implement a pilot program study in Washington community health centers to look at the effectiveness of naturopathic nutritional interventions for the treatment of chronic illness ( diabetes and hypertension)

• Collect OR and WA State workforce data for NDs

• Improve health disparities by providing primary care in areas of need

Interested in the basics of what a naturopathic doctor is? Watch this video to check out educational requirements, accreditation, clinical hours, job description, billing, and additional skills. Additionally, if you are interested in integrating a naturopathic doctor into your community health center (or federally qualified health center), and/or learning about ideas of how to integrate an ND PCP into your own clinic, this video is for you!

For questions regarding this video, email ndpcpjobs@naturemed.org.

Educational Materials for Clinics, CHCs, and FQHCs:

Choose from the buttons to the below for more specific information on ND training and credentials, as well as more specific info on how ND PCPs might be integrated in your clinic, CHC, or FQHC.

Additional Resources:

Links to NWRPCA NW Pulse Articles: