What is Naturopathic Medicine

Education and Training of Naturopathic Doctors

• Pre-requisite - three years pre-med sciences
• Four-year full-time naturopathic medicine program at a naturopathic school accredited by the Council of Naturopathic Medical Education (CNME). For a list of the accredited school go to http://www.cand.ca/
• Program encompasses over 4,200 hours of classroom and clinical training including courses in bio-medical sciences, naturopathic sciences, clinical sciences and clinical education.
• NDs complete the North American standardized Naturopathic Physicians Licensing Exams (NPLEX)
• NDs complete additional exams as required by provincial regulatory boards
• Continuing medical education credits are a requirement to maintain licensure
• Option to obtain post-graduate certification in intravenous therapies, including ozone and chelation

Naturopathic Doctors

• Are primary care providers
• Dianose and treat most health concerns
• Treat acute and chronic illness
• Use a natural non-pharmaceutical approach
• Work in conjunction with other licensed health care providers
• Focus on health promotion and the prevention of illness
• Are currently regulated in British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Ontario. Regulation is pending in Alberta, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and the Yukon

Treatment Modalities

Core treament modalities include:

• Clinical nutrition
• Botanical medicine
• Homeopathic medicine
• Physical therapies
• Acupuncture and oriental medicine
• Lifestyle counseling

Many NDs take additional post-graduate trainingin specific therapies and focus their practices on those treatments.

Naturopathic Visits

NDs spend their time to listen to patients and get to the root cause of their health concerns through physical exams, disgnostic testing and laboratory analysis.

• Initial visit range from one to two hours in lenght
• Follow-up visits range from twenty to forty-five minutes
• Initial visits include a comprehensive patient history, physical exam and diagnostic testing, as required
• Visits are covered by most extended health care plans

Research

International research and clinical studies have validated naturopathic treatments and the natural medicines used by NDs. Naturopathic school have research departments and collaborate with other instititions and or ganizations to conduct research.

Naturopathic Philosophy

• First, do no harm
• Support the natural healing processof the body
• Identify and adress the root cause of disease
• Treat the whole person
• Teach the basis to health and self-care
• Focus on prevention

Adopted from the Canadian Association of Naturopathic Doctors website (www.CAND.ca)