What is Naturopathic Medicine?

Naturopathic Medicine is a holistic, integrative and root-cause-based approach to healthcare. Naturopathic doctors seek to find the cause of a person's symptoms instead of treating the symptoms alone. All parts of the patient are addressed in the healing process.

Naturopathic Doctors (NDs) are trained in both conventional standards of care as well as traditional and holistic healing modalities, including botanical medicine, behavioral medicine, and hydrotherapy, to name a few. NDs play a key role in their patients’ healthcare team, providing a unique perspective to support the healing of the whole person.

The American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP) defines Naturopathic Medicine as "a distinct primary care profession, emphasizing prevention, treatment, and optimal health through the use of therapeutic methods and substances that encourage individuals' inherent self-healing process. The practice of naturopathic medicine includes modern and traditional, scientific, and empirical methods.”

okay, so what do Naturopathic Doctors do?

Complete 4+ years of medical school and residency

Gain licensure through the state boards of Naturopathic Medicine

Diagnose and treat illness

Prescribe medications (depending on the state of licensure)

Use natural medicine modalities to treat and prevent illness

Collaborate with other members of a patient’s healthcare team

Order labs and other diagnostic testing

Teach patients about their bodies, diagnoses, and health

Seek to find the root cause instead of putting bandaids on symptoms

Emphasize lower-force interventions when possible to minimize harm

Use higher-force interventions when appropriate

Work in hospitals, clinics, corporations, public health, educational institutions, and more

and…what do Naturopathic Doctors NOT do?

NDs do not see a patient every 10 minutes. They often spend much more time with patients

NDs do not refuse to prescribe necessary medications. They frequently use prescription drugs, when necessary

NDs do not all practice the same way or have the same philosophy

NDs do not give every patient the same treatment plan

NDs do not prescribe “snake oil” or dangerous, mysterious therapies. They are trained in science and clinical medicine simialar to MDs and DOs.

NDs are not the same as homeopaths, who practice only homeopathy, but NDs are trained in and can use homeopathy

NDs are not the same as herbalists, who practice herbalism, but NDs are trained in and can use herbal medicine

NDs are not the same as nutritionists, who practice nutrition, but NDs are trained in and can use nutrition

NDs are not the same as a “naturopath” or “traditional naturopath,” a term used by some holistic providers without formal medical training

Naturopathic Medicine: The 6 Principles

  • First, do no harm / Primum Non Nocere

    The best and most effective medicine is the one that does the least harm. Naturopathic Medicine uses the lowest-force interventions necessary to facilitate healing, and employs higher-force modalities as appropriate to treat the pathology within the patient.

  • The Healing Power of Nature / Vis Medicatrix Naturae

    In Naturopathic Medicine, the physician sees and honors the innate healing power within all life forms. The ultimate role of the physician is to stimulate these intrinsic, spontaneous healing mechanisms to heal disease and create wellness. NDs use a variety of modalities to “stimulate the vis” when treating patients, including homeopathy, hydrotherapy, and counseling.

  • Treat the Cause / Tolle Causam

    Symptoms of pain and dis-ease are evidence of an underlying imbalance. Instead of treating and suppressing the symptoms, Naturopathic Doctors recognize symptoms as messages and instead use them to discover and treat the root cause of the dis-ease.

  • Treat the Whole Person / Tolle Totem

    Holism is the understanding that each part is a reflection of the whole, and the whole contains each part. When a symptom appears in one body part (i.e. hand) or aspect of the person (i.e. mind), the entire body and person must be considered when seeking the cause and the healing.

  • Doctor as Teacher / Docere

    The word “Doctor” comes from the Latin word docere, which means “to teach.” The physician’s role is not to exert power over or fix the patient, but to teach the patient how to be their own healer.

  • Prevention is the Best Cure / Preventar

    We have the potential to live in a way that prevents disease from manifesting when we live in rhythm with nature. Naturopathic Physicians teach preventative medicine to support patients’ wellness and decrease their risk of common chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer.

I want this kind of medicine!

How are Naturopathic Doctors educated?

Naturopathic medical education combines an integrate classroom curriculum with extensive clinical training. Naturopathic medical students study for 4-5 years at one of seven accredited naturopathic schools in North America. Students sit for the NPLEX (Naturopathic Physicians Licensing Examinations, overseen by the regulating body NABNE) as an assessment of their readiness to practice safe medicine. After the first two years of school, students take Part I of the NPLEX on Biomedical Sciences. After completing an accredited program students take Part II of the NPLEX on Core Clinical Sciences.

During the first two years of naturopathic medical school, students take all of the basic science requirements of an MD curriculum, with even more hours in certain disciplines, including anatomy, biochemistry, embryology, histology, physiology and neuroscience, as well as an entire year studying gross anatomy in the cadaver lab. A class called Naturopathic Theory and Practice teaches students the philosophy of the Naturopathic Medicine, how to think like a naturopathic doctor and how to apply Naturopathy in medical practice. Students begin learning treatment modalities including hydrotherapy, electrotherapy and counseling in year one, and homeopathic medicine, botanical medicine, phlebotomy, nutrition and spinal manipulation in year two. During their first two years students enter the clinic on observation shifts, required to begin participating in patient visits by charting findings and running portions of the medical visit.

Students must pass the Clinic Entry Exam at the end of their second year and subsequently enter the clinic as student clinicians during year three. At the clinic, students are assigned to quarterly shifts under the supervision of licensed NDs. Shifts include primary care, physical medicine, homeopathy, counseling and others. On these shifts a student clinician will gather history, perform pertinent physical exams, and develop a treatment plan for the patient, all under the guidance of their supervising ND. Upon graduation, student clinicians average about six-hundred patient contacts and over twelve-hundred clinical training hours, as well as a minimum required 132 hours of spent with preceptors in practice outside of clinic shifts. Through the final two years at the clinic, students continue to take advanced systems and modalities classes, including gastroenterology and cardiology, maternity and pediatrics, botanical medicine formulation labs, advanced topics in oncology, rheumatology, and grand rounds, to list a few.

After graduation, students have various options. Some apply for and complete a one- to two-year residency. Some students choose to join an existing medical practice, while others start their own practice. Still others continue their education. Students become corporate wellness consultants, speakers, business owners, and others find many more career opportunities.

Visit this website for more details regarding the ND program at Bastyr.

For details on the Bastyr ND curriculum, click here.