Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine
Encyclopedia
Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine (ND or in Arizona "Naturopathic Medical Doctor" or NMD), in 16 U.S. states and six Canadian provinces refers exclusively to a medical degree granted by an accredited naturopathic medical school. While these degrees may be held by people outside of these states and provinces, in most other jurisdictions, the terms are unprotected and may be used by anyone, regardless of educational level. Practitioners who hold such a degree may also legally use the title 'doctor' in certain jurisdictions, but not in others. Equivalent professional titles may be reserved for ND/NMDs in other jurisdictions (Naturopathic Doctor, Naturopathic Physician, Naturopath), or there may be no legally protected title. This article discusses the accredited North American degree.
Those holding the accredited North America degrees generally practice as primary care providers of naturopathic medicine. Naturopathic medicine employs complementary and alternative medical therapies within the context of mainstream medicine, which help improve the body's intrinsic ability to heal and maintain itself. Practitioners of naturopathic medicine prefer to use natural remedies such as botanical tinctures/medicinal herbs and foods rather than synthetic drugs
. Naturopathic medical practice includes many different modalities. Practitioners emphasize a holistic
approach to patient care, and may recommend that patients use conventional medicine alongside their treatments.
tradition of Eastern Europe, and particularly the influence of Vincenz Priessnitz
. As the treatments of these practitioners grew to encompass diet & lifestyle counseling, and botanical medicine, Bavarian physician Lorenz Gleich (1798–1865) first advocated for the use of the term “naturarzt”, or nature doctor.
This tradition first became well known globally in the late 19th century through the successes of Bavarian priest Sebastian Kneipp
. Kneipp influenced Benedict Lust
to open the American School of Naturopathy in New York City, in 1901, the first naturopathic school in the world. Lust also founded the American Naturopathic Association, the first naturopathic professional organization. Other early American schools granting the ND degree were the Naturopathic College of California and the Lindlahr College of Nature Cure and Osteopathy, which also granted a DDT (Doctor of Drugless Therapy) degree.
Many chiropractic schools began offering ND programs in addition to the chiropractic degree. There were as many as a dozen or two institutions granting the ND in the 1920s and 1930s, and during their heyday, naturopaths were licensed to practice under naturopathic or drugless practitioner laws in 25 states.
lobbied effectively against heterodox medical systems, including naturopathy, and Tennessee and Texas legislated against the practice of naturopathy.
A 1927 AMA study listed 12 naturopathic schools with fewer than 200 students among them. During the 1920s and 1930s, about half the states passed laws under which naturopaths and/or "drugless healers" could practice. However, as modern medicine developed, many of these laws were repealed and all but a few correspondence schools ceased operations. The doctor of naturopathy (N.D.) degree was still available at several chiropractic colleges, but in 1955, Western States Chiropractic College
, the last remaining institution granting the ND degree, ended its naturopathic program. The National College of Naturopathic Medicine (NCNM) was founded in 1956 in Portland, Oregon, but, until the mid-1970s, had very few students. From 1960 through 1968, the average enrollment was eight and the total number of graduates was 16.
Today, in North America, the Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine (N.D. or N.M.D.) degree is available from seven accredited full-time schools of naturopathic medicine. The accrediting agency for naturopathic medical schools, the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education
was first recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education in 1987. The CNME lost this recognition in 2001 for failing to enforce its standards on the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine
, then in the preaccreditation stage; CNME applied for and regained recognition in 2003.
The naturopathic medical curriculum
at the full-time CNME accredited schools follows a pattern similar to that of medical and osteopathic schools: two years of basic science courses and two or more years of clinical work. Prerequisite college of three years is required for admission. Approximately 950 students were enrolled in the six accredited schools in 2007.
Provisions in the licensing laws for Minnesota
and California
specifically protect the rights of Traditional Naturopaths to practice Naturopathy. Language in the Idaho
Licensing acts exclude those practices normally engaged in by Traditional Naturopaths. In Puerto Rico
the title "Doctor in Naturopathy (Doctor en Naturopatia) applies.
These titles apply in Canadian provinces:
the Naturopathic Diploma is granted to a healthcare professional
(Medical Doctor, Osteopath, Chiropractor, Nurse) who has completed a two year post-graduate Naturopathic Diploma, or to a graduate of the colleges that grant the Naturopathic Diploma, as recognised by The General Council & Register of Naturopaths (GCRN). Currently, these are the British College of Osteopathic Medicine, The College of Osteopaths Educational Trust and the University of Westminster School of Integrated Health under the auspices of the BSc Health Science (Naturopathy) course. Additionally, there are occasional opportunities for naturopathic degree-level students to sit a post graduate examination set by the GCRN if they have attended a non-accredited college but have evidence of additional studying and clinical practice. Naturopaths are registered by the General Council and Register of Naturopaths. and once registered are entitled to call themselves Naturopaths, Naturopathic Physicians, Naturopathic Practitioners or Naturopathic Doctors. However, naturopaths in the UK do not perform minor surgery or have prescribing rights.
Registered naturopathic practitioners are also entitled to become members of the British Naturopathic Association (BNA).
Those holding the accredited North America degrees generally practice as primary care providers of naturopathic medicine. Naturopathic medicine employs complementary and alternative medical therapies within the context of mainstream medicine, which help improve the body's intrinsic ability to heal and maintain itself. Practitioners of naturopathic medicine prefer to use natural remedies such as botanical tinctures/medicinal herbs and foods rather than synthetic drugs
Medication
A pharmaceutical drug, also referred to as medicine, medication or medicament, can be loosely defined as any chemical substance intended for use in the medical diagnosis, cure, treatment, or prevention of disease.- Classification :...
. Naturopathic medical practice includes many different modalities. Practitioners emphasize a holistic
Holistic health
Holistic health is a concept in medical practice upholding that all aspects of people's needs, psychological, physical and social should be taken into account and seen as a whole. As defined above, the holistic view on treatment is widely accepted in medicine...
approach to patient care, and may recommend that patients use conventional medicine alongside their treatments.
The 19th century: the nature doctor and drugless therapy
The lineage of the naturopathic medical tradition is traced back to the hydrotherapyHydrotherapy
Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy, involves the use of water for pain-relief and treating illness. The term hydrotherapy itself is synonymous with the term water cure as it was originally marketed by practitioners and promoters in the 19th century...
tradition of Eastern Europe, and particularly the influence of Vincenz Priessnitz
Vincenz Priessnitz
Vincenz Priessnitz, also written Prießnitz was a peasant farmer in Gräfenberg, Austrian Silesia, who is generally considered the founder of modern hydrotherapy, which is used in alternative and orthodox medicine...
. As the treatments of these practitioners grew to encompass diet & lifestyle counseling, and botanical medicine, Bavarian physician Lorenz Gleich (1798–1865) first advocated for the use of the term “naturarzt”, or nature doctor.
This tradition first became well known globally in the late 19th century through the successes of Bavarian priest Sebastian Kneipp
Sebastian Kneipp
Sebastian Kneipp was a Bavarian priest and one of the founders of the Naturopathic medicine movement...
. Kneipp influenced Benedict Lust
Benedict Lust
Benedict Lust, ND, DO, MD , was one of the founders of naturopathic medicine in the first decade of the twentieth century.-Biography:He was born in Michelbach, Germany, in the Black Forest, where he was raised...
to open the American School of Naturopathy in New York City, in 1901, the first naturopathic school in the world. Lust also founded the American Naturopathic Association, the first naturopathic professional organization. Other early American schools granting the ND degree were the Naturopathic College of California and the Lindlahr College of Nature Cure and Osteopathy, which also granted a DDT (Doctor of Drugless Therapy) degree.
Many chiropractic schools began offering ND programs in addition to the chiropractic degree. There were as many as a dozen or two institutions granting the ND in the 1920s and 1930s, and during their heyday, naturopaths were licensed to practice under naturopathic or drugless practitioner laws in 25 states.
Decline after 1945
After Lust’s death in 1945, the profession splintered philosophically and regionally, and the American Naturopathic Association itself fractionated into 6 different professional organizations (one of which kept the ANA name). During the 1940s and 1950s, chiropractic schools started dropping their ND programs. From 1940 to 1963, the American Medical AssociationAmerican Medical Association
The American Medical Association , founded in 1847 and incorporated in 1897, is the largest association of medical doctors and medical students in the United States.-Scope and operations:...
lobbied effectively against heterodox medical systems, including naturopathy, and Tennessee and Texas legislated against the practice of naturopathy.
A 1927 AMA study listed 12 naturopathic schools with fewer than 200 students among them. During the 1920s and 1930s, about half the states passed laws under which naturopaths and/or "drugless healers" could practice. However, as modern medicine developed, many of these laws were repealed and all but a few correspondence schools ceased operations. The doctor of naturopathy (N.D.) degree was still available at several chiropractic colleges, but in 1955, Western States Chiropractic College
Western States Chiropractic College
University of Western States is a chiropractic college in Northeast Portland, Oregon. The private school has about 475 students.-History:...
, the last remaining institution granting the ND degree, ended its naturopathic program. The National College of Naturopathic Medicine (NCNM) was founded in 1956 in Portland, Oregon, but, until the mid-1970s, had very few students. From 1960 through 1968, the average enrollment was eight and the total number of graduates was 16.
Modern renewal
In response to Western States ending their ND program, Portland N.D. Frank Spaulding toured the United States in 1955 and raised pledges totaling $100,000 (in monthly installments) from naturopaths to start a naturopathic college, which was chartered in 1956 as the National College of Naturopathic Medicine (NCNM). The National College of Naturopathic Medicine (NCNM) operated in Seattle, WA until the mid-1970s where they had very few students.Today, in North America, the Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine (N.D. or N.M.D.) degree is available from seven accredited full-time schools of naturopathic medicine. The accrediting agency for naturopathic medical schools, the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education
Council on Naturopathic Medical Education
The Council on Naturopathic Medical Education is an accrediting agency for naturopathic medical education in the United States. It was first approved by the U.S. Secretary of Education in 1987...
was first recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education in 1987. The CNME lost this recognition in 2001 for failing to enforce its standards on the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine
Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine
Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine is a naturopathic medical school located in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1992. SCNM is one of seven accredited naturopathic medical school in North America.-Overview of academics:...
, then in the preaccreditation stage; CNME applied for and regained recognition in 2003.
The naturopathic medical curriculum
Naturopathic medical school in North America
A naturopathic medical school in Canada and the United States is a four year graduate institution which confers the first professional degree in naturopathic medicine, the Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine or ND degree....
at the full-time CNME accredited schools follows a pattern similar to that of medical and osteopathic schools: two years of basic science courses and two or more years of clinical work. Prerequisite college of three years is required for admission. Approximately 950 students were enrolled in the six accredited schools in 2007.
Professional titles used by Doctors of Naturopathic Medicine in North America
Although all graduates from accredited naturopathic medical schools may use the academic title "Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine" there is no standardized professional title in use in North America. Jurisdictions that regulate the practice of naturopathic medicine legally require the use of various professional titles. Naturopathic medicine and approved titles are regulated in the following US states:- Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine: ArizonaArizonaArizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, New HampshireNew HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, OregonOregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
(also Naturopathic Physician), UtahUtahUtah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
(also Naturopathic Physician), Washington (also Naturopathic Physician), MinnesotaMinnesotaMinnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
(also Naturopathic Doctor) - Naturopathic Doctor:AlaskaAlaskaAlaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, KansasKansasKansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, MaineMaineMaine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost... - Naturopathic Physician: ConnecticutConnecticutConnecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, District of Columbia, HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, IdahoIdahoIdaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, MontanaMontanaMontana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, Vermont. - Naturopath: North DakotaNorth DakotaNorth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
Provisions in the licensing laws for Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
and California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
specifically protect the rights of Traditional Naturopaths to practice Naturopathy. Language in the Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
Licensing acts exclude those practices normally engaged in by Traditional Naturopaths. In Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
the title "Doctor in Naturopathy (Doctor en Naturopatia) applies.
These titles apply in Canadian provinces:
- Doctor of Naturopathy: ManitobaManitobaManitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
- Naturopathic Physician: SaskatchewanSaskatchewanSaskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, Nova ScotiaNova ScotiaNova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, British ColumbiaBritish ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858... - Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine: OntarioOntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, British ColumbiaBritish ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
The Naturopathic diploma in the United Kingdom
In the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
the Naturopathic Diploma is granted to a healthcare professional
Health profession
The health care industry, or medical industry, is the sector of the economic system that provides goods and services to treat patients with curative, preventive, rehabilitative, palliative, or, at times, unnecessary care...
(Medical Doctor, Osteopath, Chiropractor, Nurse) who has completed a two year post-graduate Naturopathic Diploma, or to a graduate of the colleges that grant the Naturopathic Diploma, as recognised by The General Council & Register of Naturopaths (GCRN). Currently, these are the British College of Osteopathic Medicine, The College of Osteopaths Educational Trust and the University of Westminster School of Integrated Health under the auspices of the BSc Health Science (Naturopathy) course. Additionally, there are occasional opportunities for naturopathic degree-level students to sit a post graduate examination set by the GCRN if they have attended a non-accredited college but have evidence of additional studying and clinical practice. Naturopaths are registered by the General Council and Register of Naturopaths. and once registered are entitled to call themselves Naturopaths, Naturopathic Physicians, Naturopathic Practitioners or Naturopathic Doctors. However, naturopaths in the UK do not perform minor surgery or have prescribing rights.
Registered naturopathic practitioners are also entitled to become members of the British Naturopathic Association (BNA).
See also
- List of naturopathic medical schools in North America
- Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical CollegesAssociation of Accredited Naturopathic Medical CollegesThe Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges is a nonprofit association established in 2001 that represents the North American naturopathic schools accredited by one of the regional accrediting agencies approved by the U.S. Department of Education...