It is true; principles of Naturopathic medicine have been practiced for decades, since Hippocrates, a Greek physician who lived 2400 years ago, first formulated the concept of “the healing power of nature“.
Naturopathic Colleges were then formed in North America in the early 1900’s, but today we are on the rise of a new reliance on Naturopathic Medicine.
A pertinent article was printed in the New York Times Dec 15th outlining the important role non M.D. health practitioners are playing due to the shortage of M.D.’s.
It is no secret that health care in the United States has had its challenges from shortages of M.D.’s to high medical coverage costs, which is why more and more people are turning to alternatives.
“There is already a shortage of doctors in many parts of the United States. The expansion of health care coverage to millions of uninsured Americans under the Affordable Care Act will make that shortage even worse,” explains the article When the Doctor Is Not Needed, of the New York Times.
Amy Rothenberg, N.D. piggy-backed off this article with her own titled, “Naturopathic Doctors Fill in Gap in Physician Shortage”, in which she discusses,
“Though our numbers are small, Naturopathic Doctors (NDs) have the ability to provide needed care, especially in underserved areas. Licensable naturopathic doctors attend four-year, in-residence, full-time naturopathic medical school at institutions recognized by regional accrediting bodies.”
The scope of practice of highly-trained N.D.’s is broad and as natural approaches to healing become more and more sought after, so too are the skills of N.D.’s.
Rothenberg continues explaining, “Many naturopathic doctors work in private practice settings or as part of integrative medicine teams. We use industry standards of taking a patient history, are trained to perform complete physical exams or relevant physicals depending on the presenting patient,”
“We are schooled in state-of-the-art diagnostic procedures from laboratory ordering and review, referral for appropriate diagnostic imaging when indicated, and both refer to and receive referrals from across the medical spectrum. With regard to treatment, naturopathic doctors work with natural medicine modalities including therapeutic nutrition, botanical medicine, Chinese medicine and lifestyle modification.”
It is encouraging to see options emerging for individuals and families and a further reliance developing on the art if Naturopathic Medicine.
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