What sets a Naturopathic doctor apart from a "regular doctor."
All through medical school, I would hear people say, "I am like a regular doctor, but.....(fill in the blank with some sort of justifying type explanation). But the truth is that Naturopathic doctors are not like regular doctors. I do not have an identity crisis about the kind of doctor that I became. Sure, I was trained how to prescribe pharmaceuticals and in some patients I do, but that is not why I became an ND (Naturopathic doctor). I so very much appreciated modern medicine, do not think that I am disregarding any of the lifesaving benefits of advanced medicine, but a restoration in family medicine must occur to help patients feel heard and cared for. Here is what sets an ND apart from a "regular doctor." (Scroll past the enormous Echinacea flowers, but enjoy their beauty as you do).
First: Naturopathic doctors practice medicine with the six fundamental principals in mind. 1. First do no harm Have you ever heard of a side effect? There really is no such thing as a side effect, there are simply drug effects and the ones the researchers are looking for they market and the ones they are not, they chalk up to be a "side" effect. "First do no harm" is BY FAR MY FAVORITE principle. Last year, in American, over 2 trillion dollars was spent on healthcare, 3.3 billion on pharmaceutical drugs, which is the 5th leading cause of death in America (and those are the ones being prescribed correctly). And we are still one of the sickest nations there are, as well as have the 50th of all the nations in life expectancy and quality. That to me is harmful. 2. Identify the cause Dr. Dick Thom once told us in one of our classes, "I believe that every disease is curable, but not every patient is curable." For example, maybe you have an underlying MTHFR defect or an underlying chronic infection that is causing your chronic fatigue or it could be something as simple as needing a vertebral adjustment to fix your pain, but many times these underlying causes are not addressed. Soon enough you will be on a number of medications and under the knife. 3. Treat the whole person More than often a patient will come in with a chronic illness and when asked, "do you recall anything traumatic happening in your life at the onset of this disease?"....they will answer yes. This must be dealt with as well in order to get to the underlying cause of the disease process. A person is not just a simple symptom, but a complex being who needs to be full taken into account when treating. 4. Utilize the healing power of nature Nature is awesome, she is a gift and for real....she is SMART! Utilizing what nature has already figured out through plant medicine, is straight up bad-A! 5. Doctor as teacher This is why an hour is needed for each visit. If I prescribe you a probiotic and you have no idea what it is or why you are taking it, then you are less likely to take it. 6. Prevention is key! This means that if you come in and tell me that your great grandfather, your dad and your brother all have diabetes, you better believe we are going to tailor the treatment to prevent this from happening to you. Second: On average an ND spends an hour with their patients. The outline of the visit is highly variable, but in most naturopathic medical schools we learn the following outline: 1. 15-20 minute history of presenting illness, including a full review of each body system, as well as personal past medical history, family history and full intake of all current medications and supplements. 2. Then we move into a physical exam, whether it is a full screening, head to toe, physical or simply the exams pertinent to the presenting illness. 3. Next, we come up with a personalized treatment plan. Let's say for example that you are coming in for anxiety and panic attacks, bases on the above principles, each patient is likely to get an individualized treatment based on their needs. One patient might get a prescription of botanical medicine and some breathing exercises, while the next could be given a nutritional supplement with some homeopathy. That is the amazing thing about Naturopathic doctors, their tool box is full of modalities. 4. There is always at the end of a visit a "Doctor as teacher" moment, to explain why a remedy is being chosen or how breathing affects the parasympathetic nervous system and why it is needed. 5. And of course, a follow-up visit to make any adjustments and to make sure that the patient is experiencing the desired results. Third: The Therapeutic Order The fundamental approach that NDs utilize for treatment options.
1. Establish a foundation for health: This may be to help the patient eat a cleaner diet, begin exercising and managing stress. 2. Stimulate the bodies ability to heal This can be through clean water, following the normal cycles of the bodies circadian rhythms. 3. Support weakened systems With each patient there is usually a system that is already weakened, whether it is the adrenal glands, cardiovascular systems, the liver and so on. The body is not a single system, this might seem like a silly statement, but the way that medicine has become so singular as doctors have started to specialize in one particular organ system (cardiologist, urologist, endocrinologist..etc), it is important to remember that as one part of the body becomes weak, another will surely follow suit. For example, over 700,000 Americans have their gallbladders removed each year, but what is not always talk about is how the gallbladder relates to the heart. As well as, where does that bile go now and how does it affect the patient's long term health? 4. Targeted natural treatments I will stay on the gallbladder example above, when a patient presents to the clinic who has had their gallbladder removed and is now experiencing indigestion, then a targeted botanical, homeopathic, nutraceutical or diet may be prescribed. It is specifically targeted to that patient's health needs. 5. Replacement therapies For example, this may be if a patient is low on Vitamin D and supplementation is warranted. This may also include a more targeted chiropractic physical adjustment. 6. Drug therapy This is where pharmaceuticals come in, but do you see how far down the list it is. Did you know children are the number one population being prescribed certain drug classes, for ADHD, anxiety and more? That means that modern medicine is ignoring the ability to establish a foundation with health by not discussing possibly food triggers, as well as not trying to help the body regulate itself. This system bypasses thousands of research articles and years of natural medicines that have been proven effective. 7. Surgery Thank God for surgery, but this is the last effort to make a patient well. Fourth: The Education When I first started thinking about going to school to be a doctor, I had not clue what that entailed and looking back I am thankful I went into it optimistically naive. Naturopathic school is still medical school, you have to first earned a bachelors degree and in my case take a year of pre-requisites for the program (hello bachelors of art degree). Then you have to apply and be interviewed for acceptance into the program. For the first 2 years, it follows almost exactly the MD curriculum in the basic sciences. Then the curriculum shifts into modality specific and case focused classes, such as natural child birth (there is an midwife program you can opt into), homeopathy, naturopathic manipulation therapy (chiropractic-like adjustments), botanical medicine, psychology and on and on. By the third year, students are usually in clinic seeing patients under an attending doctor. Post graduation, NDs are not (yet) required to have a residency, although there are many opportunities for them. The chart below shows in comparison the education of an ND vs an MD. The green represents an NDs education and black is an MDs. The graph is not so easy to see, so here are the catagories in order: -Anatomy and Embryology -Biochemistry (SHOUT OUT TO DR. DANGERFIELD, the only professor I know who can make biochemistry fun)! -Histology -Physiology -Pathology -Micro and Immunology -Pharmacology -System Based Courses -Clinical and modality trainings (this is all the different therapies that were taught) NDs have a total of 1400 clinic hours. -Other "The average person who goes to medical school will learn and forget more than most people will learn in their whole lives." -Dr. Thom (So basically I have forgotten more than many will ever learn in their whole lives, that is heartwarming).
Fifth: Bringing altruism back to medicine Back in the day, I mean back back, medicine was an altruistic trade of nuns, grannies and medicine women, who truly sought out to help the sick and needy. Needless to say, that has changed, it has become a sterile and non-personal experience for patients. In my optimistic mind, I became an ND because the thought of helping someone with their health and spending an hour to really listen to their problems, invigorated me. It excited me to think that I might be able to lighten a burden or empower someone to believe that they could live a life full of health and energy. To be honest, the course load, the studying, the adrenal fatigue nearly took that out of me, but being on the other side of all that, it has all come back. I am honored to call myself a Naturopathic doctor and to carry the torch for the medicines of the earth. I am humbled to be a messenger of the healing powers of nature and I believe that integrative medicine is the future for healthcare in America. Time was, and not so long ago, when the family doctor delivered babies and supervised their nursing, their weaning and their teething, and saw them through their measles and chicken pox and whooping cough. He told the boys about the facts of life and treated the girls for their menstrual cramps. He advised about diet and rest, gave spring tonics, clipped tonsils, set a broken arm, reassured father who couldn't sleep because of his business worries, pulled mother through a case of typhoid or double pneumonia, reprimanded that cook who was found, on her off day, to have a dozen empty whiskey bottles in her closet, gave advise about the youths choices for college, comforted grandma who was loosing her mind and becoming more and more irritable, and closed grandpa's eyes in his final sleep. He went on endless, mysterious and incessant rounds leaving in his wake a faint oder of carbolic acid with which he disinfected his beard. But all that has changed, this heroic figure is gone from our midst. -Dr. Carl Binger (1889-1976) That is all for now. Yours in health, DrDandy
