The history of the naturopathic 'profession' is somewhat murky. There are a lot of opinionated people who each present their own version of how it all began. There is also a distinct lack of a recognized 'authority' regarding the history and the true nature of the profession. That is part of the appeal of naturopathic medicine, but I digress.
This is not an article about the history of naturopathy.
There is a goal for most, if not all of the hundreds of students of CNME accredited naturopathic schools in America today. And that is, to practice the medicine we have been trained for, to get past all of the political hurdles and be professionally respected.
There are
obstacles.
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The AMA. They tend to both believe and assert that their way is the only way to medicine. They have a lot of money. They have a lot of power. They aren't afraid, ashamed or unwilling to use it to protect their interests. Health and harmony be damned.
We need to do some outreach. There are student organizations that are recognizing that natural medicine is an important answer to the human problems that modern medicine has. But we need to make a the effort to initiate the conversation with them.
* The
disorganized residency programs. This seems like a truly core issue. If the various powers that be could gather around this issue and support a single clearinghouse/umbrella organization, they could administer naturopathic and/or integrative residency programs and match qualified candidates. The possibilities for expansion would increase dramatically.
Who are the current players?
o The CNME itself....is it even on their agenda?
o The NERC...they are ready and willing, but do they have the political will and backing to make it happen?
o The schools....they are already doing what they can, they need to be relieved of this job so that a more specialized organization can do the work.
o The AANP...is there an opinion brewing over there? It's so hard to tell...
Students need to get behind the solution they think has the most potential and put some pressure on them to get moving in a unified direction. This can't wait.
• -The
'traditional' naturopaths, blocking the efforts of licensure in many states. This is tricky. This is at the root of what is changed and or changing about this profession. There is no way to get around the fact that establishing yet another monopoly that keeps out those who aren't trained in one of the 'accredited' schools is what is going on.
What we need to build is a statement that addresses the concerns of the traditional naturopaths. What position do Naturopathic Physicians occupy that is distinctly not the same thing as and MD or DO but is also a legitimate HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL? How can naturopaths show that we can be trusted by the general public, the government, and the insurance companies, to be primary care physicians who INTEGRATE diagnostic and clinical medical differential diagnosis with Naturopathic healing modalities?
