Naturopathic physicians excel in their ability to diagnose patients’ highly individual experience of illness, to search deeply for the interrelationships between organ systems, to comprehend the impact of patients’ relationships with their environment both physical and interpersonal. We strive to perceive what must be cured in disease, in each individual case of disease.
With over 629 million patient visits to complementary and alternative medicine practitioners each year, it is no wonder that physicians, health policy leaders, and most importantly, patients are calling for “integration and professional collaboration so that a health care workforce that includes a diversity of disciplines can be assured of providing a coherent set of patient care services in the future.” Licensed naturopathic physicians will be among the leaders of this emerging healthcare system.
Educated with a solid foundation in Biomedical Sciences and Western diagnostic methods (including a thorough history, physical exam, labwork and imaging studies) naturopathic physicians reach a profound diagnostic understanding of patients’ health problems, and provide treatment plans that include conventional and alternative therapies.
The treatment must always take into account the patient’s individuality and an understanding of the vis medicatrix naturae, the healing power of nature.
First described in western medicine by Hippocrates, the vis medicatrix naturae, is also referred to as chi in Chinese Medicine, prana in Ayurveda, and vital force in homeopathy. When alive, the vis medicatrix naturae enables humans and other living beings to resist entropy and decay, unlike inanimate objects that are subject to these effects. Creating treatment plans that harness the healing power of nature, that incorporate dietary and lifestyle improvements, that employ the least invasive, least harmful and most effective therapies, is the art, the heart and the essence of naturopathic medicine.
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