Naturopathic doctors and medical doctors
share many similarities, but have a different
approach to medical care for patients.
While naturopathic doctors, or NDs,
are educated in the same
biomedical sciences as medical doctors,
NDs use holistic and nontoxic
approaches to healing, emphasizing
disease prevention, nutrition, and wellness.
While medical doctors emphasize
treating symptoms, NDs focus on
treating the root causes of illness and
enlisting the body’s self-healing abilities.
NDs treat patients of all ages,
from pediatrics to geriatrics.
As with other doctors, NDs interview patients
to document symptoms, review a patient’s
medical history and make their diagnosis,
recommendation and prescription.
Instead of prescription drugs, NDs often use
naturally occurring remedies that can be
found in foods, herbs, and vitamin supplements.
They also use alternative therapeutic
regimens such as traditional
Indian Ayurvedic- or Chinese medicine,
homeopathy, mindfulness training,
and biofeedback.
To clarify a diagnosis, they may order
diagnostic procedures and lab tests
from other professionals, and consult with
other healthcare professionals as needed.
Naturopathic doctors work in private practice,
clinics, and in community health centers
that offer other alternative medicine practices
such as acupuncture, massage, or chiropractic.
They attend four-year, graduate-level,
naturopathic medical schools where
they study anatomy, physiology, biology,
chemistry, pathology, diagnosis,
and holistic and nontoxic therapies.
Currently, state licensure is
available in some states,
while other states require NDs to practice
under another medical degree.