Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine
National University of Health Sciences, the nation’s premier institution for complementary and alternative medical education, is offering a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine program (N.D.), which will prepare you to practice as a licensed naturopathic physician. National’s N.D. program provides you with a rigorous curriculum that blends thorough scientific foundation with comprehensive training in traditional naturopathic treatments.
What is Naturopathic Medicine?
As primary-care doctors whose diagnosis and treatments bridge both conventional and natural medicine perspectives, naturopathic physicians integrate scientific research with natural treatments to address the underlying cause of disease and promote the body’s natural healing process and educate patients to continue this process.
Using holistic philosophy and time tested principles, naturopathic medicine combines safe and effective traditional therapies, such as botanical medicines, clinical nutrition, homeopathy, tissue manipulation, and other gentle treatments that support the body’s own healing power in partnership with the most current advances in modern medicine to manage a broad range of health conditions. Naturopathic physicians unite traditional treatments with the latest research to treat patients of all ages.
The U.S. federal government now recognizes naturopathic medicine as an occupation, with the Department of Labor defining naturopathic physicians as those who: "Diagnose, treat, and help prevent diseases using a system of practice that is based on the natural healing capacity of individuals. May use physiological, psychological or mechanical methods. May also use natural medicines, prescription or legend drugs, foods, herbs, or other natural remedies."
NUHS - A Great Choice for Your N.D. Degree
As a student in the naturopathic physician program at National, you will study the same basic sciences as an M.D., but you will learn holistic and natural approaches to therapy with a strong emphasis on disease prevention and optimizing wellness.
Following your undergraduate studies, you will complete four years of training in clinical nutrition, acupuncture, homeopathic medicine, botanical medicine, psychology, and counseling so that you can encourage your patients to make lifestyle changes in support of their personal health.
You will spend a full year in the clinicial internship component of your program. NUHS offers naturopathic clinical internship opportunities that allow students to complete a full-fledged naturopathic internship on our main campus. Naturopathic interns are supervised by primary care physicians who also hold an ND degree. The ND practitioners have direct teaching responsibility for supervising naturopathic interns. Our ND internship program is conducted in a framework appropriate to a university setting in our state, and provides experience in high quality naturopathic care.
For entry to practice in the naturopathic profession, you will take rigorous professional board exams. Demonstrating proficiency through these exams is a necessary step to being licensed in any jurisdiction that regulates the practice of naturopathic medicine.
Accreditation
NUHS received accreditation to grant the N.D degree from the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (30 N. LaSalle St., Suite 2400, Chicago, IL 60602-2504, 800-621-7440). National has also been granted candidacy status by the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education (CNME) on March 9, 2008. Candidacy is not accreditation and does not ensure eventual accreditation, but it is a status of affiliation with the Council that indicates the naturopathic medicine program is progressing toward accreditation. (For more information on this process, contact: CNME, 342 Main Street, P.O. Box 178, Great Barrington, MA 01230, or call 413-528-8877).
Candidacy status also assures that our graduates are eligible to sit for the NPLEX exams which are a gateway to practice in states with licensure.
National is also proud to be a member of the Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges.
Want more information on Naturopathic Medicine?
Have questions about what naturopathy is all about and where the field is headed? How about reading the thoughts and experiences of a real ND? Explore "Naturopathic Chronicles," a one-of-a-kind blog from the chair of our department of naturopathic medicine, Dr. Fraser Smith.
Or take a look at the following pages for more information on NUHS' ND program.
READ MORE