For the past few weeks, I have been lucky enough to shadow Andrew
Peters, ND, DC, in Danville, Ill., a 1997 graduate of National.
He allowed me to sit in on patient care and quizzed me on clinical
skills and treatment plan recommendations. I loved the small town
feel of his clinic and how close his patients are to him. Most of
his patients are family friends and neighbors that he sees on a
regular basis. This makes for cheap advertising through
word-of-mouth and networking.
Dr. Peters is the only doctor in his clinic but has a reliable and
people-friendly front office worker to take care of payment issues
and scheduling. This is one thing he said is a must when starting
your own clinic, as talking to patients about their health care and
then asking for payment can sever the doctor-patient relationship
and create a salesperson relationship. To avoid conflict he
definitively recommends leaving the finances up to a tactful
receptionist.
As for practicing naturopathic medicine in an unlicensed state,
Dr. Peters also has a DC therefore he practices under the scope of
his chiropractic license; however, he still practices many
naturopathic therapies. The thing that surprised me the most was
how receptive patients were to naturopathic medicine. Many of the
patients he sees have sought him out and come from as far as 3
hours away for his services. This motivates me even more to stay in
the Midwest and push for licensure. We need more people like Dr.
Peters in here in Illinois to perpetuate the naturopathic
movement!
Guest Lecture
Dr. Michael Cronin paid NUHS a visit recently to
lecture on up-and-coming events and therapies in naturopathic
medicine. Dr. Cronin has been an ND for 31 years and has recently
become the president of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians
(AANP). He practices in Arizona, a state that allows a full scope
of practice for NDs. As president of the AANP, he is committed to
providing support to states like Illinois to help them gain
licensure.
He also spoke on what it was like to start a naturopathic college,
as he is the founder of the Southwest College of Naturopathic
Medicine in Arizona. He was a charismatic speaker and full of
information. It was a great experience getting to meet him.