While assisting at the NUHS clinics as a family practice resident, Amanda Bose, DC, ND, puts both her skillsets in chiropractic and naturopathic medicine into practice.

Initially drawn to the chiropractic medicine program at the NUHS Florida site, she wanted to expand her skills treating disorders using the holistic approach by also earning her degree in naturopathic medicine from the NUHS Illinois campus.

“I think both degrees complement each other,” Dr. Bose said.  “Musculoskeletal integrity is a part of the therapeutic order of naturopathic medicine. Both fields are trained as primary care physicians and have the ability to use nutrition, manipulation, botanical medicines, nutritional supplementation, and many other natural therapies to treat their patients.

Dr. Amanda Bose stands beside the case study poster presented at DC2017.

At the NUHS Whole Health Center, Dr. Bose recently combined her DC and ND education to treat a 55-year-old male patient who had symptoms of urinary retention with overflow incontinence, and recurrent urinary tract infections from a spinal cord injury experienced 18 years previously. He was seeking conservative options as he was chronically using antibiotics and was recommended to start performing clean intermittent catheterization by his urologist.

Dr. Bose formulated a holistic treatment plan that consisted of decreasing simple sugars and carbohydrates, increasing daily vegetable intake and ensuring adequate hydration. Dr. Bose and clinicians also prescribed probiotics for promoting healthy gut flora, fish oil for its systemic anti-inflammatory effects and other botanical blends for antimicrobial and soothing effects to the urinary tract.  After a month of treatment, the patient experienced significant improvement in urinary output. He went from urinating only 4-6 mL per day to full bladder capacity of 300-400 mL daily.

“By decreasing risk for introduced infection and antibiotic resistance, we were able to improve the patient’s overall quality of life,” Dr. Bose said.

She recently presented this case study at DC2017, a combination of three major chiropractic medicine conferences held in Washington DC this month. “The case study was well-received and generated plenty of discussion,” Bose said.

As a family practice resident, Dr. Bose sees many cases that require her to draw from her knowledge in both chiropractic and naturopathic medicine. Because NUHS Whole Health Center is an integrative clinic, she is exposed to a larger variety of patients while working alongside other health care practitioners including acupuncturists, oriental medicine practitioners in addition to other DCs and NDs.

“The residency has helped me develop my confidence as a physician as I am able to treat patients with less supervision than as an intern, but still surrounded with many experienced physicians to bounce ideas off of or ask for help when needed,” she said.

When she finishes her residency in September, Dr. Bose’s future plans include starting a holistic family medicine practice, where she hopes to see a variety of patients, pediatric to geriatric.  She also plans to stay active in the educational and research communities.

“I want to give back and help students and new doctors develop their skills,” she said. “Research is also key in the advancement of both the naturopathic and chiropractic professions.”