“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in us.” –Romans 8:18
One of my professors recently proposed an interesting question. He began by saying AI can now diagnose better than doctors. Algorithms generate not only the correct diagnosis, but outline the exact labs to order, how to interpret them and provide corresponding remedy options. On top of that, our entire education could either be learned on the internet, or practiced by technique training on friends, for free.
His resulting question was, in an age where medical information is readily accessible to everyone, what value will we bring as naturopathic doctors. Transitively, what is the purpose of our time now as students?
To begin, providing a diagnosis and corresponding treatment is not naturopathic medicine. It is disease management. As naturopathic doctors, we don’t treat disease. We create the conditions for health that allow the body to heal itself. In our case, the element of individualized care is based on something more than a diagnosis, something deeper and more foundational.
In order to contemplate the element of individualization, I thought about my role as a wife and mother. The best thing I can do for my husband is consistent with the best thing I can do for my son – I can see their unique (individualized), God-given attributes and remind them of their potential, as well as challenge them to mature into it.
This is the reason why relationships are the primary medium through which we grow, and the reason why there is danger in isolated living. Participating in consistent, real-life relationships is how we learn who we are and in what areas we need to change.
As naturopathic doctors, we can do the same for our patients. By offering our perceptive interaction, we can help them uncover and clarify their own talents and ways of contributing value to those around them, and then provide encouragement for them to grow into it.
This process, naturally, is an art. The art of seeing potential. And because every artist has a different eye, another vector of individualization is added. Just as two parents see slightly different shades of beauty in the same child, so two doctors see different potential in the same patient.
Now we return to my professor’s original question: If the value we can bring as naturopathic doctors is seeing potential in our patients and helping them pursue it, what is the purpose of our time in school, as students?
School does indeed offer something biochemistry channels on YouTube and free technique training on friends do not: the invitation to engage in real, living, edifying relationships. A chance to practice the art of seeing potential in others, and to open ourselves to be challenged and changed by others doing the same for us. No one is off limits: classmates, teachers, custodians, patients, passersby.
When we attend to someone in a deeper sense – i.e. take the time to notice their unique attributes – they are more apt to blossom. As doctors, we are entrusted with the vulnerability of patients on a deep level. In no other social context does one admit their emotional weakness or bare a physical malady upon first meeting a stranger. We wield a heavy responsibility.
People don’t heal in isolation. People heal in relationships. The art of seeing the potential of our patients (or colleagues, friends, spouses) and revealing to them a greater purpose for living beyond themselves – thereby establishing the grounds for healing – is a privilege we get to practice daily.
Of course, it is the artist who knows his craftsmanship best. And while being known and accepted by our true artist is the only ultimate cure, we are similarly called to practice viewing those around us in the greater context of eternal glory every day.
For more information about NUHS’ Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine Program, click here.
