naturopathydigest.com -- New Kid on the Naturopathic Block

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New Kid on the Naturopathic Block

Despite the growth of the naturopathic profession in recent years, the number of CNME-accredited naturopathic degree programs remains relatively small.

Currently, five North American educational institutions offer such programs: Bastyr University, Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, National College of Naturopathic Medicine, Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine and, most recently, the University of Bridgeport's College of Naturopathic Medicine (see "University of Bridgeport College of Naturopathic Medicine Awarded CNME Accreditation" on page 10). A sixth program, offered by the Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine, is currently a candidate and expects to receive full accreditation later this year. Full accreditation is vital to overall professional growth, particularly because patients, prospective students and health care entities can be assured that these educational institutions and the programs they offer are of the highest quality. National University of Health Sciences (NUHS) in Lombard, Ill., hopes its naturopathic program will garner that same respect soon. The university has received regional accreditation for its Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine degree program from the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
According to NUHS Naturopathic Chair, Fraser Smith, ND, the university "designed the program with the intention to pursue accreditation with the appropriate authorities of naturopathic medicine."
The foundation for the naturopathic degree program was laid more than 10 years ago, when National started to plan its growth from a chiropractic college into a health sciences university. Widely known for its Doctor of Chiropractic degree program and research department, National saw its future in developing new programs in the complementary and alternative health care fields. "Already recognized for a truly leading chiropractic medicine program, the planning began for a doctor of naturopathic medicine degree program that would be of the high standards that National is known for," said Dr. Smith.
A few quick facts about National: Founded in 1906, it was the first chiropractic college to require a baccalaureate degree for admission. Since 1978, it has published the only peer-reviewed, internationally indexed chiropractic scientific journal, the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, and its research department has several ongoing investigations funded by the National Institutes of Health. It is also the first institution with a chiropractic program to develop and use a specialized training and assessment center, and the first to install and use an MRI for patient and research purposes.
In 1999, NUHS began offering a massage therapy certification program; in 2004, the university added a prerequisite program of undergraduate-level science courses for students needing prerequisite course credit for admission into professional degree programs; and last year, it added a bachelor of science degree completion program, as well as fully accredited master's degrees in both diagnostic imaging and advanced clinical practice. This year, NUHS is adding master's degrees in acupuncture and Oriental medicine, as well as the doctorate degree in naturopathic medicine.
According to Dr. Smith, National's evolution into a multi-professional complementary and alternative health care university was a logical progression. "The two professions of naturopathic medicine and chiropractic medicine share many values, methods and history. It is not well-known that National had an ND program until the early 1950s, which many of its graduates completed. Although each profession has distinct approaches, there is a shared focus on the healing power of the individual and the avoidance of high-force, high-risk interventions."
In deciding to develop a naturopathic degree curriculum, NUHS set the goal of creating a program that would meet and exceed the standard for naturopathic medical education. To achieve this lofty goal, considerable details needed to fall into place, including developing a curriculum and gaining regional accreditation. "One of the principles we followed was that students of different health care professions would study together," Dr. Smith said. "This is in line with our institutional values and mission, which promotes collegiality and cooperation among members of the different complementary and alternative health professions. To this end, we have planned to have ND and DC students doing the basic sciences together."

"It is our continuing goal and hope that as we place students with different intended professional practices in the same classrooms, they will begin to understand each other better and will learn to appreciate the value each has to bring to the table of patient care," added NUHS President James Winterstein, DC. "We hope they will become colleagues in this process and will remain such as they enter practice. Furthermore, we hope that many will leave NUHS with dual degrees. This too, I believe, will bode well for our professions in the decades to come."
The Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine Degree Program
In total, the course curriculum for the naturopathic program is more than 4,000 hours in length, with the final 1,200 hours devoted to clinical training. For example, there are more than 400 hours of anatomy classes in the program, with about half of that taking place in the lab. "Our collective experience at National has shown us that a thorough grounding in the study of human form and function leads to the cultivation of great clinicians," noted Dr. Smith. Other courses include cell physiology and hematology, neurophysiology, clinical microbiology and public health, nutritional biochemistry, diagnostic imaging, botanical medicine, pharmacology and toxicology, Oriental medicine in naturopathic practice, and minor surgery. Internships and Grand Rounds are another feature of the program.
The curriculum also includes in-depth training in therapeutics, including more than 250 hours of homeopathy to be taken in the second, fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth trimesters. "Of course, nutrition, botanical medicine, physical medicine and manipulation technique, lifestyle counseling, hydrotherapy, pharmacology and office procedures are included," Dr. Smith added. Diagnosis and primary care skills also are emphasized.
In describing the qualities of the NUHS naturopathic program, Dr. Smith commented: "Another quintessential quality of the naturopathic program is that a naturopathic physician-in-training needs to thoroughly examine the naturopathic principles and the naturopathic orientation to practice. This should begin at the start of the program and continue throughout. To this end, the ND students will engage in courses that examine key concepts such as the naturopathic principles, the therapeutic order and various conceptions of healing. As they progress and learn therapeutic modalities of treatment, they will engage in courses where they learn to apply those modalities to patients in a way that reflects the naturopathic approach. With the preponderance of conventional medicine practitioners who are quick to incorporate some nutritional and botanical therapies, it is important for our students to engage in an authentic and valid process of learning to think and practice naturopathic medicine as we understand it."

NUHS also hopes to add top-notch faculty to its ranks. According to Dr. Smith, "Some excellent faculty have already been identified and will be participating in the ND program. In addition to the basic science and clinical faculty who are already part of our team, we will be recruiting the most qualified naturopathic physicians to be a part of our ND program. Specialists in women's health, botanical medicine, homeopathy, family practice and other areas will be recruited. At this point, we already have commitments from some excellent clinicians who will enrich the formative and pre-clinical portion of the students' training."
The Accreditation Process
Achieving accreditation through the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education is a process that begins with the inception of the program and continues for several years. The ultimate goal for NUHS naturopathic students is to graduate, pass the Naturopathic Physicians Licensing Examination (NPLEX) and become licensed naturopathic physicians. According to Smith, "NUHS is committed to meeting and exceeding the standards to achieve this recognition."
Other naturopathic educational programs have followed a similar course in starting out with regional accreditation before achieving full-scale accreditation through the CNME. For example, Bastyr University and National College of Naturopathic Medicine have institutional accreditation with the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, a nationally recognized regional accrediting agency. Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine has regional accreditation with the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. And the University of Bridgeport College of Naturopathic Medicine, which received CNME accreditation in March 2006, was recognized regionally first by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. One of the financial benefits of obtaining CNME accreditation is that students attending CNME-accredited schools are eligible to apply for such federal programs as the Academic Research Enhancement Awards and the Loan Repayment Program administered by the National Institute of Health's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
The existing accredited naturopathic educational programs in the U.S. and Canada have one thing in common that NUHS doesn't: They are offered in licensed states/provinces. NUHS is located in Illinois, an unlicensed state. National has acknowledged this situation; according to Dr. Smith, a portion of the total clinical training hours might have to occur outside of the state until Illinois obtains licensing for naturopathic physicians.
"The Illinois Association of Naturopathic Physicians [ILANP] is hard at work on this task and Senate Bill 2824 was introduced this winter, which would allow full-scope practice for naturopathic physicians. NUHS is an active supporter of the ILANP and we anticipate rapid progress of SB2824 through the legislative process. In the meantime, we are already preparing clinical opportunities for our students, on and off campus, so that they can obtain proficiency. NUHS already has a strong business program and this will be expanded to our ND program, so graduates can feel assured in establishing their practice and will create their success."
According to CNME, establishing a new naturopathic program within an existing college or university is preferable to beginning a freestanding naturopathic medical college. To qualify for accreditation with CNME, any new program would likely need to be in a state or province that licenses naturopathic physicians. CNME's reasoning is that students complete their clinical training primarily under the supervision of a practicing naturopathic physician. The other concern is that state authorities might not approve a college's request to grant the ND degree in a state that doesn't allow the practice of naturopathic medicine. This provides NUHS with some extra motivation in helping to get SB2824 through the legislative process as quickly as possible.
CNME uses various criteria in evaluating a naturopathic medicine program. The process involves a comprehensive self-study by the program in question, periodic visits to the campus by CNME teams and ongoing monitoring. A program can obtain candidacy status with CNME if it satisfies the agency's 17 eligibility requirements, including proper organization, adequate financial support, good facilities and qualified faculty, an appropriate curriculum, and accurate representation to prospective students. However, candidacy does not guarantee accreditation. Candidacy is granted when a program meets the eligibility requirements, complies with the standards to the degree expected for its stage of development, and is progressing toward accreditation. If accreditation is not received within five years, the program loses CNME affiliation for at least one year until deficiencies are corrected. A new program, such as NUHS, can apply for candidacy status at any time, but CNME will not grant candidacy until its first academic year with students enrolled full-time, and a naturopathic medicine program will not be accredited until it has graduated its first class. However, students and graduates of candidate programs are eligible to apply for the NPLEX.
"We have been fully informed of the accreditation process and intend to pursue that with vigor," Dr. Smith said. "I think it's important to know that CNME is one of our major institutional concerns and that compliance with CNME standards and candidacy at the soonest possible time are what we'll be pursuing."
The CNME, existing naturopathic degree programs, naturopathic doctors and prospective students will be watching NUHS over the next several years to see how its naturopathic program develops and how its graduates fare. Look for more updates on the progress of the NUHS naturopathic degree program in a future issue of Naturopathy Digest. To learn more about NUHS, visit www.nuhs.edu. For more information on the CNME or its accreditation process, visit www.cnme.org.
Written by Kathryn Feather