Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine (ND or in Arizona "Naturopathic Medical Doctor" or NMD), in 16 U.S. states and six Canadian provinces refers exclusively to a medical degree granted by an accredited naturopathic medical school. While these degrees may be held by people outside of these states and provinces, in most other jurisdictions, the terms are unprotected and may be used by anyone, regardless of educational level. Practitioners who hold such a degree may also legally use the title 'doctor' in certain jurisdictions, but not in others. Equivalent professional titles may be reserved for ND/NMDs in other jurisdictions (Naturopathic Doctor, Naturopathic Physician, Naturopath), or there may be no legally protected title. This article discusses the accredited North American degree.
Those holding the accredited North America degrees generally practice as primary care providers of naturopathic medicine. Naturopathic medicine employs complementary and alternative medical therapies within the context of mainstream medicine, which help improve the body's intrinsic ability to heal and maintain itself. Practitioners of naturopathic medicine prefer to use natural remedies such as botanical tinctures/medicinal herbs and foods rather than synthetic drugs. Naturopathic medical practice includes many different modalities. Practitioners emphasize a holistic approach to patient care, and may recommend that patients use conventional medicine alongside their treatments.
History of the naturopathic degree
The 19th century: the nature doctor and drugless therapy
The lineage of the naturopathic medical tradition is traced back to the hydrotherapy tradition of Eastern Europe, and particularly the influence of Vincenz Priessnitz. As the treatments of these practitioners grew to encompass diet & lifestyle counseling, and botanical medicine, Bavarian physician Lorenz Gleich (1798–1865) first advocated for the use of the term “naturarzt”, or nature doctor.
This tradition first became well known globally in the late 19th century through the successes of Bavarian priest Sebastian Kneipp. Kneipp influenced Benedict Lust to open the American School of Naturopathy in New York City, in 1901, the first naturopathic school in the world. Lust also founded the American Naturopathic Association, the first naturopathic professional organization. Other early American schools granting the ND degree were the Naturopathic College of California and the Lindlahr College of Nature Cure and Osteopathy, which also granted a DDT (Doctor of Drugless Therapy) degree.
Many chiropractic schools began offering ND programs in addition to the chiropractic degree. There were as many as a dozen or two institutions granting the ND in the 1920s and 1930s, and during their heyday, naturopaths were licensed to practice under naturopathic or drugless practitioner laws in 25 states.
Decline after 1945
After Lust’s death in 1945, the profession splintered philosophically and regionally, and the American Naturopathic Association itself fractionated into 6 different professional organizations (one of which kept the ANA name). During the 1940s and 1950s, chiropractic schools started dropping their ND programs. From 1940 to 1963, the American Medical Association lobbied effectively against heterodox medical systems, including naturopathy, and Tennessee and Texas legislated against the practice of naturopathy.
A 1927 AMA study listed 12 naturopathic schools with fewer than 200 students among them. During the 1920s and 1930s, about half the states passed laws under which naturopaths and/or "drugless healers" could practice. However, as modern medicine developed, many of these laws were repealed and all but a few correspondence schools ceased operations. The doctor of naturopathy (N.D.) degree was still available at several chiropractic colleges, but in 1955, Western States Chiropractic College, the last remaining institution granting the ND degree, ended its naturopathic program. The National College of Naturopathic Medicine (NCNM) was founded in 1956 in Portland, Oregon, but, until the mid-1970s, had very few students. From 1960 through 1968, the average enrollment was eight and the total number of graduates was 16.
Modern renewal
In response to Western States ending their ND program, Portland N.D. Frank Spaulding toured the United States in 1955 and raised pledges totaling $100,000 (in monthly installments) from naturopaths to start a naturopathic college,which was chartered in 1956 as the National College of Naturopathic Medicine (NCNM). The National College of Naturopathic Medicine (NCNM) operated in Seattle, WA until the mid-1970s where they had very few students.
Today, in North America, the Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine (N.D. or N.M.D.) degree is available from seven accredited full-time schools of naturopathic medicine. The accrediting agency for naturopathic medical schools, the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education was first recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education in 1987. The CNME lost this recognition in 2001 for failing to enforce its standards on the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, then in the preaccreditation stage; CNME applied for and regained recognition in 2003.
The naturopathic medical curriculum at the full-time CNME accredited schools follows a pattern similar to that of medical and osteopathic schools: two years of basic science courses and two or more years of clinical work. Prerequisite college of three years is required for admission. Approximately 950 students were enrolled in the six accredited schools in 2007.
Professional titles used by Doctors of Naturopathic Medicine in North America
Although all graduates from accredited naturopathic medical schools may use the academic title "Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine" there is no standardized professional title in use in North America. Jurisdictions that regulate the practice of naturopathic medicine legally require the use of various professional titles. Naturopathic medicine and approved titles are regulated in the following US states:
Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine: Arizona, New Hampshire, Oregon (also Naturopathic Physician), Utah (also Naturopathic Physician), Washington (also Naturopathic Physician), Minnesota (also Naturopathic Doctor)
Naturopathic Doctor:Alaska, California, Kansas, Maine
Naturopathic Physician: Connecticut, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Vermont.
Naturopath: North Dakota
Provisions in the licensing laws for Minnesota and California verification needed] specifically protect the rights of Traditional Naturopaths to practice Naturopathy. Language in the Idaho Licensing acts exclude those practices normally engaged in by Traditional Naturopaths.