Naturopathic Physician Licensure
If you've never heard of the term "naturopathic" before, please read this informative Huffington Post article by Dr. Michael Stanclift titled, "You're What Kind of Doctor?"
Our national association, the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, describes our education and training on their Professional Education Page as:
"A licensed Naturopathic physician (N.D.) attends a four-year graduate-level Naturopathic medical school and is educated in all of the same basic sciences as an M.D., but also studies holistic and nontoxic approaches to therapy with a strong emphasis on disease prevention and optimizing wellness. In addition to a standard medical curriculum, the Naturopathic physician is required to complete four years of training in clinical nutrition, homeopathic medicine, botanical medicine, psychology, and counseling (to encourage people to make lifestyle changes in support of their personal health). A Naturopathic physician takes rigorous professional board exams so that he or she may be licensed by a state or jurisdiction as a primary care general practice physician."
Standardized national examinations are administered by the North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners and consist of two intensive blocks of examination: Biomedical Science and Clinical Science. Upon successful completion of both, doctors are then applicable to sit for state licensing exams in those states which regulate licensure of Naturopathic Physicians. The licensing body in Oregon is the Oregon Board of Naturopathic Medicine, the state professional association is the Oregon Association of Naturopathic Physicians.
Accredited Naturopathic medical programs are similar in terms of education and clinical opportunities and training. My alma mater is the National College of Natural Medicine, but you can find a list of all of them at the Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges. See more about my educational and professional experience on the Dr. Angela page.
Our national association, the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, describes our education and training on their Professional Education Page as:
"A licensed Naturopathic physician (N.D.) attends a four-year graduate-level Naturopathic medical school and is educated in all of the same basic sciences as an M.D., but also studies holistic and nontoxic approaches to therapy with a strong emphasis on disease prevention and optimizing wellness. In addition to a standard medical curriculum, the Naturopathic physician is required to complete four years of training in clinical nutrition, homeopathic medicine, botanical medicine, psychology, and counseling (to encourage people to make lifestyle changes in support of their personal health). A Naturopathic physician takes rigorous professional board exams so that he or she may be licensed by a state or jurisdiction as a primary care general practice physician."
Standardized national examinations are administered by the North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners and consist of two intensive blocks of examination: Biomedical Science and Clinical Science. Upon successful completion of both, doctors are then applicable to sit for state licensing exams in those states which regulate licensure of Naturopathic Physicians. The licensing body in Oregon is the Oregon Board of Naturopathic Medicine, the state professional association is the Oregon Association of Naturopathic Physicians.
Accredited Naturopathic medical programs are similar in terms of education and clinical opportunities and training. My alma mater is the National College of Natural Medicine, but you can find a list of all of them at the Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges. See more about my educational and professional experience on the Dr. Angela page.