Naturopathic doctors (or NDs) are in fact licensed to perform minor surgeries, and prescription drugs, even though they prefer to find all/any alternatives available before doing so. Naturopathy is defined as “a branch of medicine in which a variety of treatments are used to heal illness using a system of medical diagnosis.” (Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine, edited by Laurie Fundukian. Gale. 2009. Web.) The same can be said for much of medicine, however. To go further in depth, many different natural remedies are used to treat patients. Natural health care is on the rise in America due to a search for a way to improve one’s health holistically, as well as an alternative to the corrupt ways of the current …show more content…
“‘[N]aturopathic medicine is not 'medicine lite. ' In fact, I often see patients who are so sick because they haven 't gotten well in the conventional system,’” says Jaclyn Chasse, ND, a New Hampshire–based Naturopath and president-elect of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians. (Nicole Frehsee. “Ever Heard of a Naturopath?..” Prevention. Rodale Inc. 2016. Web.) Another huge role of natural health is to pick up where other health professionals have left off. A lot of times patients have ailments that are mysteries, and because of that medical doctors tend to tell them they don’t know what to do other than fill a prescription for painkillers to help them deal with whatever it is. Naturopathic doctors instead, look for different remedies for the symptoms along with answers to the illness itself. They treat their patients’ symptoms like puzzle pieces, and in order to solve the puzzle they have to find them all, and align them correctly to perform a …show more content…
Using natural remedies such as teas and herbs, dietary and lifestyle changes, counseling, lab work, diagnostic imaging, some emergency medicine, homeopathy, acupuncture, and minor surgery natural health has a wide array of treatments unlike medicinal health. Naturopathic doctors are expected to have a bachelor’s, then spend four years in a specified school to learn to treat and teach others. The National University of Natural Medicine is located here in Portland, Oregon, it’s also the oldest accredited college of it’s kind. “You will be immersed in new ways of thinking about not only medicine and health care, but human beings and the world. You will be on the forefront of natural medicine, both Eastern and Western, and of integrated medical education, patient care and research.” (“About NUNM” National University of Natural Medicine. 2016. Web.) Naturopathy combines the ever growing knowledge of what different herbs and remedies can do