Opinion about a medical field

How are naturopaths viewed before society?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturopathy

You still need a physician’s license to practice and the demand of Naturopath is not high. My neighbor, a MD, who tried to open several clinics in CA and was not able to because of lack of interest.

@plumazul I know what a naturopath is.

@artloversplus a naturopath is an ND, not MD.

Yes, you are right, ND.
“A licensed naturopathic physician (ND) attends a four-year, graduate-level naturopathic medical school and is educated in all of the same basic sciences as an MD, 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 also studies clinical nutrition, homeopathic medicine, botanical medicine, psychology, and counseling. 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. Please see the AANMC’s Professional Competency Profile for more information.”

But my neighbor is a MD and he tried to open a naturopathic clinic, I guess it can be done. He found out the market is not strong and canceled his plan.

@artloversplus I heard it’s not that bad to get into ND school. Is it true?

Sorry, I have no idea. But, since the market is thin and the pay might not be on the same level of a physician, there will be less applicants.

I have a friend who easily attended a Chinese Acupuncture school and was licensed to practice but found out it is very difficult to find a job, without job experiences, her credential basically is a piece of worthless paper. It is the same in medical doctor, if you sail through a medical school but could not get any residency, the medical doctor credential is also a worthless piece of paper.

nm

@Reddyparent3

Did you read the second paragraph? Doesn’t it answer your question?

@plumazul Yes I know that naturopathy has its criticisms. However, I also want to hear both sides as well.

Could you be hired by an MD to be a naturopath or by a hospital? @plumazul However, 20 U.S states legalize the practice of naturopathy. In Canada, it is legal. Only 2-4 countries worldwide based on my research either don’t encourage it or find it illegal. Based on statistics, I’m not sure if you could use this Wikipedia claim, to fully back up your stance.

No hospital would hire a naturopath under any circumstances.

It would extraordinarily unlikely for any medical office to hire a naturopath.

Naturopaths cannot even give acupuncture treatments without obtaining a license separate from the naturopath license.

Naturopaths cannot represent themselves to be physicians nor call themselves “Doctor”-- even if they practice in a state that licenses naturopaths.

The only reason my state licenses naturopaths is do the state can inspect their offices to make sure they adhere to cleanliness standards and to prevent them from making unsupported claims about the efficacy of their treatments. In my state naturopaths cannot participate in any state sanctioned insurance reimbursement program and are a strictly cash only business

Naturopaths are quacks, at least acupuncture has SOME evidence supporting its use in certain conditions.

@iwannabe_Brown are acupunctures doctors? Are they heavily demanded? You can get a doctorate in acupuncture and/or in oriental medicine.

Acupuncturists are not doctors. There is not a high demand for their services.

@Reddyparent3 , it seems like you are looking for a debate or validation? You aren’t going to win either here.

@CottonTales I’m not trying either of those two things you mention. I ask this question is because most people I ask outside of CC doesn’t now a whole lot about the field or its reputation, so I thought asking would help really clarify things. I don’t know exactly everything about these fields, so I ask to clarify. It may seem that I ask a lot but it’s not for the purpose of ego. To mention your point about me trying to " win this", either way I technically win. On one side, I find out more info about a career and if I find out that the career is worthless, I avoid it. On the other hand, if the career was worthwhile pursuing, then it is of benefit.

@WayOutWestMom I’m just curious: are you playing devil’s advocate with my posts. Just wondering. Technically like I said before, you can get a DOM. That’s up to you. What statistics are out there that leads you that conclusion?

@CottonTales At the same time however, I will stick to the truth regardless of how others feel. If one makes a claim or a generalized opinion, it should have a some evidence behind it.