My Credentials

Doctors

I describe Naturopathic medicine as a hybrid of credentials that combine skills of traditional healers (whose expertise and experienced allowed them to use the bounty of the land to provide powerful healing treatments) and training of allopathic doctors (what we know as our current medical model in North America, whose expertise lies in interventions that are pharmaceutical or surgical-based).

Naturopathic Doctors take a blend of both of these types of training to develop a unique set of credentials that allow them to pair the most effective recommendations for the patient they are seeing with the current needs of the patients.

Are Your Credentials The Same?

While our credentials are not exactly the same, they are incredibly similar. Often when I tell people about the aggressive curriculum requirements and licensing exams they are surprised to learn that Naturopathic Medicine isn’t a quick one year online course.

A Quick Comparison

Naturopathic Medicine
Total Hours in the Degree: 4748

  • Classroom Hours: 3348
  • Clinical Hours: 1400
  • Basic Clinical Sciences: 1639 hours
  • Allopathic Therapies: 1925 hours
  • Naturopathic Therapies: 633 hours
  • Therapeutic Nutrition: 132 hours
  • Counseling: 143 hours

 

Allopathic Medical School
Total Hours in the Degree: 4800

  • Classroom Hours: 2600
  • Clinical Hours: 2200
  • Basic Clinical Sciences: 1420 hours
  • Allopathic Therapies: 2891 hours
  • Naturopathic Therapies: 0 hours
  • Therapeutic Nutrition: 0 hours
  • Counseling: psychiatry included in allopathic therapies

 

 

So, what does this mean for you? It means that to have the best care, you probably need a dream team. One that combines care from an ND with and MD. Together, they can provide you with options that range from diet and lifestyle modifications to surgical interventions with a wealth of options in between.

I have worked with been working with medical doctors closely since 2009 and believe that the best thing for our patients is to work together and not spend our time cutting down one another. I want everyone of my patients to know the options available to them before they make a decision that will impact their current and future health.

Sources:
prohealthsys.com/students/professional-comparison/
www.bcna.ca/documents/comparativecurriculacombined.pdf

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Dr. Christina Carew