Naturopathic doctors use natural remedies to treat various disorders.
Naturopathic doctors and medical doctors are both trained to treat illnesses and disease. Naturopaths believe in treating the whole person by focusing on the patient's mental, physical and emotional states, and emphasize limiting invasive surgery and drugs.
Philosophy
The American Association of Naturopathic Physicians defines naturopathy as the belief that the body has self healing powers. Naturopathic doctors encourage the use of diet, exercise and nutrition in addition to medical science to prevent and treat disease and illness, while traditional physicians focus on medical treatment alone.
Education
Both naturopathic doctors (N.D.) and medical doctors (M.D.) attend four years of distinct graduate medical schools and then must pass licensing exams to practice. Naturopaths also study holistic healing in addition to medicine.
Naturopathic Rotations
Naturopaths complete rotations after medical school concentrating in nutrition, acupuncture, botanical and homeopathic medicine, and counseling.
Physician Residencies
According to the American Medical Association, medical doctors complete residencies lasting from three to seven years after medical school. Medical doctor specialties include pediatrics, surgery, internal medicine and emergency medicine.
Practice
Naturopathic doctors practice in all the same areas as medical doctors except surgery. Their goal is to treat common ailments such as allergies, poor digestion, fatigue and hormonal imbalances without drugs.
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