Naturopathic doctor

Doctor of Naturopathy (ND, or in Arizona also Naturopathic Medical Doctor, or NMD) is an academic degree granted by a naturopathic medical school. However, how the term ND is applied varies between countries, and in North America between regions. In states and provinces where the profession is not licensed, anyone can legally refer to himself or herself as a naturopathic doctor, without need for any qualifications whatsoever. In states that license primary care naturopathic physicians, the title is protected. It is a first professional degree in fifteen United States and four Canadian provinces, where NDs are licensed as primary care providers.

History of the naturopathic degree

The lineage of the naturopathic medical tradition is traced back to the hydrotherapy tradition of Eastern Europe, and particularly the influence of Vincent Priessnitz. As the treatments of these practitioners grew to encompass diet & lifestyle counseling, and botanical medicine, Bavarian physician Lorenz Gleich (1798-1865) first advocated for the use of the term “naturarzt”, or nature doctor.

This tradition first became well known globally in the late 19th century through the successes of Bavarian priest Sebastian Kneipp. Kneipp influenced Benedict Lust to open the American School of Naturopathy in New York City, in 1901, the first naturopathic medical school in the world. Lust also founded the American Naturopathic Association, the first naturopathic professional organization. Other early American schools granting the ND degree were the Naturopathic College of California and the Lindlahr College of Nature Cure and Osteopathy, which also granted a DDT (Doctor of Drugless Therapy) degree.

Many chiropractic schools began offering ND programs in addition to the chiropractic degree. There were as many as a dozen or two institutions granting the ND in the 1920s and 1930s, and during their heyday, naturopaths were licensed to practice under naturopathic or drugless practitioner laws in 25 states.
After Lust’s death in 1945, the profession splintered philosophically and regionally, and the American Naturopathic Association itself fractionated into 6 different professional organizations. During the 1940s and 1950s, chiropractic schools started dropping their ND programs From 1940 to 1963, the American Medical Association engaged in a systematic attack on heterodox medical systems, including naturopathy, and Tennessee and Texas legislated against the practice of naturopathy.

In 1955, Western States Chiropractic College, the last remaining institution granting the ND degree, ended its naturopathic program. In order to keep the profession alive, Dr. Frank Spaulding toured the United States and raised pledges totaling $100,000 (in monthly installments) from naturopaths to start a naturopathic college, which was chartered in 1956 as the National College of Naturopathic Medicine (NCNM). Today there are seven naturopathic medical schools in North America.

The ND in North America

Jurisdictions that currently regulate naturopathic medicine include:
*U.S. jurisdictions with full licensure: Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Vermont, New Hampshire, Oregon, U.S. Virgin Islands, Utah, Washington.
*U.S. state with registration for naturopathic physicians: Kansas
*U.S. states which specifically prohibit the practice of naturopathy: South Carolina, Tennessee
*Canadian provinces with full licensure: British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan

In all other jurisdictions, the practice is completely unregulated, and anyone may call themselves an ND.

The ND in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, a similar degree, the Naturopathic Diploma is granted to a healthcare professional (Medical Doctor, Osteopath, Chiropractor, Nurse) who has completed a two year post-graduate Naturopathic Diploma, or to a graduate of one of the two osteopathic colleges that grants the Naturopathic Diploma, the British College of Osteopathic Medicine and The College of Osteopaths Educational Trust. Naturopaths are registered by the General Council and Register of Naturopaths.
NDs in the UK do not perform minor surgery or have prescribing rights.

Controversy about the ND in North America
One of the fractions into which the naturopathic profession split after Benedict Lust’s death, was a group that believed naturopathic education should not be medicalized, or involve conventional medical diagnosis, but instead that naturopathy should remain true to its roots and eschew pharmaceuticals altogether. This group has their own professional organization, the American Naturopathic Medical Association, and includes individuals who have been granted NDs by correspondence schools. The largest school offering an ND through correspondence is Clayton College of Natural Health.

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