When visiting the doctor, it is common to have doubts about which doctor to see. There are several options to choose from, both in conventional medicine and in alternative medicine. According to the latest survey of 2012 of the National Center for Integrative and Complementary Health According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), 33.21% of adults used some form of complementary health care, demonstrating the interest that exists for this type of alternative therapy. The most prevalent complementary modalities are the use of natural products such as nutritional or botanical supplements, with 18% of adults and 5% of children using some of these products. Another large proportion of adults use or have used some form of mind therapy such as yoga (9.51% of adults), chiropractic manipulation or osteopathy (8.41% of adults), meditation (81% of adults), and therapeutic massage (6.91% of adults). Given the popularity of the use of alternative and complementary therapies, there is a need for health professionals to be aware of the correct use of these modalities, therefore questions such as:
· What type of doctor can help me choose the best nutritional therapy for my condition?
· Is there a natural product that can replace my pharmaceutical medication?
· Will my doctor know or have studied about nutrition and complementary health therapies?
To answer these questions, it is pertinent to compare the type of education received by the different health providers to which we have access. By knowing what they are exposed to in their formal education, then a better decision can be made when choosing who to see. One thing must be clear, and that is that I am not saying that one health profession is better than another, but that depending on the situation that each patient has at a given time, there may be a doctor who is better suited to cover that need. The patient, by being better informed about the education received by the different doctors or therapists available to them, will be able to make a better decision about who to see and thus avoid setbacks and disappointments in treatment.
Thanks to this graphic prepared by prohealthsys.com We can compare the hours required to graduate from 5 doctoral programs, this does not count the hours of study completed before entering professional school nor the hours of training completed after graduation. The naturopathic medical school (ND) curriculum used for comparison is that of the Bastyr University in Washington State versus the curriculum of the Yale School of Medicine (MD)The table also compares the hours of study required to become a doctor of chiropractic (DC), doctor of osteopathy (DO), and doctor of physical therapy (DPT). In the chart, the hours in red denote hours of lecture and the hours in blue are hours spent in the clinic.
It is worth studying each of these charts carefully to know which doctor or therapist to consult at any given time. It is worth noting that when it comes to the basic sciences, naturopathic doctors (NDs) and medical doctors (MDs) complete similar amounts of study hours. In this chart, the basic sciences are represented by the hours in anatomy and physiology education. Another thing that stands out among all these boxes is the amount of hours a naturopathic doctor (ND) spends in clinical nutrition and botanical medicine versus other health professions. This means that if someone is interested in finding a natural alternative to the pharmaceutical medication they are taking or would like to know what type of diet they should follow to treat their condition (that's right, a change in diet can make the use of some medication unnecessary) then their best option is to visit a naturopathic doctor (ND). In fact, many naturopathic doctors choose to study this field instead of conventional medicine because they recognize the importance of nutrition and botanical medicine in the treatment of many health conditions.
There are a number of reasons why someone would choose to see a naturopathic doctor versus a conventional medical doctor. Some of these reasons may include the type of health condition that one has, the severity of the condition, whether it is a chronic or acute condition, ineffectiveness of conventional treatment, or simply because the patient has a greater affinity for a certain type of medicine.
More can be written about this topic at length, but to get an idea of what health conditions a naturopathic doctor works with, these can include most of the chronic health diseasesOn the other hand, if you are suffering from an acute condition or are facing a situation of imminent danger to your health, then it is preferable to visit a hospital or a conventional medical doctor. For example, if you are injured due to a car accident, it is advisable to go to the hospital emergency room and get treatment from a medical doctor. On the other hand, if you are suffering from a chronic condition such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, for example, then a naturopathic doctor can do a lot for you. Yes, it is true that conventional medicine can effectively control your sugar levels through drugs, but the fact that you suffer from diabetes does not mean that the cause is a deficiency of Metformin in the body. It is merely suppressing the manifestation of the symptom without taking into account the root of the problem. In fact, type 2 diabetes can be corrected by following a type of medication. low carb dietA naturopathic doctor can also work with other factors that may be contributing to diabetes such as nutritional or vitamin deficiencies, stress levels, toxicity in the body, intestinal inflammation and/or the type of exercise you should follow. I am also not saying that conventional medications do not have their place in the treatment of diabetes, since taking medications is preferable to having uncontrolled sugar levels, and I am not against conventional medicine either, since I know several doctors who manage to solve this problem for their patients.
There may be conventional medical doctors (MDs) who are aware of the role that alternative or complementary therapies play in the treatment of many conditions, but unless the doctor has some special training in integrative medicine or is licensed as a naturopathic doctor (ND), he or she will likely reach for the prescription pad at the end of your consultation to treat your condition. In contrast, a consultation with a naturopathic doctor takes a holistic approach that takes into consideration physical, mental, lifestyle, diet, nutritional deficiencies, toxicity, and current medications.