Should I try and become a Nurse in a Naturopathic Clinic or a Naturopathic Doctor?

Specialties Holistic Nursing Q/A

I am a 21 year old female and have been taking my prerequisites for Nursing. I felt very passionate about my choice, I do really enjoy caring for people and helping people. However, as I got further into my studies, talked to various RNs, and had researched the career for awhile, I realized how horrible our health care system really is in the U.S. I think that we rely too heavily on drugs and intoxicants, therefore I don't want to have to inject people with a bunch of drugs, like nurses have to do sometimes.

My mother in law who is an RN told me that at her hospital 14 patients died in one month due to medical errors(being given the wrong drugs).Then she told me that they actually had someone who's job it was to "erase" the medical error so that it doesn't make the hospital look bad and they never told the patients family. I was horrified. I don't want any part of that.

I believe that an organic diet, exercise, herbal TEAS, meditation, acupuncture, acupressure, Craniospinal therapy, etc. are the best ways of treating and preventing illness. So I have decided that I either want to be a Nurse(and later Nurse Practitioner) who works in a Naturopathic Clinic, or become a doctor who uses natural and alternative . My question is, to become a Naturopathic doctor do you HAVE to go to a special Naturopathic medical school or could you go to medical school and then just start your own Naturopathic practice?

Also, which option sounds best? I know that I would have to have a Bachelor's degree before I could go to med school anyway, so should I just continue on with Nursing and try to get into a Naturopathic Clinic?

Thanks

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Specializes in Tele, Medsurg, Stepdown.

There is no such thing as "Western" medicine, there is no such thing as "alternative" medicine (we all know the old cliche, if it worked it would not need to be called 'alternative').

There is only science-based, evidence-based medicine. And if you do not believe in it, then I'm a little perplexed as to why you would want to become a nurse at all.

Specializes in Long Term Care, Medical Surgical, ER.
There is no such thing as "Western" medicine, there is no such thing as "alternative" medicine (we all know the old cliche, if it worked it would not need to be called 'alternative').

There is only science-based, evidence-based medicine. And if you do not believe in it, then I'm a little perplexed as to why you would want to become a nurse at all.

Science-based, evidence-based medicine is good in theory and practice. It is always good to be to have this perspective. However, holistic modalities exist and are IN FACT more popular then conventional, modern medicine.

I find it hard to believe that some nurse's feel that holistic medicine is not even worth the mention. Especially since most of us are taught about other modalities of treatments for our patients.

I have alopecia araeta due to ulcerative colitis flare up and in combination with idiopathic pancreatitis. I received this news yesterday and when the NP gave me the results of my biopsy she said to me that even know there is no modern, conventional medicine that can be prescribed for this that I should try and go to a health foods store and ask them about other modalities.

Modern medicine is not the answer for everything and it will never be. There are many medications that are on the market today made by pharm companies that were originally plant material. A big example is digoxin. The only difference is chemists have learned to synthesize these products to make them more responsive to certain disease processes.

Holistic medicine works for some people, just like allopathic medicine works for some people. Its all about the belief systems of our patients.

As Hex said, there really isn't western vs eastern medicine. There is just medicine: that which has been scientifically proven to work. That which hasn't proven effective isn't medicine. There are many scientific journals which have published results of many CAM studies. Some have been shown to be effective and some have not.

Who would be funding the research? Mother Earth? The alliance of trees and bushes? Or the naturopaths that are probably not making that much money?

Lolz :) I don't really know that much about naturopathy at all. But I do know that things like reishi mushrooms are proven to cure cancer and recognized as such elsewhere (China).

In Dharamsala I went to HH Dalai Lama's former physician and got herbs to take 4x a day for a month and came back home to normal thyroid levels (tsh was 8). And it cost the equivalent of five dollars!

Def good to operate within the system if you want to get paid. It's sad but it is how it is. Then from there, incorporate or branch out. Best of luck!

I guess the other part is that placebos are scientifically proven to work too. So there's that.

The so-called "alternative medicine" have been around for thousands of years...well before conventional medicine. More people have died using conventional medicine than any other form of medicine. We are living in a totally brainwashed society. We can shoot a rocket in outer space yet we can't find a cure for anything? I find that hard to believe. I think there's more to this story than they're telling us. Wake up folks!

Specializes in Tele, Medsurg, Stepdown.
The so-called "alternative medicine" have been around for thousands of years...well before conventional medicine. More people have died using conventional medicine than any other form of medicine. We are living in a totally brainwashed society. We can shoot a rocket in outer space yet we can't find a cure for anything? I find that hard to believe. I think there's more to this story than they're telling us. Wake up folks!

Wow. That is a whole lot of crap in just 5 lines. Yes, alternative "medicine"

is old, so what? Something being old does not make it true or effective. Look up the argument from antiquity. The main reason we live longer than ever before in human history is because science and science-based medicine have made it possible for most of us to make it out of childhood alive, and well into our 70s and 80s.

And I suspect that, yes, many people die while being treated by modern medicine because many, many people have the common sense to seek out modern medicine over quackery. Why? Because it usually works. Does it cure everything? Of course not, and it has never claimed to do so. But it has a track record that trumps any form of quackery out there.

Specializes in Tele, Medsurg, Stepdown.
Who would be funding the research? Mother Earth? The alliance of trees and bushes? Or the naturopaths that are probably not making that much money?

If there is money to be made from a possible cancer cure investors would be lining up from here to the moon.

Lolz :) I don't really know that much about naturopathy at all. But I do know that things like reishi mushrooms are proven to cure cancer and recognized as such elsewhere (China).

Really? What type of cancer, all of them? Because they're not all the same, you know? Different cancer types would require different treatments and cures. And how is it that such an Earth-shattering treatment hasn't become world famous or hasn't been front-page news on every single newspaper in the world? Let me take a wild guess... Big Pharma?

How do you know these magical mushrooms work? Have they been studied/tested? Have those studies been replicated?

In Dharamsala I went to HH Dalai Lama's former physician and got herbs to take 4x a day for a month and came back home to normal thyroid levels (tsh was 8). And it cost the equivalent of five dollars!

Sorry but we'll need more evidence than just anecdotal data; especially after your mushroom statement.

Specializes in Tele, Medsurg, Stepdown.
Science-based, evidence-based medicine is good in theory and practice. It is always good to be to have this perspective. However, holistic modalities exist and are IN FACT more popular then conventional, modern medicine.

Whether they are more or less popular I don't know, but I do know that the truth of a claim is not affected in any way by how many people believe it.

Holistic medicine works for some people, just like allopathic medicine works for some people. Its all about the belief systems of our patients..

I would have to disagree. It's about what the evidence suggests works, not about what people want to believe or not.
Specializes in CCU, Neurosurgery, M/S, Home Health,.

Here's a form of CAM that's been proven to work - millions of people use it everyday. There's also lots of promising research being done currently about yoga for cancer/cancer recovery, stress, depression, anxiety, smoking cessation, muscular problems, and pain. Check it out!

Yoga as a Complementary Health Approach | NCCAM

Mind and Body Approaches for Smoking Cessation: A Review | NCCAM

Integrative medicine, or CAM, doesn't have to take the place of conventional medicine - it should be a combination of both forms. It's important to highlight that Americans are actively seeking out "alternative treatments or therapies" more than ever before. Many herbs can have interactions with prescription medications. As health care providers, we need to be knowledgeable about these interactions. It's ignorant to think that we shouldn't educate ourselves about something even if we don't agree with it.

Yes, there are more studies that need to be done to prove the efficacy of specific forms of CAM... and that is EXACTLY what's currently happening. Most people would be surprised at the information out there, if they actually took the time to look into current research.

Specializes in CCU, Neurosurgery, M/S, Home Health,.

Another great article

Yoga Can Lower Fatigue, Inflammation in Breast Cancer Survivors

AND another one!!!

Laboratory Study Suggests Potential Anti-Cancer Benefit of White Tea Extract | NCCAM (about lung cancer prevention and white tea consumption)

AND - back to the original post. I think that pursuing an advanced nursing degree (Nurse Practitioner, Family Nurse Practitioner) is the way to go - and then go on to do some post graduate work in Holistic Nursing. That way you have a good foundation to work from. I think this would give you lots of options.

They have have been tested. Do a google search.

It's ignorant to believe you know everything or your culture knows everything without investigating. If a loved one or you get sick with autoimmune diseases or other things not curable by western medicine, you may not be so quick to judge. You may experience remission through natural means vs taking the pill that gives you more problems.

If you have a disease or need surgery clearly western medicine is great. If you have some issues or want to be preventative, there is wisdom in nature. In yoga. Yes there is quackery and ignorance in ignoring the advances of western medicine too. And more people are seeing the need for living more in balance with the natural forces - that's just going to grow until the dinosaurs that sneer at complementary medicine die out. :)

If there is money to be made from a possible cancer cure investors would be lining up from here to the moon.

Really? What type of cancer, all of them? Because they're not all the same, you know? Different cancer types would require different treatments and cures. And how is it that such an Earth-shattering treatment hasn't become world famous or hasn't been front-page news on every single newspaper in the world? Let me take a wild guess... Big Pharma?

How do you know these magical mushrooms work? Have they been studied/tested? Have those studies been replicated?

Sorry but we'll need more evidence than just anecdotal data; especially after your mushroom statement.

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