Naturopathic Medicine Week March 25 - April 1 Across Canada For the First Time

It is time to give you a progress report on Naturopathic Medicine in Canada and BC. Mayor Mel Lastman of Toronto claimed the first Naturopathic Medicine Week (in Canada) in Toronto in 1998. This year in BC we have naturopathic doctors from all over the province participating in our first Naturopathic Medicine Week (NDW) and mayors of communities such as Penticton and Campbell River proclaiming it.

"Naturopathic Medicine Week is an opportunity to focus on overall health, not just disease treatment. This event is about the patient taking responsibility for their own health", says Dr. David Wang, the British Columbia Naturopathic Association (BCNA) President.

Naturopathic medicine has been practiced in this province since 1936 and has always been part of the medical services plan since its inception in 1971. Across the country there are about 500 naturopathic physicians practicing all the way from the west coast to the east coast including Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and PEI. Most practitioners are in BC and Ontario. This is about to change due to the success of the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine (CCNM). This is Canada’s only four year full-time program educating doctors of naturopathic medicine since 1978. Graduates receive a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine (ND) diploma. Upon completion of an ND program, graduates must successfully complete the licensing exams required for each province or state. The enrolment figures continue to climb and have increased nine fold since 1991. There are over 500 students currently enrolled in the program. By 2003 CCNM will graduate more naturopathic physicians than are currently practicing in the country! This growth reflects the increasing demand for naturopathic physicians.

There are four schools in the US the oldest is the National College of Naturopathic Medicine, in Portland Oregon, that has been graduating students since 1956. In BC there are about 120 ND’s practicing and over 6000 MD’s. That will give you an idea how small we really are.

Naturopathic medicine was founded in North America at the turn of the 20^th century by Benedict Lust, a German immigrant. In 1905 he set up the first school in the State of New York. Interest climbed before the second world war and 20 schools were started. However with the introduction of antibiotics and advances in surgical techniques interest declined. Then in the 1970’s faith in modern medicine began to decline and the resurgence of naturopathic medicine began and enrollment into naturopathic schools began to rise.

Naturopathic physicians receive the same basic sciences that MD’s do however the focus in the last two years of the four year program is on botanical medicine, homeopathic medicine, oriental medicine, clinical nutrition, hydrotherapy and acupuncture rather than drugs and surgery. ND’s are primary care physicians practicing family medicine and treat a broad range of conditions from common ailments such as cold and flu, fatigue and PMS to arthritis, asthma, colitis, and cardiovascular diseases.

In BC there are two naturopathic associations BCNA and the College of Naturopathic Physicians of BC (CNPBC). The latter regulates the physicians, the former educates them and the public. The web site for the BCNA is www.bcna.ca