EDUCATION AND TRAINING
A licensed naturopathic physician (N.D.) attends a four-year graduate level naturopathic medical school and is educated in all of the same basic sciences as an M.D. but also studies holistic and nontoxic approaches to therapy with a strong emphasis on disease prevention and optimizing wellness. In addition to a standard medical curriculum, the Naturopathic Physician is required to complete four years of training in the areas of clinical nutrition, homeopathic medicine, botanical medicine, psychology, physical medicine, and counseling (to encourage people to make lifestyle changes in support of their personal health). A naturopathic physician takes rigorous professional board exams so that he or she may be licensed by a state or jurisdiction as a primary care general practice physician. Additional information on naturopathic schools can be found at Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges. For a Curricula Comparison of Naturopathic and Conventional Medical School Educations, check out our ND/MD Curricula Comparison.
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF NATUROPATHIC MEDICAL COLLEGES
The Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges (AANMC) was established in February 2001, to propel and foster the naturopathic medical profession by actively supporting the academic efforts of accredited and recognized schools of naturopathic medicine.
Member Schools
Bastyr University (Kenmore, Washington & San Diego, California)
National College of Natural Medicine (Portland, Oregon)
Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine (Tempe, Arizona)
University of Bridgeport – College of Naturopathic Medicine (Bridgeport, Connecticut)
Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine (Toronto, Ontario)
Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine (New Westminster, British Columbia)
THE COUNCIL ON NATUROPATHIC MEDICAL EDUCATION
The Council on Naturopathic Medical Education‘s mission is quality assurance: serving the public by accrediting naturopathic medical education programs that voluntarily seek recognition that they meet or exceed CNME’s standards. Students and graduates of programs accredited or pre-accredited (candidacy) by CNME are eligible to apply for the naturopathic physicians licensing examinations administered by the North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners (NABNE), and are generally eligible for state and provincial licensure in the U.S. and Canada.
NORTH AMERICAN BOARD OF NATUROPATHIC EXAMINERS / NPLEX
The NPLEX (Naturopathic Physicians Licensing Examinations) are the examinations graduates of one of the approved naturopathic medical colleges must pass to be licensed in any of the 16 States, District of Columbia, US territories or 5 Canadian provinces that license/register Naturopathic Physicians. The North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners (NABNE) is responsible for approving applicants to take the NPLEX and for administering the examinations.
Source: http://www.naturopathic.org/viewbulletin.php?id=29