What is Naturopathic Medicine?
Many people look for a healthcare practitioner who is trained to identify the underlying cause of disease and address their concerns with natural yet effective modalities. A medically trained naturopathic doctor can be an integral part of your personal health and wellness team. Naturopathic doctors are educated and trained in accredited naturopathic colleges. Their training includes the same biomedical and diagnostic science as other medical schools, but they acquire additional training in holistic fields like herbal medicine, homeopathy, nutrition, physical medicine, mind-body medicine and Chinese medicine. The training in naturopathic medical school is rigorous, comprehensive and science based. Naturopathic doctors pledge to uphold their oath to the Six Principles of Naturopathic Medicine. The principles include the following: The Healing Power of Nature (Vis Medicatrix Naturae) - Naturopathic Medicine honors and recognizes that the body has an innate intelligence and ability to self-heal if all barriers are removed and the body is supported. Identify and Treat the Causes (Tolle Causam) - Naturopathic doctors mainly focus to identify and eliminate the root cause, not suppress or ignore symptoms. First Do No Harm (Primum Non Nocere) - Naturopathic doctors use safe measures to address their patient’s health issues. Utilizing the most effective yet gentlest modalities helps the bodies self-healing process without causing harm or injury. Doctor as Teacher (Docere) - Naturopathic doctors encourage their patients to have an active role in their health and do so by educating the patient and fostering a therapeutic doctor-patient relationship. Treat the Whole Person - Each patient is seen as an individual and not a disease. Naturopathic doctors consider each person’s unique physical, emotional and spiritual needs. Prevention - Naturopathic doctors not only address the health concerns at hand but also work on prevention. They help patients be equipped with tools and recommendations to keep them healthy as they continue their wellness journey. It is important to note that the field of naturopathic medicine is diverse, and some doctors choose to specialize in specific medical fields such as primary care, gastroenterology, endocrinology and other highly focused fields. A naturopathic doctor (ND) is different than a naturopath. A naturopathic doctor (ND) graduates from an accredited medical school with over 4,100 hours of formal medical instruction followed by 1,200 hours of clinical training. A naturopath is a health consultant or wellness coach with less formal education. Naturopathic doctors are currently licensed by 22 states in the U.S. and many states, like Texas, are currently awaiting the prospects of becoming licensed. Being that Texas does not currently license naturopathic medicine, Dr. Lauren Sanchez, ND (not an MD/DO) does not practice medicine and cannot legally prescribe pharmaceutical drugs, administer injections, diagnose, treat or cure any illness. Currently Dr. Sanchez, ND holds an active naturopathic medical license in the state of Vermont. If you're ready to start your wellness journey with a naturopathic doctor,
schedule an appointment with Dr. Sanchez. For more information on Naturopathic Medicine, visit
https://naturopathic.org/page/AboutNaturopathicMedicine To help Naturopathic Doctors in Texas become licensed, please visit
https://www.txand.org/
Naturopathic Doctors are NOT Medical Doctors (MD/DO); therefore, Dr. Sanchez, ND cannot legally prescribe pharmaceutical drugs, administer injections, diagnose, treat or cure any illness.
