When “Physicians Who Listen” Exercise Their Voices

Michael Cronin, ND

AANP President

Photo by rpongsaj via Flickr, used
under the Creative Commons License.

I invite you to add your voice to those of the many NDs and patients who will be attending the 2012 AANP DC Federal Legislative Initiative (DC FLI) on May 5-7, 2012. The DC FLI consists of two days of legislative/advocacy education and training, and, a third day, putting those skills to work on Capitol Hill advocating for our patients and for our profession.

The AANP uses the DC FLI to broaden understanding of federal law-making and federal agencies’ rule-making processes (for example, rules to include NDs in: medical homes, healthcare workforce provisions, patient-centered outcomes research (PCORI) and tuition forgiveness). Additionally, we will include discussion of the “Non-Discrimination” language in Section 2706 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The Kids Are Alright

By Bill Benda, MD, FACEP, FAAEM
2011 Naturopathic Champion Award Winner

I’m at the Houston airport, after three days at the American Medical Student Association’s (AMSA) annual gathering of allopathic and osteopathic students from the United States and abroad. AMSA is the planet’s largest student organization at well over 50,000 strong and is quite influential in health care policy in this country. Previously the Students of the American Medical Association, they split from the AMA in the early 60s over disagreements with the AMA’s positions on the Vietnam war, tobacco and other social issues of the times. Today AMSA holds philosophical ideals quite analogous to our most liberal institutions, including global health, service to the underserved, women’s health and commitment to being “Pharm Free” (accepting no gifts or meals from the pharmaceutical industry).

So why was I here? To witness and assist with the third attempt by the Naturopathic Medical Student Association (NMSA) in appealing to the AMSA House of Delegates for admission as full AMSA members. Naturopathic students already hold several leadership positions within AMSA, secured through empassioned petitioning at the last four conventions. You can imagine that each naturopathic knock on AMSA’s door resulted in quite spirited public and private debate as to their qualifications. This time was no exception.

Nature Cure on the Slopes

Jacob Schor ND
Fellow of the American Board of Naturopathic Oncology 

I’m on vacation, sitting in a cedar cabin named Hilda Hut, a short helicopter ride from a roadside parking lot, not too far from Nakusp, British Columbia. A dozen friends are with me who have been telling the same jokes for the last decade. It’s about 12 degrees (Fahrenheit) outside and has been snowing off and on for the last few days – actually last few months. There’s a considerable quantity of snow on the ground, I’ve heard something in the range of 220 cm on the ground by the hut (no idea what that is in feet, it’s a lot). The first story of the hut is only accessible by a tunnel.

We spend our days ski touring, something of a Canadian pastime. In the states, we usually go cross-country skiing or downhill skiing. Ski touring, as we are doing it, seems to be a Canadian variation on the Swiss tradition. With the aide of synthetic seal skins adhered to the bases of our skis, we walk uphill in a single line, playing follow the leader for the better part of the day. When we’ve reached a suitable spot, we ski down. I’d guess that we spend 96% of our time on the uphill trek, climbing approximately 5,000 feet per day, some days more, some days less. To put it another way, we only ski downhill about 5,000 feet per day. That would be a short morning at Mary Jane, our local ski hill outside of Denver!

When I told colleagues at the recent Oncology Association of Naturopathic Physicians (OncANP) annual conference in Arizona that this was where I planned to head after the conference, I was met with curious reactions, mostly incomprehension. I guess most people think that vacation time should be spent on a beach doing nothing.

Mahatma Gandhi, India’s "Father of Naturopathy"

Michael Cronin, ND
AANP President 

The entrance to S-VYASA's Prashanti Kutiram Campus

I am writing this from the Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthanain University (S-VYASA) near Bangalore, India in the state of Karnataka. I was invited (with 4 weeks notice) to give a presentation on the evolution of the naturopathic profession and naturopathic education in North America at the first International Conference on Yoga, Naturopathy and Arogya (ICYN) in Bangalore, known as the Silicon Valley of India. Naturopathy as a healthcare profession is considered to include Yoga, and there are 12 universities across the country offering a degree in Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences, as well as numerous inpatient facilities. Mohandas (often referred to as Mahatma, meaning “great soul”) Gandhi revived naturopathy in India and is often referred to as the "Father of Naturopathy." Gandhi's birthday, October 2nd, is to be celebrated here by the profession as Yoga and Naturopathy Day.

Carnage of Symptoms

Photo by D'Arcy Norman via Flickr, used
under the Creative Commons License.

By Lise Alschuler, ND, FABNO
AANP Past-President (2008-2009)

If you were to walk into my study, you might think that an enormous massacre had taken place. A duck lays across a chair, its beak dangling over the edge of the seat. Below the duck, a monkey can be found sprawled on its back with a rooster, a look of alarm on its face, oddly resting its head on the monkey’s belly. Across the room, there is a red bird unceremoniously toppled to its side. A few feet away lies a giraffe, long legs tangled helplessly. And then, towards the back of the room sprawls the hunter, exhausted after this convincing display of prowess, legs and ears all comfortably splayed on the ground.