Thinking Like a Naturopathic Doctor

By Lisa Doran B.Sc., N.D., R.Ac.

I get asked frequently what is the difference between an ND and other health care providers.  What sets us apart and makes us unique?  And my answer is always – it’s how we are trained to think.

There is an art and a science to being a clinician.   The very best clinicians are those who can blend the two, think outside of the box and help people come up with innovative ideas around their health and wellness journey.  When an ND meets a patient we take a very detailed history and then we rely heavily on our training to help to connect the dots and find a clue to the root cause of a patients symptoms.    I see myself as a detective – I listen to a patients story, I take careful notes of symptoms and findings on physical exams and then I try and solve the mystery of why the body is presenting the symptoms that it is.

 

Diagnostic testing is helpful and useful sometimes but it is certainly not the corner stone of how we put the puzzle pieces together.

Human bodies are amazing things – sometimes there are simply obstacles to health that we need to remove.  For a simplistic example, I saw a woman yesterday who wanted to lose 30 lbs to feel healthier so the first thing we did was discuss her nutrition and exercise and talk about correcting disordered eating and a sedentary life – this may seem obvious to you but it wasn’t obvious to her.  We needed to talk on a deep level about her relationship with food and her resistance around  moving her body in a healthy way.  Other times there is an underlying cause that may not be obvious until I’ve taken the entire case and then we can find the root of the illness.  What is underlying the symptom picture and causing the body to behave in this way?  How can we help the body achieve health and wellness?  Is it an issue with nutrition?  An issue with elimination and detoxification?  An issue with stress or sleep?   Is it a chronic inflammatory state or an infection of some kind?  Once we have identified the underlying cause we treat the cause rather than the presenting symptoms and we get positive results in terms of healing and health and wellness.  At other times it’s a real mystery and laboratory or further diagnostic testing is helpful to clarify the picture.

I think too that the more experience you’ve had, the more people you have seen, the more stories you have heard, the more successes and yes failures you have had that the better you become at investigating root causes and empowering people to remove obstacles to health.  The more cases you’ve seen helps to clarify the picture of what you are dealing with.  I have been a clinician for 19 years – my experience with health and disease often lets me see the bigger picture and helps me get to the core of the issue faster.

What Naturopathic Doctors rely on and trust is a deep conviction in the bodies vital force- it’s ability to heal itself and desire to be healthy and well.  Our unique practise comes from a long philosophy of understanding health and disease as well as from evidence based modern medicine that allows for more understanding.

I am excited, always to share my patients journey to health and wellness.