Public Education

The Naturopathic Medicine Institute (NMI) will engage the general public in understanding the benefits of vitalistic naturopathic medicine in several ways. At the moment, as we focus on our primary mission of educating naturopathic physicians, the public outreach will be somewhat limited. However, educating the public will become an important part of our work going forward.

Awareness

As we move forward in our efforts to identify those naturopathic physicians who are well grounded in and using in their daily practices the concepts and principles of vitalistic naturopathic medicine, we will share with the public contact information that will allow them to find those physicians.

We will also share with the public information that distinguishes why vitalistic naturopathic medicine offers real solutions to chronic health problems that, otherwise, go unresolved.

Our website will be a primary source for the public of information that highlights the difference between the vitalistic naturopathic approach that seeks to find and resolve the underlying causes of people’s illnesses and the medical treatment model that addresses symptoms without treating the cause. Also, we will offer webinars, seminars, and other venues that provide education on both fundamental principles of how health is restored and maintained and education that addresses specific health concerns.

Understanding

The principles of naturopathic medicine are easy to comprehend once you let go of the barrage of “scientific” medical “knowledge” that focuses on individual mechanisms while ignoring the larger picture. Although there have been many advances in the past century that contributed to better diagnosis and treatment of illness, as we all know, the incidence of chronic disease has increased rather than decreased.

Naturopathic physicians who follow vitalistic principles usually find that almost any illness has as its cause simple problems such as improper or deficient diet, lack of appropriate exercise, and a whole range of other environmental factors and personal choices. They also know how to remove these underlying causes and restore people to the best health possible for them.

Also, people need to learn that there are ways to support the beneficial functions of the body to restore health rather than opposing specific mechanisms related to observable symptoms with anti-this and anti-that treatments. The public needs an authoritative and credible source of information that will help them restore their health and help them maintain good health. We will provide that directly and through links to other reliable information.

Changing the paradigm

Despite ubiquitous use of terms like of wellness, holistic, patient centered, etc., the United States spends more per capita on healthcare than any developed nation and has poor results in terms of longevity, incidence of chronic disease, and other important measures. The NMI seeks to change the standards for true health care by making the public aware that they need to take charge of their own health. We believe this needs to begin with greater awareness of and access to vitalistic naturopathic physicians whose mission is to seek cure of underlying causes of illness, to educate their patients, and to teach their patients how to take charge of their health. We also want to change the standard for healthcare to be one that emphasizes safe, effective, and cost-effective methods.