How the government could ignore such a fundamental group of health professionals is not only baffling, but also further testament to the fact that for all the pro-health political promotion from the NDP government, there is an extreme lack of vision, inclusivity and understanding of the needs of patients. The recent debate over the Orchardton private members bill supposedly supported patient values and was touted in the press as a brave step toward inclusivity. But the Orchardton bill, along with the Health Guide, does nothing to recognize existing expertise among licenced doctors, namely NDs. While there may well be unlicensed and deceptive health practitioners at large, there are licenced doctors who already provide primary healthcare without the use of drugs and surgery . In BC, naturopathic doctors have been licenced since 1936 and are the only primary care doctors who are educated and trained in the basic and clinical sciences as well as complementary protocols.
Most patients turn to complementary medicine out of frustration.
Research shows that the consultation process and holistic approach adopted by practitioners of complementary medicine make patients feel in more control of their illness. Unfortunately, this option is not often available because physicians with the desired attitudes, knowledge, and training are few and far between. Yet the multiple options of complementary therapies range from the sensible and worthwhile to the ridiculous and even dangerous, and patients need physicians with the biomedical knowledge to distinguish between them. Naturopathic physicians are the only licenced doctors in BC with the required biomedical knowledge to serve patients with safe, effective and appropriate complementary medical care. While MDs receive virtually no core training in clinical nutrition, botanical medicine, homeopathy, oriental medicine or even counselling, these are all mandatory courses alongside basic and clinical sciences, such as anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, etc.