Britt Marie Hermes

[[File:QED 20161015 272.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Hermes after being presented with [[The Skeptics Society]]'s Ockham Award in 2016 for Best Blog]]
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'''Britt Marie Hermes''' (née Deegan) is a former-[[Doctor of Naturopathy|naturopathic doctor]]<ref name=breakup>[http://www.naturopathicdiaries.com/my-break-up-with-naturopathic/ My Break-up with Naturopathic] by Britt Marie Hermes (12 April 2015) Naturopathic Diaries</ref> who rejected [[naturopathy]] and now speaks out against alternative medicine. Hermes earned her ND from [[Bastyr University]] in 2011.<ref name=about>[http://www.naturopathicdiaries.com/about-britt-marie-hermes/ Britt Marie Hermes] Naturopathic Diaries: Confessions of a naturopathic doctor</ref> In 2014, Hermes reported her supervisor, [[Michael Uzick]], to the [[Arizona]] naturopathic medicine board and the state attorney general for injecting ukrain, a drug without [[FDA]] approval, into [[cancer]] patients.<ref name=about/> As of 2017, Hermes is Ph.D. candidate in evolutionary biology at the University of Kiel in [[Germany]].<ref name=about/>

While Hermes practiced naturopathy in Arizona, she claims to have "witnessed illegal, and other dangerous, inept, and unethical practices by licensed naturopaths."<ref name=breakup/> She also claims to have been counseled by a colleague to ignore wrongdoing by other colleagues.<ref name=breakup/>

Some of Hermes' specific criticisms of naturopathy are:
*Naturopaths should not be allowed to call themselves "doctor" or "physician" because they do not have medical training that is comparable to medical doctors.<ref name=brown>[http://www.cbc.ca/radio/the180/a-former-naturopath-speaks-out-why-precarious-work-can-be-good-and-will-assisted-death-come-to-rural-canada-1.3525870/former-naturopathic-doctor-calls-for-an-end-to-naturopathic-pediatrics-1.3525946 Former naturopathic doctor calls for an end to naturopathic pediatrics] by Jim Brown (April 10, 2016) ''The 180, CBC Radio''.</ref>
*Naturopaths should be prohibited from treating children.<ref name=brown/>
*Naturopaths should not be granted medical licenses.<ref>[https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/naturopathic-diaries-confessions-of-a-former-naturopath/ Naturopathic Diaries: Confessions of a Former Naturopath] by Jann Bellamy (March 5, 2015) ''Science-Based Medicine''.</ref>

In July 2017, Hermes received a notice of cease and desist for alleged defamation from the lawyers of Bastyr University.<ref name=ceasedesist>[http://www.naturopathicdiaries.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/CeaseandDesist_Hermes_7-21-17_Redacted.pdf Re: Notice of Cease and Desist Defamation] by Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP (July 21, 2017) Naturopathic Diaries</ref> The lawyers claimed that Hermes made several false statements regarding the quality of education at Bastyr University on her own blog, on ''[[Forbes]]'' and on three other websites (www.science20.com, www.kevinmd.com, and www.sciencebasedmedicine.org).<ref name=ceasedesist/>

In August 2017, Hermes also received a notice of cease and desist for alleged defamation from the lawyer of naturopathic doctor Colleen Huber.<ref name=huber>[http://www.naturopathicdiaries.com/colleen-huber-cancer-quack-legal-thuggery/ Is Colleen Huber a cancer quack? And more legal thuggery] by Britt Hermes (2 September 2017) ''Naturopathic Diaries''.</ref> Huber runs the cancer clinic "Nature Works Best Cancer Clinic" in Tempe, Arizona.<ref name=huber/> Huber also is president of the non-profit [[charity]] Naturopathic Cancer Society, which according to Hermes raises donations for patients at Huber's own clinic, though Huber's lawyer has disputed this.<ref name=huber/> In 2019, Hermes prevailed against Huber in the defamation lawsuit.<ref>[http://www.naturopathicdiaries.com/justice-prevails-cancer-quack-colleen-huber-loses-her-defamation-suit-against-me/ Justice prevails! Cancer quack Colleen Huber loses her defamation suit against me] by Britt Hermes (3 June 2019) ''Naturopathic Diaries''.</ref>

==BrittMarieHermesFactCheck.com==
In 2016, Hermes started an online petition to oppose the naturopathy [[Lobbying|lobby]]. Within the same year, a site simply called "Britt Marie Hermes Fact Check" popped up, purporting to "[[Bullshit|fact check]]" Hermes's statements.<ref>[http://www.naturopathicdiaries.com/petition-that-riled-naturopathic-medicine/ The petition that riled naturopathic medicine] by Britt Hermes (10 June 2016) ''Naturopathic Diaries''.</ref> Naturally, it's in actuality a shoddy attempt to deflect her criticisms of naturopathy, based on less than stellar logic and faulty arguments. 

There's not a lot of draw from, but take for example the blog's attempt to "fact check" Hermes advice to students looking to study naturopathy (spoiler alert: she thinks it's a bad idea.) In one section, the author attempts to counter the claim that naturopathy school is overpriced. They make all sorts of claims, like how supposedly most naturopaths make six figures, but most of these aren't back up by even basic citations<ref name="factcheck-school">[http://brittmariehermesfactcheck.com/should-i-go-to-naturopathic-school-fact-check/ Should I go to Naturopathic School? – Fact Check] (June 19, 2018) ''Britt Marie Hermes Fact Check''</ref>, and naturally, some of them are flat out wrong. For example, according to O*NET, the median salary for naturopaths and their other [[alternative medicine]] ilk was $82,420, i.e. 50% of them earn $82,420 or ''less''.<ref>[https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1299.01 Summary Report for: 29-1299.01 - Naturopathic Physicians], O*NET Online. Retrieved November 11, 2021.</ref> Most notably, at no point does the author actually bring up the price of tuition at naturopathic schools.<ref name="factcheck-school"></ref> 

==See also==
*[[Edzard Ernst]] — an MD who trained in alternative medicine who has been very critical of alternative medicine
*[[Protected term]]

==External links==
*[http://www.naturopathicdiaries.com/ Naturopathic Diaries: Confessions of a naturopathic doctor]

==References==
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[[Category:Living people]]

Categories: Living people