Naturopathic medical colleges are four-year postgraduate schools with admission requirements comparable to those of conventional medical schools. The degree of Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine requires four years of graduate level study in the medical sciences including:
anatomy
physiology
biochemistry
pathology
microbiology
immunology
pharmacology
laboratory diagnosis
clinical & physical diagnosis
cardiology
neurology
obstetrics & gynecology
radiology
minor surgery
pediatrics
dermatology
Throughout the four years, there is training in naturopathic therapeutics, including:
therapeutic nutrition
botanical medicine
homeopathy
hydrotherapy
naturopathic spinal manipulation
bodywork
Because the coursework in natural therapeutics is added to a standard medical curriculum, naturopathic doctors receive significantly more hours of classroom education than the graduates of many leading medical schools.
At Bastyr University, the last 2 years of the program are primarily clinical, where students are seeing patients under supervision of experienced Naturopathic doctors. Clinicians are required to complete at least 880 hours on clinic shifts and in community clinics. In addition, students are also required to work one-on-one with practicing Naturopathic doctors throughout their training.
