Practicing Medicine, With a Natural Approach

Would you like a little botanical medicine with your blood work-up?

Maybe you should see a naturopathic physician, like Lise Alschuler.

Alschuler is a health-care provider trained in alternative as well as conventional medical practices. Naturopathic doctors emphasize nutrition, acupuncture, homeopathic medicine, botanical medicine and counseling to promote overall wellness.

Training is similar to that of an MD. After finishing their undergraduate degrees, NDs attend a four-year graduate medical program, such as that at Bastyr University near Seattle, where Alschuler studied. Increasingly, school is followed by a residency.

It's also similar in cost to a traditional medical education -- an accredited naturopathic doctor's degree costs more than $100,000. The pay usually compares to the low to midrange of what family-practice doctors make. "Very few people enter this field to get rich," said Alschuler, 39.

The field is growing quickly, but Alschuler said it's important that anyone interested choose a school carefully. "There are quite a number of unaccredited programs."

In the United States, naturopathic physicians are licensed to diagnose and treat disease in 14 states and the District. Alschuler is licensed in Washington state. But because she works at a cancer treatment center in Illinois, which doesn't have licensing, her role is chiefly as a consultant.

Hours vary, but are usually more regular than other health jobs. NDs rarely see more than 10 patients a day, Alschuler said.

Her favorite part about the job? Being able to provide someone with the information that increases his sense of well-being. "And that it's something I get to experience most days," she said.

Her least favorite? That there are still many places in this country that don't recognize the profession.

-- Mary Ellen Slayter