DO/MD/ND

[jamcat]

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Also, sincerity and predatory behavior are not mutually exclusive. I have no doubt that many naturopaths sincerely want to help and sincerely believe they can, but the end, as Law2Doc says, they're suggesting that hope exists where it does not and are thus doing more damage than good.

 

[pageantry]

Also, sincerity and predatory behavior are not mutually exclusive. I have no doubt that many naturopaths sincerely want to help and sincerely believe they can, but the end, as Law2Doc says, they're suggesting that hope exists where it does not and are thus doing more damage than good.

Yes. I think this is exactly it, this is why I'm not at all interested in becoming an ND (and why I just spent 2.5 years + $40,000 getting myself to the MCAT instead of being done with ND school by now.) From my observations, most NDs/alt-health-types are people who--no matter how well-intentioned--are still straightforwardly not willing or able to put in the time and effort to become an MD/DO. You can't get around the fact that as an MD you can take an integrative fellowship and be able to do far more for the patient. Their sincerity covers for a lot of bullsh*t.

And to @Law2Doc, I appreciate your response but I feel a bit misread. I didn't say that NDs offer compassion, I said that (some) people go to them because (among other reasons) they feel they haven't found compassion in medicine.

To be as clear as possible: I'm not in favor of naturopathy, but I believe I understand how medicine itself has created room for it to flourish. I think that the more we crap on alt-health, the stronger it grows. It has taken for itself the posture of compassionate underdog, and all we can do is make it a martyr. The point is not to include or decry naturopathy, but to be bigger than naturopathy.

A really great thing I'm learning here, btw, is that this topic itself really is sort of like religion, and as such maybe I just need to give it a wide berth for my application.

 

[Law2Doc]

Yes. I think this is exactly it, this is why I'm not at all interested in becoming an ND (and why I just spent 2.5 years + $40,000 getting myself to the MCAT instead of being done with ND school by now.) From my observations, most NDs/alt-health-types are people who--no matter how well-intentioned--are still straightforwardly not willing or able to put in the time and effort to become an MD/DO. You can't get around the fact that as an MD you can take an integrative fellowship and be able to do far more for the patient. Their sincerity covers for a lot of bullsh*t.

And to @Law2Doc, I appreciate your response but I feel a bit misread. I didn't say that NDs offer compassion, I said that (some) people go to them because (among other reasons) they feel they haven't found compassion in medicine.

To be as clear as possible: I'm not in favor of naturopathy, but I believe I understand how medicine itself has created room for it to flourish. I think that the more we crap on alt-health, the stronger it grows. It has taken for itself the posture of compassionate underdog, and all we can do is make it a martyr. The point is not to include or decry naturopathy, but to be bigger than naturopathy.

A really great thing I'm learning here, btw, is that this topic itself really is sort of like religion, and as such maybe I just need to give it a wide berth for my application.

Meh, we tried the being bigger person approach while NPs schose to award themselves doctorates and it's going to be a big problem for primary care physicians. You address charlatans with a big stick. The public wants to believe in magic so you can't just smile and nod and expect them to figure it out themselves.

 

[pageantry]

Meh, we tried the being bigger person approach while NPs schose to award themselves doctorates and it's going to be a big problem for primary care physicians. You address charlatans with a big stick. The public wants to believe in magic so you can't just smile and nod and expect them to figure it out themselves.

You might be right, at that. Being gentle gives me access to my family and childhood. But the concessions I have to make probably aren't very relatable. Another point in favor of a more generic personal statement.