Why a naturopathic doctor quit after seeing a colleague treat a cancer patient

You don’t often hear about people moving from alternative therapies to science-based medicine and vice versa.that’s what makes people like it Dr. Oz — a highly qualified surgeon who also believes in “energy healing” — very interesting. That’s how I stumbled across Britt Hermes’ blog. Confessions of a Naturopathic Doctor — I was immediately hooked.

Hermes studied naturopathy, a type of alternative medicine that focuses on “natural” treatments such as herbs and homeopathy, at Bastyr University in Kenmore, Washington. She then practiced for her three years in Washington and Arizona, during which time she became increasingly disillusioned with her chosen profession.

“Naturopathic medicine is not what I was led to believe,” she wrote on her blog. “We have discovered that this profession operates as an indoctrination system based on discredited ideas about health and medicine, filled with anti-scientific rhetoric with many ineffective and dangerous practices.”

Last year, Hermes quit naturopathic medicine and enrolled in a Master of Science program in Germany. On her blog, she tackles myth-busting alternative medicine and writes about everything from regulatory gaps to what it’s like to discover cancer in a patient as a young doctor.

Her movement is not only personal; It’s about protecting public health. In many states, NDs can prescribe medications, perform minor surgeries, and essentially serve as primary care physicians. * The problem is that NDs receive only a fraction of the clinical training and education that physicians do (like Hermes, etc.). points out that it is littered with dangerous pseudoscientific health claims. This is her story.

Julia Bells: Why did you become interested in natural medicine?

Britt Hermes: I started with very high aspirations and a very idealistic perspective. Some of that was upheld during my education at Bastia. I felt like I had chosen the right path and was very motivated. I had a lot of cognitive biases and self-fulfilling prophecies. I saw myself getting better and my friends experiencing healing, but in hindsight I realize it was due to other factors. It was a self-limiting state, the naturopathic medicine we were practicing, interspersed with evidence-based medicine.

I graduated from Bastia and wanted to do a residency. Since they are so rare, I thought it would be an advantage to participate in a residency. So I worked in an outpatient clinic, which was very rewarding. I administered vaccines, prescribed antibiotics, consulted evidence-based sources like UpToDate, and tried to follow the standard of care as much as possible.

JB: Wait a minute. … Were you a naturopathic physician, essentially doing the work of a primary care physician?

(Marilyn Barbone/Shutterstock)

BH: In the United States, there are 20 states and territories that allow licensed naturopathic physicians to practice some form of medicine. Jurisdictions for naturopathic medicine vary widely, but the states that allow naturopathic physicians the most are Washington, Arizona, Oregon, Vermont, California, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Montana, and Utah. included. [NDs can effectively practice as primary care providers in Vermont, Oregon, and Washington — see note at bottom.]

I’ve worked in Washington and Arizona and seen everyone from newborns to the elderly. We’ve done everything from examining newborns, checking for jaundice, checking on mothers to breastfeed, helping mothers get pregnant, and seeing children suffering from chickenpox, the flu, colds, coughs, ear infections, and broken bones. Ta. It was definitely primary care.

However, I also had patients who came to see me solely for natural therapy. The child had autism and had a doctor, but her mother brought her to me due to nutritional concerns. I have seen many children tested for food allergies. I also saw several patients with chronic illnesses.

JB: Did you feel qualified or prepared for this type of work?

BH: I was very nervous and talked to my mentor about it. They justified that all new doctors are nervous. In a sense, I still think he was a good doctor. That’s ridiculous because I’ve never been trained as a doctor. But I had really meaningful connections with my patients, and I really cared about them, and I wanted to help them recover.

JB: When did things start to go south for you?

BH: When I moved to Arizona, I wanted to work with an integrative medicine physician. I landed in a private ND practice. My patient demographic changed because insurance reimbursement did not exist in Arizona.

“Frankly, what was uncomfortable was seeing other naturopathic doctors practicing in my office.”

I started doing more “naturopathic” things by meeting families and doing well-child visits. I coached people on detoxes and saw patients with multiple chemical sensitivities and chronic Lyme disease. We performed more diagnostics, which are now mainstream in medicine. [has rejected].

Money was even harder to come by because patients had to pay for the entire consultation out of pocket. My consultation fees were high: $185 for a new patient visit, and even more if I recommended additional treatments or care.

To be honest, what made me uncomfortable was watching the other naturopathic doctors practicing in my office. Someone saw a cancer patient. It was unpleasant to observe natural remedies for cancer patients and to see alternative and unscientific therapies recommended for some seriously ill patients. Many cancer patients received IV treatment with high doses of vitamin C and various herbs.

As a student, I had the impression that these treatments were based on science and evidence, and that they were helpful for cancer patients. But one thing we’ve learned as we’ve done more research is that these alternative treatments are unproven and, in some cases, harmful to patients. There is a study that deserves attention. Researchers found that cancer patients who chose alternative treatments died earlier and had a lower quality of life.

JB: Did you also care for cancer patients?

BH: I remember one patient who was very anxious and worried about his health. When she came to see me, she gave me a long explanation of the various treatments she was trying, including acupuncture, cod liver oil, various herbs, yoga, and meditation. And they did a physical examination on her and it was clear that she was very sick. Her symptoms were so severe that my doctor’s recommendation was to refer her to a gastroenterologist as soon as possible and have her doctor take over her care.

But the patient did not want to see a doctor. She was a patient who specifically chose ND therapy because she did not like mainstream medicine.
“I remember saying, ‘She’s very sick. She has a huge liver and other worrying signs.’

Within a week, this patient stopped being treated by me and began treatment with another naturopathic doctor in the office. The doctor agreed to see me, even though it was against my recommendations. She remembers him saying, “She’s very sick. She has a huge liver and other worrying signs.” Even after I had this conversation with the naturopath, the ND decided to see the sick patient anyway. She recommended some nutritional therapy.

It was later discovered that this patient actually had liver cancer. The signs were very creepy. She had the biggest liver I could ever imagine. She lost her weight. she is tired She looked sick. That was one of her many failures I saw in the office.

It became clear that I was working in a profession that I should not be practicing as a doctor. They overlooked the obvious signs and were accepting terminal cancer patients with the promise of longevity and improved quality of life. It all felt very unethical.

JB: After this horrific experience, what do you think about the fact that some ND doctors are essentially practicing physicians?

BH: Not all NDs are that bad. There’s no doubt about it. We are not qualified to practice medicine. There is hardly enough contact with patients. We lack clinical training. A phrase that comes up all the time is that NDs see people who are worried. That’s what they say in Bastia. The idea is that we are not actually treating patients who are sick. This causes us to overlook things like cancer.

I think it’s a really sad situation for everyone. That’s sad for naturopathic doctors. We pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a ND education. Our education is said to be accredited. It provides this look which means it is accepted by the US Department of Education. But that’s not what it means. Bastiat uses expressions such as “same as medical training, equivalent to being a doctor.”

They trick patients into offering bogus treatments for cancer and many chronic diseases, dubious treatments and IV therapy, or even exorbitant detox protocols for people who have never been exposed to any toxic substances. The patient is being treated using the body. The risk it poses to patients is that they are exposed to ill-equipped and incompetent naturopaths who miss dangerous and important diagnoses.

Another complaint is that there appears to be a lack of oversight by state boards that govern licensed naturopathic physicians in each state.

JB: Besides fighting pseudoscience on your blog, what else have you been up to since retiring from your profession??

BH: I am participating in a Master of Science program in northern Germany. It’s biomedical research. I focus on the application of molecular biology in clinical settings. The classes here are more difficult.

*Note: We checked with the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians regarding naturopathic physicians.s‘ Scope of practice. Their government communications director told me:

• ND is licensed in 20 states and territories. The most widespread states are Vermont, Oregon, Washington, California, Arizona, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Montana, and Utah.
• ND operates effectively as a primary care provider in Vermont, Oregon, and Washington.
• ND can perform “minor surgeries” or “minor office procedures” in Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. Variations of this language exist in the NDs of Alaska, California, Washington DC, Kansas, and New Hampshire.
• ND is licensed in approximately half of the jurisdictions in which it is licensed: Arizona, California (with MD/DO oversight), Washington DC, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Utah, and Vermont. , has normative rights in Washington state. The most extensive prescriptions are in Arizona, California, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. Vermont has abolished prescription books. NDs there can prescribe any medication consistent with their education and training.