Brit Marie Hermes, a former naturopathic doctor, works in a profession she calls dangerous.
Everyone, please wear your tinfoil hats. Naturopathic doctors who rely on the so-called “healing powers of nature” want to go mainstream, accusing their opponents of libel and slander. This time, the opposition came in the form of a lonely former naturopathic doctor fed up with the rationalizations of naturopathic medicine. And her supporter base is growing.
in Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr University, most influential schools Brit Marie Hermes, a North American naturopathic specialist, worked as a Naturopathic Doctor (ND) for three years. She put in thousands of hours and when she realized she had been lied to, her world came crashing down. ”It’s about talking about, learning about, and practicing fake medicine. ”
“I started naturopathic medicine thinking it was the future of medicine.” she says. She soon realized that she was wrong.
Currently pursuing a master’s degree in biomedical science, Hermes is dedicated to exposing and combating pseudoscience masquerading as real medicine.She documents her truth about her natural remedies through her Naturopathic diary Write blogs, speak to the media, and contribute to a society that is highly regarded. science-based medicine Blog and May 21st started a petition It calls on U.S. policymakers and states to block the licensure, scope of practice, and inclusion of naturopathic medicine in federal and state health programs.
The American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP), the leading ND organization in the United States, recently announced its goal to be licensed in all 50 states by 2025 (currently licensed in 17 states) and to receive Medicare reimbursement. We are promoting more practical patient treatment. Care. Hermès’ hackles are understandably raised.
“Naturopathic doctors do not have the same training as physicians, nurses, and physician assistants.” read the petition The piece, written by Hermes, has garnered nearly 4,000 signatures and counting. “Naturopaths are trained in a mishmash of outdated methods, mystical theories, and the bare basics of medicine.”
“I was scared. I was very angry. And I was very sad,” Hermes said after learning of Ukrain, an imported drug made from a flowering herb that her boss was administering to cancer patients. He talked about when he left his practice as a naturopathic doctor. It was not approved by the FDA. “Patients trusted us. They were seriously ill and were paying thousands of dollars for treatment.”
Here is one problem for naturopathic doctors. The words “doctor,” “physician,” and “medicine” imply trust. They remind us of highly skilled people who use the best, most evidence-based tools available to keep us healthy and treat us when we are sick. But naturopathy is not medicine, and Hermes says NDs are not as qualified as physicians or physician assistants.
I won’t go into detail about the myriad follies of naturopathic medicine and naturopathic medicine, as they have been thoroughly documented by renowned experts and critics of alternative medicine. Dr. David Gorsky and Dr. Steven Novella. Most egregious is the requirement that all NDs be trained in the use of homeopathy. Homeopathy is a pseudoscience based on magical thinking and the preparation of so-called active ingredients in minute amounts.
On May 26, five days after Hermes launched the petition, the AANP weakly retaliated. Email subject line sent to all AANP members: “AANP needs your help – stop Britt’s Change.org petition. ”
“We need your help to stop this petition,” the email reads. It continues like this.
This petition violates these [Change.org] policy:
- Violation of Law – This is defamatory and defamatory content
- Pretend to be someone else.Brit Marie Hermes is not from America
- Terms of Use – Does not comply with the law or respect the rights of others
AANP is grasping at straws here. Hermes, a California native who was born and raised in the United States, lives in Germany with her husband, but she still holds American citizenship. And Hermès is not backing down. “[AANP seems] “They are being threatened with this and are unable to grasp the reality of why they are reporting the petition,” she said. She supports the petition’s citations. “This is in no way defamatory or slanderous.” The email expresses AANP’s desire for Change.org to respond “in a timely manner” to reports of policy violations, but Hermes’ petition remains open and continues to collect signatures.
Perhaps the AANP recognized that its logic in deleting the petition was inadequate, so the organization’s executive director, Ryan Klish, moved on to the next tactic and began countermeasures.petition One day after sending the email. “[W]We are confident that your due diligence will soon reveal the truth behind the ‘Naturopathy Doctors are Not Doctors’ petition,” the retaliation letter reads.
“I see their interpretation as yet another example of their failure to understand how the scientific process works,” Hermes says. “It’s built on criticism, and given what they want in their political agenda, they deserve intense scrutiny.”
AANP’s counterpetition calls on U.S. policymakers to “recognize licensed naturopathic physicians who provide safe and effective care.”
Is it safe and effective? Therein lies the fatal flaw in the federal and state governments that allow naturopathic doctors. Standard treatments in naturopathic medicine are woefully inadequate. Standards are not safe. It’s not effective. But Kliche’s petition cites the NIH National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) and its “Natural Medicine Recognition” as a legitimate discipline to support the effort, which will be approved in all 50 states.
This exemplifies what is wrong with the government’s perception of NCCIH and the profession. This allows the naturopath to jump up and say, “See?” We can be trusted. The NIH says so. ” In honor of the NIH, the NCCIH (formerly NCCAM). As Dr. Gorski writes, fundamental problem NCCIH says it is “responsible for researching treatments that are based on prescient or patently incorrect understandings of human physiology and disease and are inherently unscientific.”
Certification by NCCIH lends no credence to the cause of AANP, but unsuspecting patients and even ambitious physicians may not be aware of it. The words “complementary” and “integrative” say it all. Legitimate medicine is based on evidence and science. There is no integration within the gold standard and we cannot supplement it with anything more than wishful thinking.
“I wish a blog like this existed before I made the mistake of joining Bastia,” says Hermes. “I receive many emails from students who say that after reading Naturopathic Diary, they no longer consider a career as an ND. I consider these stories a success. I hope my students don’t make the same mistakes I did. If I can help others in this way, I feel fulfilled in my work.”
A future in which all 50 states license and expand the scope of these dangerous and ineffective professions runs counter to what we should expect from our government’s scientific and medical authorities. That would give the letter ND an air of authority that it doesn’t deserve.
take this 2013 Study Guide Sample Questions The Naturopathic Practitioner Licensing Examination Board (NPLEX) describes a phone call from a panicked mother whose child was coughing, howling and gasping for breath. Part 2 of the question asks:Which of the following homeopathic preparations would best address his clinical symptoms?”
Let’s stop here (although you can read Hermes’ analysis here). No distraught parent with a sick or injured child should call an ND, and no real doctor worthy of the title “doctor” would recommend homeopathy. Don’t get me wrong, this is not the hypothetical mother’s fault. The blame lies with the system that makes mothers believe they should call an ND or naturopath in the first place. This is a failure of a system where the National Institutes of Health recognizes natural remedies as much more than that: a dangerous quack.
We asked Britt Hermes what kind of outcome she was hoping for. her petition looks like this:
“I would like to express my support that naturopathic physicians should not be recognized as “primary care physicians” or medical practitioners that may be construed as physicians. Do not use titles such as Physician or Physician. The public has a right to understand doctors’ exact terminology. Naturopathic doctors have distorted the definitions of these terms to make lawmakers believe they are highly trained. Little was known about how education and training works until I blew the whistle, so to speak. ”
Support for Hermès’ message is growing. AANP is in turmoil In response to her plea, their house appears to be made of playing cards.
Kavin Senapathy is a science communicator and mother of two living in Madison, Wisconsin.follow her Facebook and twitter.
