Dear David,

Naturopathic medicine as a career is not for the faint-hearted, or those who need the approbation of the "powers that be". It is a profession still trying to resucitate itself after a long hibernation, though I suspect popular interest is at a all time high. There is a shortage of naturopaths, as 1-3 states a year are licensing, but the scholls are turning out 200+ students, an ammount deemed insufficient to meet the needs well into the next century. It is a great profession for women, who dominate it numerically 60%-40%, and have made some of the major contributions to the field.

With regard to HMO's, I think the move recently by Oxford (one of the largest HMOs in the East) will signal a trend in HMOs to be more flexible with regard to NDs and managed care. A study by Mutual of Omaha apparently indicated that for one dollar spent on naturopathic care, the company could expect to save $6.50. So, I don't think it will be too long before the pencil sharpeners and bean counters will see us as the solution to many of their problems. The real question will be what effect this will have on the profession.

All the CNME accredited schools are good. There is a new one opening at the University of Bridgeport in CT this fall. As an alumni of Bastyr in Seattle, my prejudices probably incline me to recommend that school, but the National College in Portland OR, and the SW College in Scottsdale AZ are undoubtably just as fine.

It is a wonderful profession, the one true healing art where the practitioner's thinking processes still matter.

Peter