New Textbook Hopes to Redefine How Naturopathic Medicine is Learned, Taught
Foundations of Naturopathic Medicine Textbook: The Healing Power of Nature to be published in 2014
Kenmore, Wash. (August 29, 2013) — It is a project that has been more than a century in the making; one with the ambitious goal of corralling information from multiple generations of naturopathic physicians into one textbook. The Foundations of Naturopathic Medicine Project (FNM) just received a $55,000 grant from the Lotte and John Hecht Memorial Foundation, with the funds dispersed through Bastyr University for the project.
“Our goal in the FNM project is to provide this generation of naturopathic medical students a definitive source from which they can find and learn the vital information they need to organize their thinking as naturopathic physicians,” says Pamela Snider, ND (’82), FNM executive and senior editor and a Bastyr University alumna. “There has never been a comprehensive international naturopathic textbook that codifies naturopathic historical, philosophical, clinical and modern scientific information. Our goal is to make that book readily available to current and future students.”
The project is a collaborative effort by the international naturopathic medical community that began in 2006. Bringing together multiple areas of expertise FNM aims to provide a true integrative naturopathic medical guide based on applied naturopathic concepts. It will also disseminate the philosophy, principles, theories, clinical practice and scientific advances of naturopathic medicine to a broader health care and patient community, and it will support innovation in scientific research and public policy.
“We are excited about this historic collaboration of many of the field’s top minds, and are confident that this textbook will help bridge the gap between old and new while retaining and advancing the heart and core of naturopathic medicine,” adds Dr. Snider. “We are extremely grateful to the Lotte and John Hecht Memorial Foundation for their generous grant and for their support for naturopathic education and scientific innovation. We are also thrilled to collaborate with Bastyr University and very thankful for their support.”
The tentative publish and distribution date is scheduled for 2014 through Elsevier, with a symposium in 2015 and additional volumes of the textbook and a companion online dynamic learning platform planned for the future.
About Foundations of Naturopathic Medicine Project
As a growing international community of scholars, with over 300 naturopathic physicians in a dozen countries and thought-leaders from related disciplines participating in the writing of the Foundations of Naturopathic Medicine (FNM) textbook, FNM is leading a network of scholarly inquiry among the profession’s schools, associations and agencies in a dynamic effort to advance naturopathic medicine globally. Further information is available at www.foundationsproject.com.
About the Lotte and John Hecht Memorial Foundation
The Lotte and John Hecht Memorial Foundation’s two major objectives are the investigation and support of complementary and alternative medicine, particularly in the treatment of cancer, and economic education that promotes the principles of a free market. The foundation also supplies support to organizations that help people who fall through the social safety net of government programs for the needy.
ABOUT BASTYR UNIVERSITY
Bastyr University is internationally recognized as a pioneer in natural medicine. As the largest accredited university for natural health arts and sciences in the U.S., Bastyr’s campus located near Seattle, Washington, offers more than 17 degree and certificate programs in fields such as naturopathic medicine, acupuncture and Oriental medicine, and whole-food nutrition. Founded in 1978, the University now includes a leading-edge research facility (the Bastyr University Research Institute) and outstanding clinical training at Bastyr Center for Natural Health, ranked as one of the Puget Sound’s top medical facilities for patient experience in 2012. The University’s second campus, Bastyr University California opened in San Diego, in fall 2012, becoming California’s first and only accredited school of naturopathic medicine.
