On 13 Apr 2009 at 15:57, Michael Smith wrote: > > Besides, some naturopaths are trained MD's, and if the training fits, why > shouldn't you be allowed to wear the shoes? >
As Jim Clark astutely pointed out, if the naturopath is an MD, then he/she already has the right to prescribe (and also has the appropriate training to do so), and so has no need of the unjustified extension of this right to naturopaths without a medical degree. And interestingly, in BC, you can't be licensed simultaneously as an MD and a naturopath. You have to be one or the other (see FAQ at the site below). It also occurred to me that "some naturopaths are trained MDs" may well be a considerable overstatement. I would expect this conjunction to be exceedingly rare. I'm not talking about the pseudo-medical degrees offered by naturopathic colleges, nor degree mills such as those from, for example, the Baby Doc School of Medicine. I mean real MD degrees from respected universities. Given that, as Barbie would say, medicine is hard, and requires both high intelligence and an understanding and appreciation of science, I can't see too many naturopaths, with their faith in quackery, qualifying. Not to belabour the point, but anyone who swallows that codswallop can't be the coldest beer in the fridge. Much easier to get your degree from a pseudoscientific college of naturopathy than go the MD route. Something else. Being a retiree with too much time on my hands, as Mike Palij is fond of reminding us, I checked out the webpage of the British Columbia Naturopathic Association (http://www.bcna.ca/index.shtml). It's a very slick site, intended to impress us with the scientific nature of their enterprise, and soothingly assures us that their therapy is much, much, more than just a placebo effect, and rests on the solid foundation of double-blind randomized studies (none cited, however, as far as I could see). But what is striking is how much of their pitch is presented as anti- drug. They repeatedly claim that drugs are dangerous, and their brand of alternative medicine is an _alternative_ to drugs (see "About naturopathic medicine"). So why in heaven's name would they want to have prescription privileges? Perhaps they're only against drugs as long as they don't have the right to prescribe them. Stephen ----------------------------------------------------------------- Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Bishop's University e-mail: sbl...@ubishops.ca 2600 College St. Sherbrooke QC J1M 1Z7 Canada Subscribe to discussion list (TIPS) for the teaching of psychology at http://flightline.highline.edu/sfrantz/tips/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
