Discovering Naturopathy

While Dr. Nishida was questioning what she observed at the hospital, she enrolled in an elective class called Behavioral Medicine. The class explored how not just pathogens, but also a person's behavior, e.g. lifestyle and mental attitude, affects one's health - and how it may make more sense to look at the person as a whole and emphasize prevention of disease rather than focusing on the disease itself, as our current Western medical system does.

Dr. Nishida started searching for medical professions that embraced a more holistic approach. Perhaps Nurse Practitioner? She went to the college library and picked up a book, "Guide to Graduate Schools." As she turned to section N for Nursing, she noticed a heading for Naturopathic Medicine, a four-page entry listing two schools.

She could not believe what she read. It was exactly what she was looking for - a medical profession that focused on a holistic approach to patient care. However, after the initial heart-pounding excitement, she became skeptical. Was this a "real" medical school? How come I've never heard of it? Would I really learn how to treat patients?

Even after going through the application process, interviews, and visits to each school, she was not convinced. Concerned that she was going to where all the drop-outs of real medical schools reluctantly went, she sought out her college advisor. He gave her the best advice she could ever have received. "Why don't you just enroll in the program and see what it's like," he suggested. "And after a year, if you don't like it, just quit! You're still very young. Losing a year won't matter when you continue your adult life."

So she did, and the rest is history.