Our Unique Naturopathy Residency
The specific aim of our program is to provide continuing education for Naturopathic graduates in integrative rheumatology. There are currently very few residencies that have a sub-specialty concentration, but as residency program numbers grow, we hope that our program will be become a model for NDs wishing to work more closely with MDs and DOs.
Our program will provide NDs with an intense learning environment where they can quickly learn to take a rheumatology history and physical, become deeply acquainted with allopathic and naturopathic treatments, and learn medicinary management and business ownership skills.
The resident would work with Dr. C. Guggenheim four days a week in her rheumatology clinic. There, they would spend time observing Dr. Guggenheim at the beginning of the residency until which time it was felt they were ready to see patients on their own. Currently, many patients are seeking to minimize or discontinue their anti-rheumatic drugs, but they must be carefully managed in order to avoid serious disease flares. Many patients also come seeking alternatives to conventional drug therapy for other health concerns such as hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, allergies and other general practice complaints.
Although this is a sub-specialty residency, it cannot be stressed enough that we work within the Naturopathic tenet of treating the whole person. The patient population in Michigan has not been heavily exposed to naturopathic medicine and thus stands to obtain a huge benefit from basic nutritional advise, hydrotherapy and lifestyle interventions.
Dr. A. Guggenheim would serve as the naturopathic advisor to the program in order to ensure that the following objectives are met:
- The resident learns neutraceutical, lifestyle, hydrotherapy, IV nutrition, and diet interventions appropriate to treat general practice illnesses.
- The resident learns how to treat patients that are on extensive polypharmacy.
- The resident has the tools available to meet their own personal goals in the program.
In order to ensure that our resident has sufficient naturopathic exposure in the face of an allopathic rheumatology clinic, they will spend one day a week with a local licensed ND, have biweekly access to Dr. A. Guggenheim via phone, have six one-week site visits from Dr. A. Guggenheim as well as six weeks of rotations with NDs. The student would also be expected to find a ND mentor outside of the program to meet with bimonthly, either in person or on the phone.
