The Institute for Natural Medicine (INM) has proudly served as the fiscal sponsor of arguably the most consequential project ever undertaken within the naturopathic profession, the Foundations of Naturopathic Medicine Institute (FNMI). Conceived of and pioneered by Dr. Pamela Snider as president and executive editor, FNMI set out with Drs. Jared Zeff, Joseph Pizzorno, Stephen P. Myers, James Sensenig, Don Warren, Roger Newman Turner and Thomas Kruzel to codify the practice, history and philosophy of naturopathic medicine at a time when this root-cause-oriented and intelligent, common-sense approach to health promotion and preventive medicine is needed more than ever.
Eighteen years ago this past month, the Foundations’ codification project was formally launched at the naturopathic profession’s landmark retreat, Codifying Our Knowledge: It’s Time. Since then, the aforementioned international community has labored faithfully to develop the textbook, with more than 50 members of the FNMI (now NMA) community having sustained involvement and worked tirelessly to create this extraordinary first volume of a textbook poised to redefine the academic and practical landscape of the naturopathic field.
Launch of the Naturopathic Medicine Academy and Volume I – Nature Cure (FNM Series)
INM is pleased to announce the launch of the Naturopathic Medicine Academy (NMA), the evolution of FNMI, and its new home website NatureMedAcademy.org, dedicated to continuing FNMI’s mission of codifying, publishing and teaching the philosophical and historical roots of naturopathic medicine. The Academy, which evolved from the Foundations of Naturopathic Medicine Project, has gathered the works of an international community of more than 300 of the profession’s distinguished authors, physicians and thought leaders; working in groups and singly to develop a diverse range of content for a multi-volume medical textbook that addresses the central and foundational concepts of naturopathic medicine.
All professions must strive to codify their unique knowledge to foster growth and support the next generation of practitioners. The Academy will play a role in facilitating knowledge transfer through concept-driven publications and teaching tools developed by this network of scholars, 33 editors, 11 colleges and universities, as well as 13 agencies from the global intergenerational naturopathic medical community.
The Academy aims to contribute to both health creation and a thriving profession by codifying and unifying the distinct knowledge held within the naturopathic medical community, integrating traditional knowledge with modern science, disseminating codified resources, teaching tools and learning platforms, and preserving nearly lost traditional knowledge. New teaching tools and publications are just around the corner. This effort informs the therapeutic order of global health.
• The Academy’s mission is to codify, transcribe, publish and distribute naturopathic medical knowledge, concepts, models and their applications to benefit, vitalize and sustain our health, humanity and biosphere for present and future generations
• The Academy’s vision is to advance health in individuals, communities, our environment and our world through fostering and disseminating innovation in education, scientific inquiry, public policy and clinical practice, resulting from investigating and understanding the nature of health, illness and healing.
Naturopathic medicine experienced a severe contraction in the late 1960s and early 1970s, with only 200 NDs remaining in North America. Students of the modern era were challenged by a near “broken lineage” of knowledge transmission. There were few specifically naturopathic books and fewer ND journal publications and articles. The Academy (formerly FNMI) has not only written, codified, synthesized and edited, but also found, amassed, interviewed, transcribed and organized this lost body of knowledge. This “knowledge” then has had to be “codified” through a unique and resource-intensive process. Their work matters because:
1. Codification of knowledge within practice theory is necessary for the viability of a profession.
2. The lineage of naturopathic medicine and experience remains at risk of being lost.
3. A common foundational knowledge base will help unify and advance the profession.
4. This work contributes to creating healthy people, healthy nations and a healthy world.
Launch of Volume I, Nature Cure – the Foundations of Naturopathic Medicine Series
This launch coincides with the release of the first volume of the Foundations of Naturopathic Medicine Textbook: Nature Cure – Nature’s processes that promote health and healing.
This isn’t merely a textbook volume—it’s a monumental achievement over a decade in the making. It blends unparalleled scholarly rigor with actionable insights that bridge the theory and practice of naturopathic medicine. The 29-chapter volume addresses the conceptual framework, primary therapies and modalities of nature cure that support your patients’ inherent self-healing capacity. FNMI (now NMA) has adopted a multi-volume, pre-print strategy (subject to change) to deliver materials to you as soon as possible. The INM and NMA invite you to download, for free, the latest volume right now. Volume I. Nature Cure to your device.
The goal is to serve as a resource for our medical students and naturopathic faculty, with the potential to elevate and align curricula across our institutions. It aims to reestablish the necessary roots and common ground for professional advancement and to inspire groundbreaking research, while equipping students and doctors in the art and science of naturopathic medicine to pioneer the future of natural health care.
Nature Cure is intended to be “the authoritative cornerstone of our profession, a unified standard that can amplify our collective coherence, influence and prestige,“ said Rick Kirschner, ND, VNMI, president of the NMA.
“The field of natural medicine is at a tipping point, with demand for credible knowledge surging. By reading, using and promoting this landmark work to your colleagues, present and past teachers, you can play your part in positioning vitalist naturopathic doctors as the vanguard of health care evolution, while setting a benchmark that others will strive to follow.”
The primary question the textbook seeks to answer is: How does the naturopathic physician work with nature to restore health?
In the vitalist tradition, health is viewed as a state of balance. Movement away from balance results in the adaptations that we call symptoms. The Vis Medicatrix Naturae/Vital Force is that quality or aspect of living organisms that is always striving to maintain or restore balance. The naturopathic physician works with the Vis in its effort to restore balance, not against it, by treating or suppressing the adaptations or symptoms generated by the body’s efforts to restore itself.
The book provides an overview of naturopathic medicine’s theoretical basis, focusing on principles that define the field. It explores traditional and contemporary clinical theories alongside various aspects of natural medicine and nature cure practice. Concepts are discussed in relation to their application, helping naturopathic physicians enhance vitality and restore health. Chapters on modalities emphasize their interaction with nature to promote health rather than technical details. The naturopathic physician, as an artist, integrates various therapeutic modalities to restore health in harmony with nature. The fundamental question surrounding therapeutic interventions is how they respect nature and contribute to health restoration, guiding all objectives in this textbook initiative, including Volume I. The NMA incorporates the views of more than 50 authors and editors, along with the diverse thoughts and insights of several hundred doctors, scientists, educators and artists to address the primary question. A common thread weaves together these many voices: The physician aids nature in restoring the sick to health.
Explore the Nature Cure textbook and enjoy the recently released Full Proceedings, models and findings from the historic Skamania International Editorial Retreat—a beautiful book and a helpful teaching tool in itself. Also, download other publications and teaching tools. NMA welcomes your thoughts and feedback through their website portal.
INM congratulates the editors and authors of this important volume and extends our gratitude to everyone for bringing it to fruition!
Michelle Simon, PhD, ND President & CEO, Institute for Natural Medicine
In 1992, the leadership core of naturopathic doctors established the Institute for Natural Medicine (INM) as a not for profit organization dedicated to advancing natural medicine. The purpose of the INM is to increase awareness of, broaden public access to, and encourage research about natural medicine and therapies. Among its milestones the INM counts the launch of the Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges (AANMC) as an independent organization, leading California’s efforts to obtain licensure, developing an interactive childhood education program focused on healthy eating and lifestyles called Naturally Well in 2017, and expanding residency access by establishing and funding a residency program in 2018. INM has joined forces with the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP), serving as the charitable arm, to deepen access to naturopathic care, public education and research. Dr. Michelle Simon serves as president and CEO of INM, is a licensed naturopathic physician, clinician, educator and leader in many organizations dedicated to improving the quality and delivery of health care. In addition to holding a naturopathic doctorate from Bastyr University, she also holds a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Simon has served on the boards for the Integrative Healthcare Policy Consortium (IHPC), the AANP and the Naturopathic Physicians Research Institute (NPRI). Dr. Simon also served nine years on the Washington State Health Technology Clinical Committee which is part of the Health Technology Assessment program that examines the scientific evidentiary basis for efficacy, safety and cost effectiveness of health care technologies. She was also an invited participant for health care economics at “Summit on Integrative Medicine and the Health of the Public” at the Institute for Medicine (IOM) in 2009. Dr. Simon was recognized as the 2018 Physician of the Year by the AANP.
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