A Seat at the Table: Naturopathic Doctors Called to Lead
It has been a demanding year for naturopathic medicine on the legislative front. So far this year, the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP) has raised alarms about the proposed AHEAD “Do No Harm” Accountability Framework, which threatens to penalize integrative, whole-person and small-practice professions like ours. And this summer, the AANP joined the Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges (AANMC) and the Naturopathic Medical Student Association (NMSA) in suing the Department of Education over its definition of “professional degree” which excluded the Naturopathic Doctor degree from higher student loan limits. Our profession is used to defending ground and fighting for recognition comparable to other health professions. So it is worth pausing to notice something else happening at the same time: naturopathic physicians are being invited into some of the highest-profile rooms in our nation’s medical landscape.
In a trend that is building steam, licensed naturopathic physicians (NDs) have been named to lead a federal research center, seated on national coding and policy committees, placed in medical director, research and clinical roles at major hospital systems and university medical centers, and asked to share the stage with nationally known figures on the issues shaping the future of health care. Taken individually, each of these is a career milestone for the physician involved. Taken together, they are evidence of something bigger: naturopathic medicine’s clinical and scientific credibility is being recognized at the very top of American health care, even in a political environment that has recently led to several challenges.
Federal Leadership: An ND Now Runs an NIH Center
In August 2026, NIH (National Institutes of Health) Director Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, named Wendy Weber, ND, MPH, PhD, director of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), putting a licensed naturopathic physician in charge of a roughly $170 million federal research budget for a historical first. Dr. Weber had already been serving as NCCIH’s acting deputy director since October 2025.
Dr. Bhattacharya credited her “history of leadership in whole-person health, pain management research, and deep connection to NIH,” and her career reflects a blend of naturopathic training and rigorous public health research: an ND from Bastyr University, a Master of Public Health and PhD in epidemiology from the University of Washington, and more than 15 years at NIH. She was the first naturopathic physician to receive an NIH career development (K) award. At NCCIH, she also helped drive real-world progress on non-addictive pain management approaches such as acupuncture and mindfulness-based stress reduction through the NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory and the NIH-VA-DoD Pain Management Collaboratory.
An ND now leads the research agenda for the federal government’s primary funder of complementary and integrative health science. That is not a symbolic appointment; it is acknowledgement that the foundational principles of naturopathic medicine are deeply aligned with the growing recognition that the Whole Health model of care is essential to addressing chronic disease, and that prevention-focused, patient-centered approaches to care and the research that supports them are vital to the future of American health care.
National Advocacy: Sharing the Stage on the Issues of the Moment
AANP President Jaquel Patterson, ND, MBA, IFMCP, was invited to speak on a panel alongside consumer and environmental advocate Erin Brockovich and Calley Means, senior advisor for the United States Department of Health and Human Services, at the American Academy of Environmental Medicine’s (AAEM) annual conference in a conversation that ranged across the environmental health issues the AAEM has tracked for decades, and newer concerns such as the public health footprint of the AI data center boom now underway across the country. Dr. Patterson, who also serves on AAEM’s board, brought a naturopathic medicine lens to a discussion that is increasingly on the radar of regulators, journalists and communities nationwide.
When the person representing naturopathic medicine on a national panel is also the president of our national association, that is not a coincidence: it is what a maturing profession looks like.
This kind of platform matters for reasons beyond any single event. Every time a naturopathic physician is asked to weigh in on a subject as prominent as environmental exposure and emerging technology, it signals to policymakers, the media and the public that naturopathic medicine belongs in that conversation.
Institutional Integration: NDs Inside the Systems
Naturopathic physicians are also moving into leadership and staff positions inside major institutional health systems. Not as outside consultants, but as part of the care and leadership teams:
• A naturopathic doctor now directs Whole Health services at a Central Texas VA Health Care System facility, continuing a long-running effort by the AANP to bring whole-person, non-addictive care options to veterans. • Multiple naturopathic physicians hold clinical and research roles at the UC (University of California) Irvine Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute, one of the country’s most prominent academic homes for integrative medicine research.
• Naturopathic physicians are now practicing or conducting clinical research in conventional medical centers across the U.S., including Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Seattle Children’s Hospital, University of Washington Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Oregon Health & Sciences University, Manchester Hospital (CT), Providence Health Systems (OR), Cleveland Clinic and University Hospital (OH), City of Hope Cancer Treatment Center (IL), and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center (WA), to name just a few.
Individually, these are local hires. Collectively, they show hospital systems and academic medical centers making a judgment call: that naturopathic training belongs inside institutional, interdisciplinary care, not outside it. Contrary to ongoing staunch opposition to licensure of naturopathic physicians from the American Medical Association and entrenched state medical societies, the “boots on the ground” conventional medical systems are increasingly seeking out, hiring and expanding their care teams to include naturopathic medicine.
Shaping the Rules: NDs on the AMA’s Coding Committee
Two naturopathic physicians currently serve on the Healthcare Professionals Advisory Committee (HCPAC) to the American Medical Association’s CPT Editorial Panel, the body that maintains the CPT code set used to bill and document medical services nationwide. HCPAC seats are reserved for national organizations representing licensed, non-MD/DO health professions, and give committee members a voice in how procedures and services are defined and coded across the entire United States health system.
Why does this matter? Licensed naturopathic physicians use the same CPT codes as all other healthcare professions. Coding decisions shape reimbursement, and reimbursement shapes whether patients can access naturopathic care at all. Having NDs in the room means naturopathic medicine has a voice in decisions that affect every licensed physician in our profession, whether or not they know the meeting is happening.
Why This Moment Matters
None of this erases the very real threats naturopathic medicine faces right now, from attacks on ND education to ongoing scope-of-practice battles in state legislatures. The AANP continues to fight those battles directly.
But progress on defense and progress on offense are not the same story, and this is the offense story. Each of these milestones is evidence that naturopathic training produces physicians capable of leading at the highest levels of American medicine and that integrating naturopathic medicine into Whole Health care delivery is not only in demand, but ultimately for the benefit of the patient.
The AANP wants to keep telling these stories. If you or a colleague has been appointed, elected or invited into a national leadership role, a hospital or university position, an advisory board, or a speaking engagement of national significance, let us know at https://naturopathic.org/general/?type=CONTACT.
Taryn Ernest is the communications director for the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP), the professional membership association advancing the recognition of licensed naturopathic physicians to transform access to whole health naturopathic medicine in the U.S. With more than a decade of dedicated service to the AANP, Ernest directs all communication efforts related to the Association’s initiatives, events and advocacy, effectively engaging a diverse membership of licensed naturopathic doctors. Ernest brings a passion for impactful communication to her role, overseeing the Association’s public relations, marketing and communications strategies. Her efforts have enhanced the visibility and reach of the naturopathic medical profession. Prior to joining the AANP, she gained valuable experience in advertising and marketing, equipping her with a well-rounded expertise in strategic communication and outreach.
