Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Is Naturopathic Medicine a difficult program?

This semester has been exceptionally busy and I have not had any time to spend on this blog. Last week we had 9 exams in 5 days with some of the exams worth 40% of our final mark. March's quote of the month captures some of that feeling!

I have received a lot of questions recently asking if naturopathic school is easier than conventional medical school. Although I can't say for sure, because I haven't attended conventional medical school, what I can say is that it is much more work than a Bachelors of Science Degree. I did my undergraduate at the University of Calgary and my program certainly was not easy either. So far this year, several of my colleagues have dropped at least one course to continue at a part-time load and the program will now take them 5 years. I have often said that if it wasn't for the supportive atmosphere created by my colleagues (and certainly the support of family) the program would have a much higher dropout rate.

Actually, there are new curriculum changes planned for CCNM to streamline and make the program more tolerable. I have to give a little plug for the Boucher school here (and the other colleges that have a longer school year). There is certainly a tremendous learning benefit to an extra month (or 2 in the case of Boucher) of class time. Also, I noticed that Boucher now has a six year part-time program which is an interesting option for some people.

For more information, one of my colleagues just created a website, gouldingnd.com which describes in detail her experience at CCNM. I highly recommend reading, "Realistic Challenges of Becoming a Naturopathic Doctor."

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