Welcome to the Party

By Bill Benda, MD, FACEP, FAAEM

Photo by LS Lam via Flickr, used under the Creative Commons License.

I spent this past weekend at Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, where I teach a 50-hour emergency medicine course to students who must sit there and wonder, “Why am I learning this stuff?” But today’s rant is not about conventional vs. alternative or botanical vs. pharmaceutical, but about a more pervasive political movement apparently sweeping the country and, yes, our own little naturopathic family.

I often break up the classroom monotony of trauma and myocardial infarctions and wound closure with philosophical diversions – public policy, healthcare reform, influence of the neutraceutical industry on medical education, and such. But this past weekend we talked a bit about the Tea Party, and how its not just for mainstream politics anymore.

You see, this strange wave of populism that has taken us all by surprise is lapping at the shores of our particular profession as well as flooding the red and blue bastions of conservative and liberal thinking across the land. As an MD, I have limited interest in such important clinical ND issues as CPT codes and scope of practice – these simply do not impact my personal life. But I am fascinated by the internal politics of this field and the personalities that nudge and pull on the ship of naturopathic medicine like tugboats, each chugging towards its own desired destination. And what I see in today’s political horizon is our own little populist movement announcing unhappiness with the status quo and calling rather insistently for that nebulous yet ubiquitous concept of change.

What kind of change is, as with the rest of the country, still a bit nebulous and undefined, but we will let this detail work itself out over the ensuing months. The fact is that, as an AANP Board member for the past four years, I have been able to identify and get to know a few of the players and a few of the issues. The AANP, its Board, its executive director, the state associations, their Boards, their executive directors, the schools, their presidents, past AANP presidents, future AANP presidents, journalists (including myself), the Academic Consortium for Complementary and Alternative Health Care (ACCAHC), the Integrative Healthcare Policy Consortium (IHPC), the Naturopathic Coordinating Council (NCC), the Naturopathic Medical Student Association (NMSA) and on. And on. Tugboats pulling and pushing on the good ship Naturopathy. Stay the course. Change direction. Return to the past. Dive into the future. Toot toot.

Before any of the above mentioned begin to take this analogy a bit too personally, I wish to make one point quite clear: This is all a very, very good thing. Should we take a look at our national political system as a larger illustration, I believe we must come to the conclusion that no matter our individual views on the Tea Party movement and its leaders, we cannot but admit that our current political system has become mired in dysfunction and inertia, and it may well take an entity as disruptive as the Tea Party to shake some sense into us. In the same vein, I believe it is time for the profession of naturopathic medicine, at the national, state, academic, political, media, and individual levels to take a long, hard look at our own dysfunctions and inertia (We all have them! Yes we do!) and come to a communal course of, well, change. Naturopathy is no longer under the social and professional assault from that it was twenty years ago. Conventional medicine is no longer the ogre trying to eat our children (well, maybe the AMA might still be). We must put past thinking where it belongs – in the past.

So change is in the air, as it must be. But we must realize that change does not mean returning to past thinking, or past policies. It does, however, require transparency and openness on the part of those instigating change. Personal agendas have no place here, and will serve only to create further dysfunction and inertia. Unfortunately for me, I will no longer have a front row seat after December 31st, when my Board term expires.

But I’ll be watching from the sidelines nonetheless . . .

Thoughts Ahead of the 2010 Convention and Elections

By Carl Hangee-Bauer, ND, LAc
AANP President

The days of summer are filled as we approach our annual convention and elect our newest AANP leaders.

As I write this, the AANP convention in Portland is only 3 weeks away! All over the country and especially in Washington, D.C., preparations are underway to make this one of our best gatherings to date. As I’m sure you all know, this year we mark our 25th anniversary as an organization and we plan to celebrate in a big way as we look back at the accomplishments the AANP has made and, more importantly, look to the future and imagine what we can accomplish in the next 25 years.

In the days before the convention opens, leaders from the naturopathic profession will gather in Portland to focus on business and planning. The AANP Board has a two-day meeting planned including a one-day board retreat to focus on how to increase our effectiveness as a team. The House of Delegates will meet and consider a variety of topics including ethics and standards of care. The Naturopathic Coordinating Council, a summit of leaders from across our profession, will come together at NCNM to develop a strategic vision for the viability, sustainability, and success of the naturopathic medical profession in the context of global health and wellbeing. These are but a few of the meetings held in advance of the big event.

On Wednesday, August 11th, the fun begins as our tribe comes together for four days of education, reconnection, and celebration. The quality of the continuing education sessions is outstanding, with many of our favorite speakers and teachers presenting, including Dr. Steve Austin, Dr. Jared Zeff, Dr. Joe Pizzorno, Dr. Michael Traub, Dr. Lise Alschuler, Dr. Dickson Thom, and a host of others who are very popular with our convention attendees. Personally I’m really looking forward to Drs. Schor and Bloom’s session on gelotology and hope my busy schedule allows me to attend as many sessions as possible.

As great as our sessions are, the reconnections we make each year (seeing old friends and making new ones) and the alumni events and receptions are what reinvigorate and inspire me the most. We are a relatively small profession, which makes it possible to know many of our peers on a very personal level. The friendship and intimacy we have as a group is very special and becomes especially evident when we come together.

There will also be more time for fun with a family picnic planned for Friday afternoon and, of course, our gala awards banquet and dance on Saturday night. We have quite an evening planned, where we will honor our leaders and pioneers as well as look forward to the potential this profession has in improving the health of our patients, the nation, and the world. This is an event not to be missed! As the Beatles would say, “A splendid time is guaranteed for all.” I hope to see you all there.

On July 24th, our voting opens for our next President-Elect as well as new board members. The AANP is a member-driven organization. We elect our leaders to represent our interests, and the officers and board members of the AANP consider this with every discussion and decision we make. We are here to serve you and to meet your needs as best we can, and your input into the elections process and your vote are crucially important in choosing our leaders and the direction the AANP takes.

I am very impressed by our list of candidates this year. All have demonstrated leadership and a desire to serve. We have two of our finest running for President-Elect: Dr. Tim Birdsall and Dr. Michael Cronin. Both have extensive leadership experience, are committed to the profession and the AANP, and have a clear vision as to how to move this profession forward. Please take the time to read the candidates statements and the responses to the weekly “Meet the Candidates” emails you’ve been receiving so you can choose who best fits your vision for the AANP.

And most importantly, VOTE. The voting is easy, will be online this year, and will close August 6th. Make your voice be heard!

I look forward to seeing you all in Portland at what promises to be a memorable event!

Naturopathic Leaders and Leadership

By Carl Hangee-Bauer, ND, LAc
AANP President

Photo by Tim Green aka atouch via Flickr, used under the Creative Commons License.

Earlier this month, I attended three meetings in three days in Portland, Oregon. The first was our AANP Board meeting, bringing together 13 Board members elected by the membership to represent their interests and guide the direction of the association. The second day was a meeting of the Naturopathic Coordinating Council (NCC), a diverse group representing the AANP, the schools and colleges, the CNME, NABNE, and other established and recognized organizations representing the naturopathic profession in North America who collaborate in planning and coordinating action toward a vibrant and successful naturopathic profession. The third day was a meeting of the American Association of Naturopathic Medical Colleges (AANMC) where representatives from the seven naturopathic medical schools met to discuss topics of mutual interest and promote successful programs and improve student education.

As I sat in these 3 days of meetings, it struck me that, by and large, I was spending time with most of the current leaders of the naturopathic profession, a relatively small group of people who through their hard work and dedication, are advancing naturopathic medicine and in their small ways, changing the world.

It is currently estimated that there are about 6000 licensed NDs in the United States and Canada. My guess is there are around 100 people who are in key leadership roles. Some are employed by various organizations to do their work (the schools and colleges come to mind), but many are volunteers who are members of Boards or officers in their state associations. What all have in common is a vision of where naturopathic medicine can go and what it can do to improve the health of the public and influence the course of health care policies that affect us all.

It’s a funny thing. I think that when most of us became students of naturopathic medicine, we were focused on our studies, learning about how this medicine can benefit our patients as we go out into the world and establish our practices. Little did we know how important it would be to get involved in politics, both at state and federal levels, to expand access to naturopathic care, assure scopes of practice to reflect our training and education, and to dispel much of the ignorance and misperceptions around the naturopathic profession.

While on vacation last month, I ran into a ND at the Kona Farmers Market. We chatted a bit, and I found out she had become involved in the Hawaii association during its recent successful effort to update the scope of practice for Hawaii NDs. She mentioned that she had not planned to get involved in these political doings, but that she felt she had to because of the effects on her practice and her abilities to be of benefit to her patients. I think many of us can relate to her experience. Whether we expected it or not, many of us have found that to do our work well, we must become involved in big picture thinking and join with others in cultivating and growing the profession.

As I write this, the AANP has sent out its call for nominations for the 2010 elections. This year, we will be choosing a new President-Elect for the 2012-2013 term as well as 5 new board members. The AANP is a member-driven association; candidates are nominated by the membership and elected by a majority of the members votes. Your participation in this process is vital to the direction and future of the AANP.

This election promises to be an exciting one. I know of some candidates who plan to run and am impressed by the experience and professionalism they bring to the ballot. It is very likely this years elections will be competitive, with more candidates running than there are available positions. This means choices for AANP members to influence the direction and goals of the association.

My charge to you is simple: Get Involved! Vote! Read the candidates statements and decide who best speaks for you and your concerns and desires. For those of you with leadership experience and interest, consider running for a Board position.

With your voice and your vote, you have the power to grow and guide the naturopathic profession as it gains its rightful place in the healthcare system.

President's Message: Thanking and Honoring Karen Howard

By Carl Hangee-Bauer, ND, LAc
AANP President

Exiting Executive Director Karen Howard poses with AANP President Carl Hangee-Bauer, ND, LAc (left),
and Bill Benda, MD, FACEP, FAAEM (right), at the 2010 AANP Convention.

It is a time of great change for the AANP and perhaps the most significant is that Karen Howard, our Executive Director for the past nine years, will be moving on at the end of November. Karen has left a huge mark on the AANP and the naturopathic profession and she will be missed. As I pondered what fitting words to say to mark this occasion, I turned to other AANP Past-Presidents to ask them what they would like for us to remember about Karen as we thank her and honor her work. So, without further ado...

From Michael Traub, ND, DHANP, FABNO (AANP President 2002-03):
Today I was telling a new Bastyr grad the story of how the AANP moved its headquarters across the country shortly before I became AANP President. We left all our staff behind in Seattle and put ourselves in the hands of a professional association management firm outside of Washington, D.C. Although initially we made some improvements in the professionalism of the AANP, in less than a year, the executive director (ED) that the management firm had hired for us resigned. Little by little, the remainder of the staff they had assigned to us dwindled and we found ourselves in debt by half a million dollars. It was in this context that the AANP decided to break our contract with the management firm and return to being a self-managed organization.

After several months of essentially serving both as President and de facto ED, I needed to hire a new ED and I hired Karen Howard. It was a complicated operation to extricate the heart, soul, membership and financial records and bank accounts from this cancerous relationship that had developed between the AANP and the management firm, and it was Karen’s first task as ED. It took several months, but the operation was successful, we rebuilt the AANP from the ashes, and in a year's time of severe financial austerity, we turned around our $500K deficit to a $250K net profit.

Karen Howard deserves most of the credit for saving the AANP in its darkest hour. She also deserves most of the credit for all the progress the AANP has made since that time.

From Nancy Dunne, ND, MA (AANP President 2004-05):
Karen Howard came to us a powerful and skillful woman. From Day One, we have challenged her, and she has challenged us. And she has lead us throughout the single most fruitful and effective era of achievement and maturity our profession has yet known.

Karen's fiscal acumen, political savvy and extensive, beyond-the-fold relationships have embedded in our institutions, as well as in our expectations, a level of sophistication and professionalism that is precisely what we have needed and had not heretofore owned. She has not become everyone’s friend—that’s normal. She has sown many seeds and not all have taken—that’s natural. She has stabilized and massively enhanced our economic position; she has established naturopathic physicians as a presence on Capitol Hill with consistency and wit; she has created leadership training and opportunities for inclusion and advancement that honor and engage each successive generation of new doctors. She has stabilized our rocky foundations and given us a resilient ground from which we can continue to grow. She has changed us, for so much the better, and she has allowed herself to be changed and grow as well. Karen Howard exemplifies passion and mature discernment, unflinching self-assessment and integrity. We are so much better for what she has done.

From Jane Guiltinan, ND (AANP President 2006-07)
I’d like to thank Karen for her outstanding stewardship of the AANP over the last nine years. What did Karen accomplish? Here are a few achievements:

• When she was hired, we were on the verge of bankruptcy; now we’re financially solvent with a solid revenue base and reserves in the bank.
• Membership has grown significantly and the vast majority of members are very satisfied with the direction the AANP has taken during Karen’s tenure.
• Six states and territories have gained legal recognition for naturopathic doctors.
• The DC FLI has become a signature event on Capitol Hill, with many important impacts.
• The convention continues to be brilliant.  Our smaller state associations are stronger and more organized.
• Partnerships and collaborations with external groups have flourished and resulted in increased awareness of naturopathic medicine.

All these things are great accomplishments and deserve appreciation and thanks. Most of all though I thank and honor Karen for her passion and dedication to help us achieve our dreams. She believed in us, embraced our vision, and worked tirelessly on our behalf every single day. She did this because she believes with all her heart and soul that naturopathic medicine can improve the health of families, communities and the planet. She believes that the principles of naturopathic medicine can help create a better world for her own children, grandchildren and their children.

Thank you Karen for walking with us these last years. Your legacy is stellar. Namaste, dear friend. I bow to the divine in you, with great love, appreciation, gratitude and best wishes for your next journey.

From Lise Alschuler, ND, FABNO (AANP President 2008-09):
The AANP will be forever indebted to Karen Howard. Karen’s passionate embrace of naturopathic medicine motivated an incredible stewardship of the AANP at a critical time in the organization’s history.

From the outset, Karen saw how the principles of naturopathic medicine could be used to guide the organization from the brink of disaster to tremendous success. She identified the root causes of the financial challenges, she rallied the innate healing powers of the organization by mobilizing and organizing members into political action. Karen removed obstacles to our success by creating collaborative relationships with like-minded organizations. She used the healing powers of Nature to set recurrent inspirational themes for our increasingly successful conferences. All of this resulted in AANP stability and growth during a time period in which most other non-profit associations were struggling and even collapsing.

Karen is leaving the AANP in much, much better shape than she found it in. Over the past several years, the AANP has become a strong, vital force in health care and a resource and source of inspiration for its members.

I consider myself blessed to have had the opportunity to have worked so closely with Karen throughout her tenure at the AANP. She is a strong woman, a visionary, highly intelligent and someone who leaves her heart on the table in every endeavor that matters. I have learned much from Karen and I am personally grateful for her amazing dedication to the AANP and to naturopathic medicine. The world is in desperate need of visionary leaders. The AANP benefited from one such leader, in the person of Karen Howard, and we are so much better for it.

From Carl Hangee-Bauer, ND, LAc (Current AANP President 2010-11):
What more can I add? I  have worked closely with Karen for the past four years as a board member, President-Elect and as President. I will be departing on her heels once my term ends December 31st. Over this period I have worked closely with and have gotten to know Karen quite well.

I continue to be amazed at how much she can hold in her head as she does the work of three people. She has worked not only with the AANP but with the Naturopathic Coordinating Counsel, Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges, and has been our link to such organizations at the Coalition for Patient Rights and National Foundation of Women Legislators to name just a few.

Under her leadership and guidance, we have grown from a small, new presence in Washington, D.C., to a known organization and profession who's footprint appears much larger than we truly are. She has helped us grow up, and we are forever in her debt.

So, Karen, thank you so much for everything you have done and for your many accomplishments, and personally for all of the guidance and support you have given me. We will miss you and wish you much happiness and success in whatever the future holds for you. You will always be a part of the naturopathic community.