Washington State CBS Affiliate KREM Health Article Doesn't Present Naturopathy Objectively (surprise, surprise)

here, a "health" article that presents naturopathy without objective clarity / journalistic objectivity:

001. at krem.com, in "What is Naturopathy and What Can Naturopathic Doctors Do?", Celina Van Hyning writes [2022 archived]:

Note: the title suggests we'll be told what naturopathy "is" within the URL's "health" context as "news".  Therein, we're induced into believing a certain amount of objectivity, completeness, and detachment will occur in terms of the contents of the article.  Doesn't happen because we are not told naturopathy is false, quackery, pseudoscience.  Naturopathy is, of course, a Pacific Northwest sacred cow, too.

"according to AANMC, the main difference between a naturopathic doctor and a medical doctor is the approach to healing";

well, how good of a sole source is that: the AANMC is quite happy to label naturopathy "science-based" while such science-ejected stuff is within their standard curriculum under that false label as homeopathy, vitalism, supernaturalism,  reiki, craniosacral therapy, acupuncture, supplements, etc.  No.  The main difference between naturopathy and mainstream medicine is integrity, both epistemic and ethical. 

"the primary care training for a naturopathic doctor and a medical doctor are very similar, according to the Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges (AANMC). Both doctors are trained in medical assessment and diagnosis, patient management, practice-based learning, and other areas of medicine";

this of course is a statement of false equivalency, as if there are equal routes to the same destination, medicine.  If one knows nothing about science, medicine, health, and critical thinking, I can see how that assumption could occur.

"as Spokane County Commissioners prepare to potentially appoint a naturopathic doctor to the Spokane Regional Health District (SRHD) Board of Health, many have been left to wonder what naturopathy is and what a naturopathic doctor does";

as flying carpet engineers insinuate themselves into the national aeronautics bureaucracy...And again that promise that naturopathy will be located.

"according to AANMC, the main difference between a naturopathic doctor and a medical doctor is the approach to healing: medical doctors take a biological approach to healing, while naturopathic doctors take a natural approach to healing";

subtly, we're being told that mainstream healthcare is based on science while "natural" is something else.  Scary, really, in the end.

"naturopathic medical education (NME) curriculum combines 'biomedicine, natural therapies and supervised clinical application of classroom knowledge' [...] according to the Institute for Natural Medicine (INM), naturopathic is a system of medicine that combines 'natural therapeutic traditions with modern science to restore and optimize health' [...]";

this is knowledge blending, or epistemic conflation.  Of course, this being naturopathy, INM then falsely labels the whole thing "science-based."  Science is not blended knowledge.  So, huge issues of intellectual integrity obviously going on.

"AANMS [sic., AANMC] defines naturopathic medicine as diagnosing, treating and managing patient's conditions while 'addressing disease and dysfunction at the level of body, mind and spirit' [...]";

so I will always call bullshit when somebody says they have 'science-based supernaturalism.'  Just completely running rough-shod over science standards and the meaning/sanctity/differentness of belief/faith/and kind.

"INM defines the goal of naturopathic medicine as 'to support the body’s innate capacity to heal by treating the whole person with an individualized plan and teaching the patient how to prevent further illness' [...] NDs are guided by the therapeutic order, a set of guidelines that follows the 'natural sequence and prioritization of care,' according to INM [...] the therapeutic order aligns as follows [...#2] stimulate self-healing mechanisms: NDs use therapies to 'stimulate and strengthen the body’s innate self-healing and curative abilities,' which can include clinical nutrition, botanical medicine, constitutional hydrotherapy, homeopathy, mind-body medicine and acupuncture [...]";

this is, of course, coded vitalism.  And various quackeries.

002. where is the journalism?  This is merely an advertisement.