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Advancing Your Practice through Evidence of Success

1. Contact Information

Presenters: Bob Bernhardt BSc, MEd, LLM, PhD (cand), Nick De Groot BSc ND, Dugald
Seely MSc ND
Primary Contact: Bob Bernhardt, President and CEO, The Canadian College of Naturopathic
Medicine,
Fax: 416-498-16261255 Sheppard Avenue East, Toronto, ON M2K 1E2
CANADA
416-498-1255 Extension 234

bbernhardt@ccnm.edu

2. Oral Presentation (60 minutes, although 90 would be fine as well)

3. Title: Advancing Your Practice through Evidence of Success

4. Description:

CCNM is engaged in a variety of community outreach and research activities that are documented in a
manner that provides strong evidence for the inclusion of naturopathic medicine in corporate health plans,
community clinics and university health centres. This session will provide participants with the evidence
to support the advancement of similar initiatives.

5. Session Abstract:

The Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine (CCNM) is involved in a variety of activities that
provide opportunities for naturopathic doctors to engage in interesting initiatives including research,
corporate projects, university health centres and community clinics. Many of these initiatives are of a
nature that would support replication in other sites. This session will provide participants with the
background on a variety of these projects and it will provide evidence to help naturopathic doctors in
launching comparable initiatives.

The projects include:


• The placement of NDs in the student health clinics at McMaster University and at Seneca at York
University;
• Research studies (four) on the use of naturopathic treatment protocols for common ailments at
Canada Post Corporation;
• Corporate wellness programs with a naturopathic focus;
• Involvement in community health clinics, and the evidence with respect to why the involvement
leads to improved health outcomes; and
• Initiatives in aboriginal health care.

In each case, the session will examine how the programs were initiated, the nature of the involvement of
the NDs and the suggestions for developing similar projects in other locales/institutions. One of the most
compelling reasons for starting new projects is strong evidence that prior projects were successful. The
joint Canada Post Corporation, Canadian Union of Postal Workers research studies resulted in a 50%
increase in insurance coverage for complementary and alternative treatments, additional research studies
and the publication and distribution of a booklet to 50,000 Canada Post employees promoting
naturopathic medicine. The booklet references the first three studies (chronic lower back pain, stress and
shoulder pain) and notes that: “The results have been very positive and in some cases quite dramatic.
They clearly show that naturopathic medicine treatments can be very effective.” The chronic lower back
pain study has also led to a research publication in PloS ONE as well as a related publication on the
economic benefits of a naturopathic approach in Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine.

The presentation will also explore the nature of the contacts that proved successful in securing the
placements in the student health centres. In each case, strategies had to be developed in order to help the
willing advocates, who we initially had contact with, convince the entrenched medical interests that the
addition of naturopathic medicine would better serve their students’ health needs.

The Canada Post research has also led to materials for Canada Post employees to share with naturopathic
doctors across Canada describing the protocols that proved successful in dealing with chronic lower back
pain, stress and chronic shoulder pain. These materials are compelling pieces of evidence to share with
other corporations with respect to how their employees’ health can be improved through the provision of
naturopathic treatment.

Participants will leave with a collection of ideas related to the promotion of naturopathic medicine in
corporations, institutions and communities.

Learning objectives:
At the conclusion of this session participants will be able to:
1. Describe a variety of projects that have led to the integration of naturopathic medicine and
naturopathic doctors into settings in which they were not previously present.
2. Identify specific benefits associated with utilizing naturopathic medicine in corporations and
institutions.
3. Identify opportunities for launching initiatives within their own communities.
4. Identify the evidence available from CCNM for initiatives they are considering.
5. Assess the extent to which projects of the nature described can be effectively implemented
within specific organizations and communities.

5 b) Nature of the presentation:

The presenters will describe each of the following activities in which CCNM has been involved. In each
case they will discuss the original genesis of the idea, the steps taken to engage the partners, the nature of
the involvement of the college and the participating NDs, the outcomes achieved and probable future
developments.

1. Series of studies conducted within Canada Post Corporation


These studies were a result of an initial meeting with the Canada Post Corporation and the
Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) National Joint Benefit Pilot Committee. The
Committee met with a variety of individuals at CCNM and an initial research study was
proposed. This eventually led to the study on chronic lower back pain in which NDs Kieran
Cooley and Orest Szczurko conducted a series of treatments on individuals in both the control
group and the active study group. (The nature of the treatments to be investigated meant that
neither a single nor double blind design could be employed.) This study documented
extremely positive outcomes for the naturopathic treatment (including an indication of lasting
results from a six month follow-up study.) This initial study has led to an increase in
coverage for naturopathic treatment, three additional studies and the promotion of
naturopathic medicine amongst the CUPW employee group.

2. Placement of naturopathic doctors in university and college health centres


In both the case of Seneca at York and McMaster University, initial contacts with individuals
associated with student health care led to the provision of naturopathic services by NDs
within the student health centres. Preliminary discussions related to the efficacy of the
treatments, availability of reimbursement through insurance plans, length of appointments
and nature of the equipment required for the treatment rooms. The Seneca example has led to
the request by Seneca for additional services being provided at their Newnham campus.

3. Corporate wellness program


CCNM has developed a naturopathic corporate wellness program that it would be pleased to
share with NDs who are seeking to launch their own local corporate wellness initiatives.
CCNM’s experience has been that meeting with corporations regarding corporate wellness
frequently leads to other opportunities for integrating naturopathic medicine into the
organization.

4. Community health clinics


CCNM is involved in five community health clinics in Toronto. The college has been
seeking funds so that they can document the impact of the interns’ involvement in the clinic
through high quality qualitative research. We have been successful in gaining funds to
document the impact for patients at the Anishnawbe clinic (focusing on the urban aboriginal
population) and the college has developed a database to assist it in evaluating impact at the
other centres. CCNM will share the results of these studies to assist NDs in lobbying for the
inclusion of naturopathic doctors in clinics within their communities.

5. Initiatives in Aboriginal Health Care


CCNM has conducted a study for Health Canada in which several aspects with respect to the
use of naturopathic medicine in aboriginal populations (both in Canada and abroad) were
studied. Naturopathic medicine, and naturopathic doctors, can serve as bridges between
traditional medical beliefs and practices and the modern health clinics that are facing
challenges with respect to acceptance into the culture, particularly on reservations. First
Nations health care remains one of the most significant failures in Canada’s health care
system and CCNM will share the areas in which the research has indicated that naturopathic
medicine could have a positive impact on improving conditions.

Time will be allotted for questions and the presenters will ensure that individuals leave with a range of
resources (either in-hand or on the web) that will allow them to advance their own initiatives.

5. c) No pharmacy discussion will occur during this presentation.

5. d) Target audience: Practicing NDs, institutional administrators, health care providers

6. Presenters Biographies

Bob Bernhardt

Bob Bernhardt, BSc (University of Guelph), LLM (York University), MEd (University of Toronto), PhD
(University of Toronto, candidate), has served as President and CEO of CCNM since Janaury 2004. Bob
is an experienced leader in post-secondary education with a passion for naturopathic medicine.

During his career, he has served as Director of Education at the Law Society of Upper Canada, Dean of
several faculties at Sheridan College, Vice-President at DeVry College of Technology, and Head of
Business and Academic studies at one of the Higher Colleges of Technology in the United Arab Emirates.
Mr. Bernhardt has a record of fostering organizational development through pursuing partnerships,
focusing resources, and prompting institutional growth. In addition, Bob currently serves as President of
the Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges (AANMC).

Nick De Groot ND

Nick De Groot is the Dean of the naturopathic program at the Canadian College of Naturopathic
Medicine where he oversees both the clinical and academic components of the program. He has a BSc in
Molecular Genetics and Biology from University of Toronto and received his diploma in naturopathic
medicine from the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine. He is also the Chair of the Council of
Chief Academic and Clinic Officers (a working group of the Association of Accredited Naturopathic
Medical Colleges), which has recently focused on developing clear professional competencies and
learning outcomes for the naturopathic medical curriculum. He believes that naturopathic medicine is
well situated to offer solutions to the chronic disease burden seen in Canada.

Dugald Seely ND

Dugald Seely ND, MSc (University of Toronto) is a naturopathic doctor and director of research at the
Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine. Dr. Seely is the principal investigator for a number of
clinical trials and is actively pursuing relevant synthesis research in the production of systematic reviews
and meta-analyses at CCNM. Dr. Seely is involved in developing research suited to assess therapies used
by NDs as well as the whole system of naturopathic medicine. Author to over 25 peer reviewed
publications including 4 book chapters, Dugald is the editor for the newly re-launched International
Journal of Naturopathic Medicine, sits on a number of expert committees across North America, and is
dedicated to help build the research capacity of the naturopathic profession overall.

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