Introducing The Insider

By Paul Mittman, President/CEO

Welcome back! What a difference a year makes. Last year began with the Tsunami tragedy and continued with earthquakes, war and hurricanes. Time and again the Southwest College community responded. We sent a physician to Sri Lanka, and we raised money and hosted fundraisers for flood victims.

We start this New Year with the same determination and undying commitment to serving humanity by alleviating suffering and restoring health. We continue to mature and evolve as a college and as a community.

If you haven’t made it over to the Medical Center yet this year, please do. Over the holiday break Dr. Girard, the Medical Center staff, and a fantastic team of contractors completed a major renovation. The lab doubled in size and moved to a much better location, exam rooms were deep cleaned and decorated, the student conference room was upgraded and the front desk reception area was completely redesigned to better serve patients, doctors and students. In addition, a new donation from Welch Allyn will shortly arrive with all sorts of new and improved diagnostic equipment. And when you are at the Medical Center, remember to thank the wonderful staff for a job well done.

Other upcoming highlights include two new adjunct faculty members – Drs. Steve Nenninger and Rick Kirschner. Some of you heard Dr. Kirschner give a one day workshop on communication and the art of change at the AANP convention’s leadership conference. He will be teaching the Healthy Communication intensive for the incoming spring 2006 class. Dr. Kirschner is thrilled to be a part of our school and looks forward to contributing in many ways.

Dr. Nenninger and I are discussing ways to share his prodigious skills and wisdom with our students. I will see him in a couple of weeks at the NYANP Lobby Day and we will continue to develop some very interesting opportunities.

I am returning to the classroom joining Drs. Boyd Campbell and June Stevens to teach/coordinate a new Grand Rounds class that will be held Friday afternoons from 12:15-2:15. Dr. Campbell and I met very recently and are committed to creating a dynamic, clinically relevant and exciting class. We’ll see you there!

This is the best time in the history of our College. Many of the brightest, most experienced, and most qualified faculty, students and staff are here at SCNM. Our finances are sound and the fundraising prospects never looked brighter. Together let’s make 2006 a milestone in the history of Southwest College and in the advancement of Naturopathic medicine.

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SCNM Will Convert to a Semester System

By Rick Eberst, Provost/EVP

During the most recent Board of trustees meeting a very exciting decision was made to convert the College to a “Semester” system. The Board’s decision was made based upon the recommendations of the Faculty Senate, the Academic Affairs Council and the President’s Council. The hope is to have this conversion up and running by the Fall semester of 2007 if at all possible. The major reasons for instituting a semester system are to:

Approved Language for the Definition of Practicing Without a License

By Dr. Craig Runbeck, Executive Director of NPBOMEx and Dr. Christine L. Girard, CMO/EVP

In the State of Arizona, practicing naturopathic medicine without a license involves the diagnosis or treatment of any patient by an unsupervised naturopathic medical student or any other unlicensed person where money may or may not be exchanged.

Naturopathic medical students are held to a higher standard than the general population. It is understood that naturopathic medical students must practice skills in order to become minimally competent for graduation. The practice of skills such as History taking or Homeopathic Case taking, are less concerning than the practice of skills such as digital rectal exams, gynecologic examinations, minor surgery, injections, manipulative therapies, and IVs. The difference lies within the relative risk to the public. There is higher risk to the public with the practice of an IV as compared with the risk to the public with the practice of taking a history. Additionally, the quality of the educational experience is of the utmost importance. In general, supervision of skills enhances the quality of the learning experience.

Definitions:

ARS 32-1501

13. "Direct supervision" means that a physician who is licensed pursuant to this chapter or chapter 13, 17 or 29 of this title:

(a) Is physically present and within sight or sound of the person supervised and is available for consultation regarding procedures that the physician has authorized and for which the physician remains responsible.

(b) Has designated a person licensed pursuant to this chapter or chapter 13, 17 or 29 of this title to provide direct supervision in the physician's absence.

23. "Naturopathic medical student" means a person who is enrolled in a course of study at an approved school of naturopathic medicine.

24. "Naturopathic medicine" means medicine as taught in approved schools of naturopathic medicine and in clinical, internship, preceptorship and postdoctoral training programs approved by the board and practiced by a recipient of a degree of doctor of naturopathic medicine licensed pursuant to this chapter.

27. "Practice of naturopathic medicine" means a medical system of diagnosing and treating diseases, injuries, ailments, infirmities and other conditions of the human mind and body including by natural means, drugless methods, drugs, nonsurgical methods, devices, physical, electrical, hygienic and sanitary measures and all forms of physical agents and modalities.

Skills Practice Guidelines:

NMT adjusting must be practiced in a supervised practice lab. Orthopedic tests, palpation, soft tissue techniques, and NMT “set-up” are exempt and may be practiced without supervision.

Acupuncture must be practiced in a supervised lab. OSHA requires that acupuncture be done utilizing clean technique and in a room with no carpet. Standard of Care requires a count of “Needles In” and “Needles Out” which must be documented. Point identification, palpation, and acupressure are exempt and may be practiced without supervision.

Minor surgery, injection therapies, and IV therapies, outside of classroom activities, must be practiced under supervision at the Medical Center.

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Naturopathic Public Awareness Campaign, Winter 2006

By MaryK Martin Geyer, Public Awareness Co-Chair

The Naturopathic Public Awareness campaign (NPAC) has had another exciting and extremely active year. This student founded organization at Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine (SCNM) provides student leadership training, student testifiers at congressional hearings, educational meetings with legislators, mass letter signing, grass roots letter campaigns, mass phone calling campaigns, monetary support and whatever else is needed to support local and national legislative efforts for naturopathic medicine and develop strong future leaders in our medicine.

This year NPAC has concentrated many efforts towards the educational aspect of its mission by hosting lectures on a variety of subjects including, “How a Bill Becomes a Law”, and “Organizing a Letter Writing Campaign”. Along the same lines, NPAC has created a brand new educational brochure and launched a brand new website for www.globalnpac.org.

In May, NPAC sent six naturopathic medical students to the District of Columbia to participate in the DC Federal Legislative Initiative. During this trip they participated in a “Mock Congress” and a Health Fair to educate staffers. Students also visited the offices of Arizona Representatives J.D. Hayworth and Senator John McCain to request support for inclusion of naturopathic medicine in the Indian Health Services Act. Representative Hayworth helped engineer this legislative effort and Senator McCain has also been very supportive. Many of the students also made personal visits to legislators from their home districts to educate them about naturopathic medicine.

On June 24th, 2005 the Naturopathic Public Awareness Campaign hosted its second annual Auction Gala as a fundraiser to promote public education of naturopathic medicine and licensing in the United States. The formal attire, “Masquerade Ball” themed gala raised a grand total of $25,000.

Large fundraising events have enabled NPAC to send students to testify in unlicensed states, including Florida, North Carolina, New York and Illinois this past year, as well as supporting letter writing campaigns, including the 5,000 letters sent to Florida in support of licensure. NPAC’s student testimonies are making a major impact on nationwide licensing efforts including supporting California, Washington D.C., and Idaho who have all passed legislation to license NDs within the past couple of years.

On the forefront of recent fundraising efforts, Stacey Kupperman, the SCNM NPAC state representative for New York, threw an exceptional fundraising party on November 19^th, 2005 at the Streets of New York in Tempe, Ariz. The event raised $1,800, which was matched by NPAC, and will help fund travel expenses for ten SCNM students who plan on practicing in New York to meet with legislators at the NYANP (New York Association of Naturopathic Physicians) Lobby Day on January 24^th, 2006 in Albany, New York. In efforts to prepare for Lobby Day, NPAC coordinated a visit from Dr. Donielle Wilson, Naturopathic physician and president of the NYANP, to SCNM on December 9, 2005. Wilson helped to educate our students on how they can become more involved in the NYANP's legislative effort and how to manifest more of an impact on the political process.

With the holidays to rest and recoup, NPAC will be starting a brand new year and revving up preparations for the legislative season to come. If you are interested in learning more about NPAC or donating towards our efforts, please visit us at www.globalnpac.org.

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Enrollment News

By Melissa Winquist, VP of Enrollment Management

The Enrollment Department is gearing up for a busy 2006!

Dates to place on your calendar:

• January 10 – 13 - Registration
• January 13 – Interview Day
• February 24 – Interview Day
• March 10 – Interview Day
• March 11 – Prospective Student Open House
• March 14 – Prospective Student Open House
• April 7 – Interview Day

In other news, the Admissions Office is involved in a search for a new Assistant Director of Admissions and a quarter-time naturopathic physician to aid in the recruitment of students. The Registrar’s Office is in the final stages of interviews for the Assistant Registrar position.

(The Enrollment Department is comprised of Admissions, Financial Aid, Registrar’s Office, Career Services and the Alumni Office.  Enrollment Services promotes and supports the mission of the College by attracting and retaining quality students and maintaining relationships with our lifelong learners.  We are committed to developing a positive student experience while providing support and services that respond to the needs of the College community.)

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NWB Crosses Borders to Provide Outreach and Education

By Miki Ramirez, Secretary- Naturopaths Without Borders

Naturopaths Without Borders (NWB) has been making strides to help other communities near and far. This year NWB took its first opportunity to aid a distant community by venturing to Poptun, Guatemala. Miki Ramirez, accompanied by Mary Ellen O'Brien, N.D., acupuncturist and GUAMAP (Guatemala Acupuncture and Medical Aid project) board member, on the organization’s outreach project to Guatemala. Requests for training come from the communities themselves through local health committees to the ASECSA (Asociación de Sevicios Comunitarios de Salud). The role of acupuncture has been instilled in Guatemala for longer than we know. Historically, it may be very similar to a Maya puncture method used in Central America.

ASECSA has been devoted to aiding communities in Guatemala with health training. The health promoters participating in this program had all been previously trained in basic health and emergency skills by ASECSA. GUAMAP also sent Dr. O’Brien with supplies for the health promoters and for use in the acupuncture program in Guatemala.

On arrival to Poptun, instruction was already underway in its second week. These health promoters had participated in Level One of GUAMAP’s training the year prior. Now returning for Level Two, the promoters added to their knowledge as well as reviewing material from the prior year. The health promoters had two weeks of instruction. This was followed by a day of testing. They were tested on their knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medicine meridians, points and basic concepts in diagnosis and treatment. For two and a half days following the testing, the health promoters, under supervision, conducted their first free clinic. Advertising on the radio brought in people from all surrounding areas of Poptun. The ultimate goal of GUAMAP’s presence in Poptun, Guatemala is to hand-off training to two local senior participants in the program who have been working and training with GUAMAP for over ten years. GUAMAP then hopes to start a new program in another area of Guatemala.

Thanks to the efforts of our fundraiser lunch in September we were able to raise over $500 for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts and this GUAMAP trip. Monies were used for traveling expenses and supplies to donate to the GUAMAP health promoters. Some of the items donated to the health promoters by NWB were plastic folders, color dots for point location, nylon carrying bags, a solar shower bag, Purell hand sanitizer, bags of dried fruit/nut mix, reading glasses w/cases. Both NWB and GUAMAP are enthusiastic about this new collaboration between the two organizations. In the future we hope to broaden are scopes of aid and continue our participation with GUAMAP by sending other students on future trips.

Most recently NWB proposed to give families of Hamilton Elementary in Phoenix knowledge on how to defend, prevent and support their immune systems for this upcoming cold and flu season. In attendance at Hamilton were Margarita Hernandez, Tamara Torres, Chris Ogilvie, Miki Ramirez, Rob Bird and Betsy Arnold. Enthusiastic members of NWB put together a power point presentation, gift bags consisting of herbal tea, organic oranges, garlic, zinc lozenges and instructional note cards. As some children played and ran around in the background of the Hamilton auditorium, other youngsters stayed with their families to listen to our presentations. While Miki presented in English, Margarita presented in Spanish. Side-by-side, it was a visual treat to see them as they discussed home remedies and good nutrition for the cold and flu season. For roughly two hours, the two continuously and tirelessly taught to different families. Their were plenty of families to go around, each participant was able to answer questions, spread the word of Naturopathic medicine and the Hamilton Clinic, and demonstrate home remedies. Each family received a presentation talk and demonstration of home remedies. On hand were supplies to demonstrate nasal irrigation, wet socks, steam inhalation, and skin brushing. Each family left with their own gift bag, and written instructions for the each of the modalities demonstrated. The Hamilton Project was a great success.

(The vision of Naturopaths Without Borders is to overcome language, cultural, and socioeconomic barriers that currently exist between underserved communities and naturopathic medical care through outreach and education. Our mission is to make naturopathic medical care more accessible and to educate communities about the principles and modalities of naturopathic medicine. Naturopaths Without Borders prepares naturopathic students and physicians to extend the scope of their medical services through foreign language and cultural training in the United States and abroad.)

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Sprouting Roots - Year in Review - “Keep the Garden Growing “

By Angela Wojtowicz, President of Sprouting Roots

A lot has happened since Sprouting Roots first started in May of 2005. We started out in the spring meeting Tuesdays after school, and had a great turnout. We prepared the herb garden by planting black eyed peas, which are nitrogen rich plants to nourish the soil. Groups of kids got a section of the garden and with their mentors planted the peas in designs such as flowers, suns, and other unique free form designs. During the spring we also transplanted aloe vera for the classrooms, and painted garbage cans. The garbage cans were decorated in an effort to promote cleanliness on campus, even though we were all covered in paint by the end! To celebrate the success of our first season of gardening at Hamilton Elementary School, we had a “slip and slide” popsicle party.

Over the summer the black beans grew bringing life and pride to all of the gardeners! At the end of the summer the black beans were mowed down. We had a clean slate to start with for the fall and winter gardening seasons.

Fall gardening brought lots of clean-up, preparation, and maintenance to the future site of the Hamilton Medicinal Herb Garden. Although the medicinal herb garden is still in progress, we now have raised beds decorated by the kids’ artwork, and are looking forward to hauling in the generous donation of organic soil from Western Organics of Phoenix, Ariz.

In the meantime, we planted a vegetable garden in the Learning Tree Plaza across the street from Hamilton. We had another generous donation from Gardener’s World of Phoenix, of seeds such as turnips, radishes, carrots, peas, kale, cucumbers, and much more. We had a great harvest of all our veggies at the beginning of December, and all the kids got to take them home to make salads.

The future of Sprouting Roots holds lots more gardening at Hamilton. We will be completing the Medicinal Herb Garden on campus. The plants will be labeled and available for the kids to use: such as peppermint for belly aches and aloe vera for sunburns. We plan to have guest speakers to teach us about native cultures and how they lived with the land.

We would love to have more people to help out in the garden. With more volunteers we will be able to keep the gardening going and bring awareness to the community. The continued sense of accomplishment and the skills the children acquire from this experience is priceless. Please join us! For updates and more information please e-mail Angela: a.wojtowicz@scnm.edu

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The Naturopathic Society, Winter 2006

By Tara Peyman, Naturopathic Society Public Relations

The Naturopathic Society continues to provide a variety of exciting events to the SCNM community relating to naturopathic philosophy. During the winter quarter, we have hosted discussions on writings by Larry Dossey and of Daniel Block’s The Revolution of Naturopathic Medicine, and listened to audio recordings from The Gathering 2004. To ring in the New Year, the Naturopathic Society is delighted to host Dr. Mona Morstein and Dr. Donese Worden as speakers during the last half of the winter quarter.

Recently, the Naturopathic Society hosted the first Physician Heal Thyself Week, as a way of supporting the student body toward a healthy and balanced pursuit of naturopathic medical education. This quarter, the week began with a session on creating healing space, followed by a cooking class, a class on yoga and meditation, and a class on fitting effective exercise into our hectic schedule without adding to the stress response. Dr. John Dye also presented on Mind-Body Metaphors, where he discussed the underlying meaning of disease as it manifests physically in our lives. Each winter and summer quarter we plan to repeat this week long educational experience.

Keep your eyes open for the first issue of the Naturopathic Society’s newsletter this spring, full of articles about guest presentations, interviews, book reviews, and more. The newsletter will be primarily electronically distributed over SCNM email.

The third annual gathering of Naturopathic physicians and students from around the world convenes in Portland, OR on the weekend of Feb. 10-12, 2006. The Naturopathic Gathering is an SCNM creation dedicated to pass the knowledge and experience of Naturopathic philosophy in action to the next generation of physicians and to preserve the philosophy as our profession grows. At the Gathering we’ll sit in conversation with the elders of our profession who have lived the philosophy of Naturopathic medicine and seen it work. So join us in Portland in February for a refreshing reminder of what makes our profession unique in the medical community.

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Staff Senate Update

By Salina Bazurto, Admissions/Marketing Specialist, Staff Senate President,

For the holiday season, the Event Planning Committee set up an annual food and toy drive. In addition, we added a pet toy drive. This was headed by Carol Kamen, Chair of Event Planning Committee and donations were accepted from Staff/Faculty and Students. Boxes were placed by the front entrance doors for donations.

The 2005 holiday toy drive was organized to benefit “Childhelp USA” which is dedicated to the treatment and prevention of child abuse and neglect. Donations were given to the “The Childhelp Children's Center of Arizona” (Phoenix) and the children who come through the center will benefit from our donations all year long. This 22,000-square-foot facility is a unique public-private sector collaboration which utilizes a one-stop approach to the investigation of child sexual and physical abuse. The center's child-friendly decor reassures victims and non-offending family members, and provides a sense of safety and security throughout the investigative process. Every child who comes to the center gets to pick a toy to keep from the gift closet. The age ranges of the children are under one year to 18 years of age. Given the circumstances that a child is in, this toy is often the only possession they have to call their own.

Toys and treats and other items for our furry friends at the Arizona Humane Society were also collected as well as donations of non-perishable food items for St. Mary’s Foodbank.

The year was closed out with a Staff/Faculty holiday party with a catered lunch, holiday power-point display, and a white elephant gift exchange.

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The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Allies Naturopathic Medical Association 

By Sandy Colvard

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Allies Naturopathic Medical Association (LGBTA NMA, for short) was formed in March/April 2005. It is the vision of now 14th Quarter student, Sandy Colvard. The "A" or "Allies" stands for anyone who does not identify as being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) but supports our organization ¾ or as we like to say "Straight But Not Narrow."

Our Vision Statement: The LGBTA Allies Naturopathic Association will be an international service organization for LGBTA physicians, medical students, and the LGBT community at large.

Our Mission Statement: The mission of the LGBTA Allies Naturopathic Association is to promote awareness of, offer opportunities for dialog about, and provide education on LGBT medical issues to our peers within all Naturopathic Medical Schools and to LGBTA Naturopathic physicians; as well as becoming a health resource for the LGBT community.

Although we are still in the beginning phases of our vision and mission, we were officially recognized as an SCNM student body organization in October 2005. We organized and staffed the SCNM booth at the Phoenix Rainbow Festival in October, and we worked with Imhotep Circle to commemorate World AIDS Day on December 1, with week long events to raise awareness about the HIV/AIDS crisis and misconceptions concerning the disease.

In the future, we are planning to visit different LGBT organizations throughout the Valley to provide information about Naturopathic Medicine in general and SCNM's Medical Center in particular. This population traditionally does not visit doctors on a regular basis due to fears about bias and a history of being ill-treated by the medical community. We want to let them know the benefits of our medicine and that we treat the whole person without prejudice (as all doctors should) and welcome them to our medical center.

We also want to contact all other Naturopathic schools to see if they have a LGBTA organization already or if they would be interested in forming one so that we may coalesce into a national/international organization in the future.

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The Natural Talkers Club

By Reena Singh, President

The Natural Talkers Club is a chartered Toastmasters organization. The club achieved the President’s distinguished award this past July. This award is the highest level achievement a club can attain. Our mission as student organization is to provide an environment that fosters leadership, communication, and personal marketing skills.

Other than our weekly meetings, the organization has stepped out into the community by volunteering with the Girl Scouts of America and speaking at the 2005 AANP conference at the Biltmore in Phoenix this past August 2005.

The Girl Scouts “First Saturday Program” provided our members with the opportunity to share and communicate what Naturopathic medicine is about in a very different setting. The tools we shared with the Girl Scouts allowed them to identify and alleviate stress utilizing Mind- Body techniques. Mag Bell, the director of the Greater Phoenix area Girl Scouts organization, recognized our commitment to their program and has asked us to participate again next year.

Four members of the Natural Talkers club were asked to speak at the 2005 AANP conference. This is the first time students have been asked to speak at the National conference. Alicia Johnson, Ann Lovick, and Reena Singh presented, “Communicating Your Way to Success” to an audience made up of students and doctors. Larry Hellman presented “Business, Arizona Style” as well. The presentations were very well received and we hope that the door is now to open to students to present at the national conferences in the future.

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