Legacy and Trajectory
Editor’s Note
Nature’s Medicine Through Time is an independent publication synthesizing materials and integrating perspectives developed during decades studying and teaching natural medicine and its historical expressions in human experience. As an ongoing learning environment content is gathered, refined and shared through an editorial process that is descriptive and inclusive rather than prescriptive or preferential in its presentation. The overarching organizational design and content development principles emphasizing the profession, therapeutics and institutional maturation of naturopathic medicine emerged and evolved as I have been teaching History of Medicine first at National College of Naturopathic Medicine and then for more than three decades at Oregon College of Oriental Medicine.
The current iteration of this ongoing project emphasizes four themes:
- The medical lineages flowing from the Empiricist school of Kos and the Rationalist School of Knidus through the Vitalist and Mechanistic models into Natural and Allopathic paradigms and toward emergent person-centered care and systems sciences with an examination of views on Nature and Medicine, the body and its inherent self-healing properties, and the therapeutic relationship;
- Therapeutic lineages constituting the clinical practice of natural and conventional medicine through time;
- The influence of cultural context of models of health and disease, medical interventions and self-care, economic, political and artistic influences; and,
- Consideration of the model of professional formation as demonstrated by the collective activities of naturopathic physicians and the evolution of the profession of naturopathic medicine.
Over a decade or so I brought my multicultural studies and library of resources to the Foundations of Naturopathic Medicine Project as History Editor. My knowledge deepened and expanded during a decade of developing lasting relationships with talented and enthusiastic student fellows and activists assisting with content research, contacting key individuals and organizational actors, and sorting through input gathered through multiple channels. In particular, Craig Stuart Mehrmann, MPH, ND, Hunter Peterson, ND, and Craig Fasullo, ND, in concert with co-editor Pamela Snider, ND, medical editor Amy Neil, MS, MAP, project manager Kelsang Tenpa, MA, and design and graphics wizard Christopher Thombs, comprised a formidable team in cultivating a sense of historical self-awareness and collective coherence within the naturopathic profession. Parts of content that appear on this site were also included in the Naturopathic Timeline displayed in draft form at annual conferences of the Oregon Association of Naturopathic Physicians (OANP) and the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP) in 2017 and 2018.
The preliminary work done with FNM remains unpublished. Research and content development have continued alongside and after my active role within Foundations of Naturopathic Medicine Project ended in 2018.
Components of introductory material developed under joint authorship intended for inclusion in the Naturopathic Medicine: History and Professional Formation Timeline are presented on this site for their content and contextualization. The Preface is reproduced in full. The Dedication is below, as are credits and acknowledgments. The topical categorization system has been reconfigured and further developed. Other materials may be included in the future.
While the international community of naturopathic medicine and its sibling disciplines has enthusiastically shared from their histories and heritages, the librarians and libraries at National College of Natural Medicine, Oregon College of Oriental Medicine, University of Western States, Bastyr University and National University of Health Sciences have been especially generous and skillful in enabling access to their resources. Ongoing dialogue and shared discovery with David J. Schleich, PhD, Sussanna Czeranko, ND, Eric Blake, ND, LAc, George Cody and others have enriched my respect for their knowledge and insights and inspired me to deeper investigation into previously underappreciated individuals and historical patterns in the rich community of natural medicine and heritage of vitalistic traditions.
Mitchell Bebel Stargrove, ND, LAc
Editor, Nature’s Medicine Through Time
