2009 AANP Convention

Dana Ullman, MPH will be speaking as a keynote at the 2009 AANP conference. As always — for more information, including the full conference schedule, see www.naturopathic.org 

It is a pleasure and an honor to be one of the keynoters to the upcoming AANP conference. 

The first naturopathic conference that I attended was back in 1974 in Vancouver, BC, when I was practicing homeopathy in the office of an osteopathic physician (Ian Marsh, DO) in Tacoma, Washington.  We have all gained a bit more knowledge and experience since then, and I will do my best to convey what I’ve learned over the years.

The emphasis of my presentation will be on “evidence based homeopathy,” that is, a review of the best clinical research in the field.  Most people, including naturopaths, are inadequately familiar with the 200+ clinical trials testing the efficacy of homeopathic medicines. 

Part of my message to you will be that you do not need to be a “card-carrying homeopath” in order to use many homeopathic medicines.  In other words, one does not need to practice “constitutional homeopathy” or be deeply knowledgeable about several hundred homeopathic medicines in order to use a handful (or 2 or 3 handfuls) of specific single or formula homeopathic medicines for common ailments.

There are two types of homeopathic research that are typically conducted:  research to “prove” that homeopathic medicines work…and research to “improve” the quality of homeopathic practice.  We all need to know a bit about both types of homeopathic research.  Even though few naturopaths need to be convinced that homeopathic medicines work, ALL naturopaths benefit from knowing about the research that confirms the efficacy of homeopathic treatment because we ALL have patients (or spouses of patients) who are skeptical about homeopathy. 

When we educate ourselves about research, we can better educate our patients about it so that they can feel more comfortable and more confident that the health care that naturopaths are providing are based on sound science. 

Another part of my message to you will be some new language for homeopathy.  I now like to call homeopathy to be a part of  “nanopharmacology” and as a “medical biomimicry.”  I will explain why I have these preferences during my presentation.

For those of you who want to read a short article that I’ve written that provides some modern explanation for homeopathy, see my article, Why Homeopathy Makes Sense and Works.  For those of you who want access to the 200+ references to clinical research, you will benefit from purchasing an ebook that I’ve written, Homeopathic Family Medicine: Evidence-Based Nanopharmacology.

One other body of information that may help you and your patients become more confident in receiving homeopathic treatment derives from my new book, The Homeopathic Revolution: Why Famous People and Cultural Heroes Choose Homeopathy.  I conducted a significant amount of academic historical research to uncover the stories and experiences of the use and/or advocacy of homeopathy by many of the most respected cultural heroes of the past 200 years.  I discovered information on 11 U.S. Presidents, two U.K. Prime Ministers, seven popes and dozens of leading clergy and spiritual leaders, leading physicians and scientists (ranging from Charles Darwin and C. Everett Koop), corporate leaders (J.D. Rockefeller and Charles Kettering), as well as world-class musicians (Beethoven, Chopin, and Tina Turner), artists (van Gogh and Pissarro), and (of course) a ton of TV and film celebrities. 

Although I will not be presenting these stories as a part of my presentation, this body of information is compelling to many people.

Finally, the best part of many conferences is the personal quality time that we spend with each other separate from the presentations.  I look forward to meeting as many of you as I can, to hearing your stories and experiences, and to just hanging out. 

–Dana Ullman, MPH