Scope of practice

This document describes the Scope of Practice for the Registered Naturopath and Registered Naturopath & Medical Herbalist. These professionals form an integral part of an individual’s healthcare team, and/or inter-professional teams in healthcare, research and development, education, and other practice environments. They provide services in a variety of settings including, but not limited to, healthcare, business and industry (retail, manufacturing, marketing), community and public health, education, wellness and fitness centres, private practice, communications, and research.

Definitions

Qualified Naturopaths are trained in the use of:

nutrition,
dietary supplementation
naturopathic medicines (combination medicines e.g. nutrients, herbal, homoeopathic)
lifestyle counselling

and may also be trained in the use of:

herbal medicines,
homoeopathic medicines,
body therapies
mind-body-energy practices e.g. meditation, mindfulness, Reiki.

to promote well-being and healing.

Scope

The healing power of nature (vis medicatrix naturae)
Treat the whole person (tolle totum)
Treat the cause (tolle causam)
First do no harm (primum non nocere)
Naturopathic doctor as teacher (docere)
Health promotion and disease prevention
Wellness

A naturopath who is also a medical herbalist has received additional training (equivalent to 70 credits of theory/practical specific herbal medicine education plus 60 credits of clinical programme where herbal medicine is applied in a clinical setting) and/or a qualification in herbal medicine and may provide individualised herbal medicine as a focus of treatment. Registered Naturopaths may use additional modalities in which they have received formal training which informs the individual’s Scope of Practice.

Hereafter, ‘Naturopaths ‘ and ‘Naturopaths and Medical Herbalists’ are referred to as ‘Naturopaths’.

“Registered” means the Naturopath is a paid-up professional member of Naturopaths & Medical Herbalists of NZ (Inc). At this stage, Naturopathy & Herbal Medicine are not regulated professions under the Health Practitioner’s Competency Assurance Act (2003) (HPCAA).

Naturopaths registered with NMHNZ have a qualification from an accredited New Zealand Naturopathic college or the equivalent, and are required to maintain registration, including 60 points worth of Continuing Professional Education across two years and to maintain a current First Aid Certificate.

Competent naturopaths understand and practice within their Scope of Practice, use up to date knowledge, skills, judgement, and best practices; make sound decisions based on appropriate data; communicate effectively with clients, customers, and others; critically evaluate their own practice; identify the limits of their competence and improve performance based on self-evaluation, applied practice, and feedback.

Training and education includes:

knowledge of research methodology, methods and critique
reviewing scientific information and research into natural plant/sea/animal/mineral substances and nutritional science
medical sciences (anatomy, physiology, chemistry, biochemistry, pathophysiology, pharmacology, clinical assessment, physical examination, and laboratory evaluation).
thorough case-taking
clinical decision-making and the formulation of wellness or treatment plans, coaching and education, and referrals as appropriate.

Naturopaths may be engaged in other areas, including but not limited to research, product development, marketing and sales, education and public health promotion. Education and experience inform the practitioner’s individualised scope of practice.

The legislation appropriate to health care providers in New Zealand are:

Treaty of Waitangi
Health Practitioners Competency and Assurance Act (2003)
Medicines Act (1981) and Medicines Amendment Act (2016)
Privacy Act (1993)
Public Health and Disability Act (2000)
The Code of Health and Disability Services Consumer Rights
Fair Trading Act (1996) and adherence to Advertising Standards Authority Codes of Practice
Consumers Guarantee Act (1993)