The NPLEX II Saga Begins

Well it is finally here: the final mental marathon required to become a licensed ND.  My head already feels like I'm in need of a break after a 6 day NPLEX (Naturopathic Physicians Licensing Examinations) review course.  And I haven't even officially started studying yet!

Like any large and difficult task, I think half the battle is overcoming the intimidation and making a plan to break it down into smaller "digestible" components.  NPLEX II tests a naturopathic doctor's correct and safe utilization of the following components to prevent and treat disease in every organ system in the body: clinical nutrition, botanical medicine, physical medicine, physical and clinical diagnosis, lab diagnosis and imaging, pharmacology, psychology, emergency medicine, homeopathy, traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture.  It is a tremendous scope of information!  So, for the next 10 weeks, new naturopathic graduates in Canada and the US will be reviewing and studying full time in order to be successful on NPLEX II this August.  Starting May 30th, I will be following a weekly objective schedule that breaks topics up by organ system and modality.  Of course, 8 hours of sleep, daily exercise, phosphatidylcholine and fish oil are just a few extra requirements necessary to survive the NPLEX II saga!

Well, with yet another blog post about survival, I realize that sometimes I take the risk over-informing prospective students.  Accordingly, I have periodically considered not disclosing information because some degree of naivety can be beneficial in undertaking a difficult task.  As such, in being candid with the extensive, somewhat unrelenting effort it takes to become a naturopathic doctor, my hope is not to discourage anyone from being an ND but to provide an opportunity for proactive students to become informed.  However, if for example only one or two of the naturopathic modalities are of interest to you, then maybe making all the extra effort to become a naturopathic doctor is not for you.  Keep in mind that there are practitioners who specialize in each of of the modalities that ND's are licensed to practice and maybe you would be better suited as an herbalist or registered dietitian or chiropractor or homeopath or psychologist or an acupuncturist.  At least now you can make a better informed choice.