Summary Report for:
29-1199.04 - Naturopathic Physicians
Diagnose, treat, and help prevent diseases using a system of practice that is based on the natural healing capacity of individuals. May use physiological, psychological or mechanical methods. May also use natural medicines, prescription or legend drugs, foods, herbs, or other natural remedies.
Sample of reported job titles:
Naturopathic Physician, Naturopathic Doctor, Physician, Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine
Tasks | Tools & Technology | Knowledge | Skills | Abilities | Work Activities | Work Context | Job Zone | Education | Interests | Work Styles | Work Values | Related Occupations | Wages & Employment | Job Openings
Tasks
- Interview patients to document symptoms and health histories.
- Advise patients about therapeutic exercise and nutritional medicine regimens.
- Administer, dispense, or prescribe natural medicines such as food or botanical extracts, herbs, dietary supplements, vitamins, nutraceuticals, and amino acids.
- Document patients' histories, including identifying data, chief complaints, illnesses, previous medical or family histories, or psychosocial characteristics.
- Educate patients about health care management.
- Diagnose health conditions based on patients' symptoms and health histories, laboratory and diagnostic radiology test results, or other physiological measurements, such as electrocardiograms and electroencephalographs.
- Conduct physical examinations and physiological function tests for diagnostic purposes.
- Maintain professional development through activities such as post-graduate education, continuing education, preceptorships, and residency programs.
- Order diagnostic imaging procedures such as radiographs (x-rays), ultrasounds, mammograms, and bone densitometry tests, or refer patients to other health professionals for these procedures.
- Administer treatments or therapies, such as homeopathy, hydrotherapy, Oriental or Ayurvedic medicine, electrotherapy and diathermy, using physical agents including air, heat, cold, water, sound, or ultraviolet light to catalyze the body to heal itself.
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Tools & Technology
Tools used in this occupation:
| Blood pressure cuff kits — Sphygmomanometers |
| Electrotherapy combination units — Electrical stimulation equipment; Interferential electrical stimulation machines |
| Galvanic or faradic stimulators — High-voltage Galvanic stimulation machines; Low-voltage galvanic stimulation machines |
| Ophthalmoscopes or otoscopes or scope sets — Ophthalmoscopes; Otoscopes |
| Therapeutic heating or cooling pads or compresses or packs — Therapeutic cold packs; Therapeutic hot packs |
Technology used in this occupation:
| Accounting software — EZ-Zone Software Alternative Medical Billing |
| Information retrieval or search software — Online medical databases |
| Label making software — Labeling software |
| Medical software — Enova eNatro; NaturaeMed OfficePro; NaturoPlus; Trigram Software AcuBase Pro |
| Spreadsheet software — Microsoft Excel |
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Knowledge
| Medicine and Dentistry — Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures. |
| Biology — Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment. |
| Psychology — Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders. |
| Therapy and Counseling — Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance. |
| Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction. |
| English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar. |
| Chemistry — Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods. |
| Education and Training — Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects. |
| Administration and Management — Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources. |
| Sales and Marketing — Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems. |
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Skills
| Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. |
| Social Perceptiveness — Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do. |
| Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems. |
| Science — Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems. |
| Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively. |
| Judgment and Decision Making — Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one. |
| Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents. |
| Complex Problem Solving — Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions. |
| Service Orientation — Actively looking for ways to help people. |
| Active Learning — Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making. |
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Abilities
| Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem. |
| Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences. |
| Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events). |
| Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand. |
| Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense. |
| Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you. |
| Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. |
| Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations). |
| Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person. |
| Category Flexibility — The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways. |
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Work Activities
| Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources. |
| Assisting and Caring for Others — Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients. |
| Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems. |
| Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form. |
| Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job. |
| Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events. |
| Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time. |
| Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others — Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used. |
| Performing for or Working Directly with the Public — Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests. |
| Thinking Creatively — Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions. |
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Work Context
| Telephone — How often do you have telephone conversations in this job? |
| Face-to-Face Discussions — How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job? |
| Freedom to Make Decisions — How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer? |
| Structured versus Unstructured Work — To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals? |
| Contact With Others — How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it? |
| Indoors, Environmentally Controlled — How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions? |
| Deal With External Customers — How important is it to work with external customers or the public in this job? |
| Electronic Mail — How often do you use electronic mail in this job? |
| Frequency of Decision Making — How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization? |
| Physical Proximity — To what extent does this job require the worker to perform job tasks in close physical proximity to other people? |
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Job Zone
| Title |
Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed |
| Education |
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree). |
| Related Experience |
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job. |
| Job Training |
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training. |
| Job Zone Examples |
These occupations often involve coordinating, training, supervising, or managing the activities of others to accomplish goals. Very advanced communication and organizational skills are required. Examples include librarians, lawyers, aerospace engineers, wildlife biologists, school psychologists, surgeons, treasurers, and controllers. |
| SVP Range |
(8.0 and above) |
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Education
 Percentage of Respondents |
Education Level Required |
100   |
Doctoral or professional degree |
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Interests
Interest code: IS
| Investigative — Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally. |
| Social — Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others. |
| Artistic — Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules. |
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Work Styles
| Integrity — Job requires being honest and ethical. |
| Concern for Others — Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job. |
| Self Control — Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations. |
| Dependability — Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations. |
| Initiative — Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges. |
| Attention to Detail — Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks. |
| Analytical Thinking — Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems. |
| Independence — Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done. |
| Leadership — Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction. |
| Stress Tolerance — Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations. |
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Work Values
| Relationships — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service. |
| Achievement — Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement. |
| Independence — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy. |
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Related Occupations
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Wages & Employment Trends
National
Median wages data collected from Health Diagnosing and Treating Practitioners, All Other.
Employment data collected from Health Diagnosing and Treating Practitioners, All Other.
Industry data collected from Health Diagnosing and Treating Practitioners, All Other.
| Median wages (2012) |
$34.96 hourly, $72,710 annual |
| Employment (2010) |
56,000 employees |
| Projected growth (2010-2020) |
Average (10% to 19%)
|
| Projected job openings (2010-2020) |
21,200 |
| Top industries (2010) |
|
State & National
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2012 wage data
and 2010-2020 employment projections
.
"Projected growth" represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2010-2020). "Projected job openings" represent openings due to growth and replacement.
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Job Openings on the Web
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for Naturopathic Physicians
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