NATUROPATHIC PHYSICIAN

Job Definition:

Job Description:

• 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.

Duties and Tasks:

• 1) Perform mobilizations and high-velocity adjustments to joints or soft tissues, using principles of massage, stretching, or resistance.
• 2) Maintain professional development through activities such as post-graduate education, continuing education, preceptorships, and residency programs.
• 3) 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.
• 4) 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.
• 5) Administer, dispense, or prescribe natural medicines such as food or botanical extracts, herbs, dietary supplements, vitamins, nutraceuticals, and amino acids.
• 6) Conduct physical examinations and physiological function tests for diagnostic purposes.
• 7) Interview patients to document symptoms and health histories.
• 8) Educate patients about health care management.
• 9) Advise patients about therapeutic exercise and nutritional medicine regimens.
• 10) 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.
• 11) Perform venipuncture or skin pricking to collect blood samples
• 12) Treat minor cuts, abrasions, or contusions.
• 13) Prescribe synthetic drugs under the supervision of medical doctors or within the allowances of regulatory bodies.
• 14) Document patients’ histories, including identifying data, chief complaints, illnesses, previous medical or family histories, or psychosocial characteristics.
• 15) Perform minor surgical procedures, such as removing warts, moles, or cysts, sampling tissues for skin cancer or lipomas, and applying or removing sutures.
• 16) Consult with other health professionals to provide optimal patient care, referring patients to traditional health care professionals as necessary.
• 17) Report patterns of patients’ health conditions, such as disease status and births, to public health agencies.
• 18) Monitor updates from public health agencies to keep abreast of health trends.
• 19) Conduct periodic public health maintenance activities such as immunizations and screenings for diseases and disease risk factors.
• 20) Obtain medical records from previous physicians or other health care providers for the purpose of patient evaluation.

Activities:

• 1) Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
• 2) Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
• 3) Assisting and Caring for Others — Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
• 4) Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
• 5) Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
• 6) Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
• 7) Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
• 8) 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.
• 9) Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others — Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
• 10) Thinking Creatively — Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
• 11) Analyzing Data or Information — Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
• 12) Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
• 13) Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
• 14) Monitoring and Controlling Resources — Monitoring and controlling resources and overseeing the spending of money.
• 15) Communicating with Persons Outside Organization — Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
• 16) Training and Teaching Others — Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
• 17) Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
• 18) Coaching and Developing Others — Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.
• 19) Interacting With Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
• 20) Performing Administrative Activities — Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork.
• 21) Selling or Influencing Others — Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions.
• 22) Developing Objectives and Strategies — Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.
• 23) Scheduling Work and Activities — Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
• 24) Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
• 25) Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People — Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
• 26) Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

Abilities:

• 1) 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.
• 2) Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• 3) Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• 4) Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• 5) Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• 6) Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• 7) Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• 8) Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• 9) 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).
• 10) Category Flexibility — The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
• 11) Flexibility of Closure — The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
• 12) Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• 13) Perceptual Speed — The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
• 14) Selective Attention — The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
• 15) Written Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• 16) Fluency of Ideas — The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
• 17) Originality — The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.

Knowledge

• 1) 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.
• 2) Biology — Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• 3) 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.
• 4) 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.
• 5) 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.
• 6) English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• 7) 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.
• 8) 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.
• 9) 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.
• 10) 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.
• 11) Clerical — Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.