Expert: Kay Larson - 12/11/2010

Question
Hi, I put my graduate work in Human Genetics on hold over 25 yrs ago to raise my children, than after divorce, etc, have been underemployed while taking care of my children.  I am now to the point that I can try and reinvent a career and am especially interested in a health career of a naturopathic nature.  Do you have any suggestions about how to pursue this and what schools would give the best education and allow for the most flexibility in terms of future employment?  Thanks for any advice.  

Answer
Sarah-when you say a career of a "naturopathic nature", I'm assuming you mean you want to get into the field of holistic medicine. If you want to get a job where someone actually pays you, like a corporation, at this point there aren't too many of them out there to say the least. But there is opportunity for someone with an education in natural health as it is a burgeoning field. As Americans are figuring out that the drug-saturated medical system that has been forced on us for the last 75 years clearly isn't working, people are looking for alternatives.  You would need to however, make your own opportunities and be good at marketing. If you want to become a naturopathic physician, (which I do not recommend), there are 4 schools in the US that would qualify you to take the licensing exam. They are in OR, WA, AZ and IL.
As far as what schools to go to if you don't want to become a physician, there are very few USDE accredited schools that will give you a true education in alternative health. One that comes to mind though, is the America College of Healthcare Sciences.  It is fully accredited and online. You can also check out Huntington College of Health Sciences.The University of Bridgeport offers an online MS in Human Nutrition. It is however, more traditionally oriented.
I personally favor the non-traditional, non-USDE accredited schools such as Global College of Natural Medicine, Kingdom College of Natural Health, Institute of Integrative Medicine, Hawthorn University and Westbrook University. I think these schools will give you more focused education in natural health. They are also free of government interference. But you need to decide what is important to you. A USDE accredited school will give you more flexibility, but they are more expensive and IMO, not as thorough. Go to Lulu.com and get my book, the Handbook for Starting a Book as a Natural Health Consultant: A Guide for the Professional. It addresses these issues and more. Hope this helps. Good Luck.