In the past year, National University has started offering three new clinical opportunities for its naturopathic medicine students. These internships at the Aurora Clinic, Salvation Army Clinic in Chicago and the Center for Integral Health in Lombard each have unique patient populations that can help students prepare for various types of practice. They also have the added benefit of being located in the Chicago area near campus.
Center for Integral Health
Located in Lombard, the Center for Integral Health is a private practice staffed by multiple ND clinicians, many of whom also serve as homeopathic faculty at NUHS. This internship is recommended for interns who want to build upon the strong foundation of homeopathy skills gained in the NUHS ND program. Interns will have the opportunity to assist with and then conduct homeopathic interviews. They will also be able to perform analysis and remedy selection. Interns can attend this clinic two days per week during their tenth trimester.
Aurora Clinic
This busy clinic is located in the second largest city in Illinois. While the clinic has provided chiropractic services for some time, this year NUHS has added an ND faculty clinician. Accompanied by three naturopathic interns, the ND faculty clinician will attend two shifts at the clinic each week. For a full year, interns can help treat a diverse pool of patients, including Aurora’s largely Spanish-speaking population.
Salvation Army
This clinic provides primary care to an underserved population struggling with addiction. ND interns have rotated through this clinic in downtown Chicago since 1988. Earlier this year however, NUHS added an ND clinical faculty allowing for increased naturopathic services.
Jessica Keating, DC, ND, the ND clinician at the Salvation Army recommends the internship for students who want to treat a wide variety of conditions.
“It is a truly unique experience and a great clinical rotation that exposes interns to different conditions and often times more complex cases,” Keating said.
Interns typically treat patients with conditions including hypertension, GI upset, ulcers, diabetes, immune issues, thyroid disorders as well as nutritional and lifestyle interventions for weight loss and smoking cessation. They also treat acute conditions like sprained ankles, strained muscles, upper respiratory infections and allergies.
Three ND interns are able to complete two full shifts per week throughout the entire twelve months of their internship.
In addition to these opportunities, students can gain clinical experience at the on-campus Whole Health Center. At the clinic, interns have access to professionals from various other specialties including chiropractic medicine, acupuncture and massage therapy. The clinic is also home to the Veterans Clinic, which specializes in treating a wide variety of injuries and disorders that affect combat veterans including post-traumatic stress disorder, addiction, musculoskeletal injuries and chronic pain.
For more information about the clinical opportunities available to ND students, visit the NUHS website.
