Dr. Simon serves as president of the Institute for Natural Medicine, treasurer of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians and a director of the Naturopathic Physicians Research Institute. Dr. Simon served nine years on the Washington State Health Technology Clinical Committee, which is part of the Health Technology Assessment Program that examines the scientific evidentiary basis for efficacy, safety, and cost effectiveness of healthcare technologies. Dr. Simon has served as an ambassador to the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine, an international, inter-professional organization that educates and trains clinicians in integrative health and medicine and as an invited participant for healthcare economics at the Summit on Integrative Medicine and the Health of the Public at the Institute for Medicine in 2009. Dr. Simon also serves on the advisory board for Natural Partners, Inc. In addition to holding a naturopathic doctorate from Bastyr University, she also holds a PhD in biomedical engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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Health E-Insights: What services does the INM provide?
 
Dr. Simon: The Institute for Natural Medicine serves both the naturopathic medicine profession and consumers seeking information and resources about natural medicine. For the public, INM provides a website rich with information on natural health approaches, facts about naturopathic medicine and the education and training of naturopathic doctors, plus the benefits of natural medicine. For the profession, INM serves as a unifying and coordinating influence to engender greater collaboration for focused priorities and projects to advance the profession.
 
Health E-Insights: What challenges does the naturopathic medicine community encounter?
 
Dr. Simon: The naturopathic medical profession is in many ways an emerging profession. The name naturopath has been used for decades in the U.S. to describe lay-practitioners who lack medical education, and do not have defined education, training, and credentialing. This has created some confusion that requires education. Not only must licensed NDs graduate from a CNME-accredited naturopathic medical school, they must then pass an extensive national postdoctoral exam to receive a license. They must also fulfill mandated continuing education requirements annually and have specific scopes of practice defined by their jurisdiction’s laws. Furthermore, state licensure for naturopathic doctors is a high priority as we move from the current 20 states to all 50.
 
Health E-Insights:  What are INM’s goals?
 
Dr. Simon: Our goals include transforming the individual’s understanding of whole-person health, and helping them find healthcare providers that address that through naturopathic medicine. In addition, we want to help create greater awareness of the benefits of naturopathic medicine, and provide the profession with great opportunities for engagement with the public.
 
Health E-Insights: Where does financial support come from for the INM? What are your needs?
 
Dr. Simon: INM depends on charitable contributions for its work, and to date has gathered support from individual small and large donors who have a passion for natural health, as well as companies that produce organic and natural products for heathy lifestyles. Our corporate partners, Barlean’s and RLC Labs to name a few, have demonstrated their commitment to the advancement of wellness and natural medicine by building INM’s future capacity to make a genuine difference and creating broad public access to and education about naturopathic medicine. We are currently seeking funding for several initiatives including a consumer awareness campaign and a pilot residency plan, which will consist of marketing and business training in addition to integrative medical clinical training. 
 
Health E-Insights: Can people locate a licensed ND through your website?
 
Dr. Simon: Yes.Currently, NDs are licensed to practice in 20 states and territories. The INM website has the most robust search function available to find naturopathic doctors.
 
Health E-Insights: Is there a specific message you want the supplement industry to be aware of?
 
Dr. Simon: INM is a partner in helping the public understand the value and benefits of high quality nutrition therapy and maintenance. We have established programs that position INM as the leading authoritative consumer resource on natural health and medicine and increasing the number of consumers seeking licensed NDs. We believe the quality of ingredients, process, and manufacturing is essential to retaining public trust, and is our highest priority when recommending supplement use.
 
Health E-Insights: What are the most important decisions you make as a leader of your organization?
 
Dr. Simon: Where to focus and what to prioritize. When we look at the challenges to understanding and having the resources to optimize our own health, it is clear how important it is to find ways to transform the information available and the access to providers who understand the whole-person approach to prevention, wellness, and well-being. Since my involvement, we have expanded our initiatives greatly, created a strategic organizational plan and expanded the board and leadership council of advisors. The most important decisions I make relate to prioritizing the many needs and opportunities within the available funds raised. We have been blessed with visionary investors who have enabled the INM to build a sustainable organizational infrastructure, but developing additional financial resources is a key priority to enable us to take advantage of the incredible opportunities and ideas which our board and investors put forth. There is no shortage of ideas, only the capital to undertake them. Prioritizing our work to align with our strategic plan and seeking collaborative arrangements to carry out these initiatives is my goal.
 
Health E-Insights: What’s your proudest career achievement?
 
Dr. Simon: Bringing together the significant number of organizations that represent the naturopathic medicine profession under the umbrella of the Naturopathic Medicine Collaborative. Over 40 organizations now collaborate to identify and prioritize the way in which our profession can best help improve health and healthcare delivery in the U.S.

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Sheldon Baker is CEO of the Baker Dillon Group LLC and has created numerous nutraceutical marketing communications and public relations campaigns for many well-known companies and brands. For Health E-Insights interview consideration and campaign development, contact him at SBaker@BakerDillon.com.