Naturopathic Physicians Licensing Examinations

Cover of the 2009 NPLEX Study Guide.

The Naturopathic Physicians Licensing Examinations (NPLEX) are professional licensing exams administered by the North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners (NABNE). Graduates of naturopathic programs accredited by the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education (CNME) are required to pass the exams before being permitted to practice naturopathic medicine in a U.S. state or Canadian province that licenses naturopaths.[1] (Some naturopaths who graduated prior to the advent of the NPLEX were licensed by examinations administered by state licensing boards.)[2]

There are concerns that the NPLEX does not test naturopathic examinees on the knowledge necessary for the practice of primary care medicine.[3][4][5][6][7] However, naturopathic advocates claim that the NPLEX is equivalent to other standard medical licensing examinations, such as the USMLE and COMLEX-USA,[3][8] but this has not been established by independent analysts due to the exam being withheld from external review.[3] Unlike the USMLE and COMLEX-USA, the NPLEX is exclusively a written, multiple-choice exam and, therefore, does not contain sections to test clinical skills on modeled patients.[7]

  1. ^ Cherkin, Daniel C.; Deyo, Richard A.; Sherman, Karen J.; Hart, L. Gary; Street, Janet H.; Hrbek, Andrea; Cramer, Elaine; Milliman, Bruce; Booker, Jennifer; Mootz, Robert; Barassi, James; Khan, Janet R.; Kaptchuk, Ted J.; Eisenberg, David M. (2002). "Characteristics of Licensed Acupuncturists, Chiropractors, Massage Therapists, and Naturopathic Physicians". Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. 15 (5): 378–390. PMID 12350060. Archived from the original on January 26, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  2. ^ Arizona Auditor General (June 2000). Performance Audit Arizona Naturopathic Physicians Board of Medical Examiners (PDF) (Report). Archived (PDF) from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference atwood2004 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference MMStestimony was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference sfsbmNDreport was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gorski was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference co report was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Fleming, Sara A.; Gutknecht, Nancy C. (March 2010). "Naturopathy and the Primary Care Practice". Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice. 37 (1): 119–136. doi:10.1016/j.pop.2009.09.002. PMC 2883816. PMID 20189002.