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Bastyr University

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Coordinates: 47°43′49″N 122°15′10″W / 47.7304°N 122.2528°W / 47.7304; -122.2528
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Bastyr University
Former names
John Bastyr College of Naturopathic Medicine
Bastyr College
Motto
Vis medicatrix naturae
Motto in English
The healing power of nature
TypePrivate university
Established1978
Endowment$4.32M (2021)
PresidentDevin Byrd[1]
ProvostDave Rule[2]
Students728
Undergraduates74
Location
Kenmore
,
Washington
,
United States

47°43′49″N 122°15′10″W / 47.7304°N 122.2528°W / 47.7304; -122.2528
Campus51 acres (21 ha)
ColorsCranberry and ginger
Websitewww.bastyr.edu

Bastyr University is a private alternative medicine university with campuses in Kenmore, Washington, and San Diego, California. Programs include naturopathy, acupuncture, Traditional Asian medicine, nutrition, herbal medicine, ayurvedic medicine, psychology, and midwifery.

Some of Bastyr's programs teach and research topics that are considered pseudoscience, quackery, and fake by the scientific and medical communities.[3][4][5][6] Quackwatch, a group against health fraud, put Bastyr University on its list of "questionable organizations" as a school which is "accredited but not recommended".[7]

Bastyr University and similar naturopathic programs are not accredited as medical schools but as special programs that are overseen by a naturopathic council which is not required to be scientific.[8][9][10] Bastyr's naturopathic program has been accused by critics of misrepresenting its medical rigor and its ability to train primary care clinicians.[3][11][12]

A 2024 report found that students in Bastyr's alternative medicine doctoral program had the second highest debt-to-income ratio among all US graduate programs, at 688%.[13][14]

History

[edit]

Bastyr University was established in 1978 as the John Bastyr College of Naturopathic Medicine in Seattle.[15] Four co-founders, Sheila Quinn, Joseph Pizzorno, Les Griffith, and Bill Mitchell, named the institution after John Bastyr, a teacher and advocate of naturopathy in the Seattle area.[16][17] Baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral degree programs are offered.[18] In 1984, the school was renamed Bastyr College; in 1994, it became Bastyr University.[19]

In 1996, Bastyr relocated to its current location in the Saint Thomas Center, formerly St. Edward Seminary, a Catholic seminary building in Kenmore, Washington.[15] Pizzorno served as president until his retirement in June 2000.[20] During his tenure, Bastyr became the first accredited university of natural medicine and the first center for alternative medicine research funded by the National Institutes of Health's Office of Alternative Medicine,[15] the predecessor to the controversial National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.[4]

Its campus is surrounded by Saint Edward State Park's fir and hemlock forest. In November, 2005, the university purchased the property, which it had been leasing from the Archdiocese of Seattle.[21] In 2010, Bastyr merged with Seattle Midwifery School to offer a Master of Science degree to become a direct-entry midwife eligible for certification.[22]

In 2024, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported that students who pursued doctorates of naturopathic medicine typically took on high levels of debt. For Bastyr, the median loan was $300,530 and the median earnings were $43,703, resulting in a debt to earnings ratio of 688%. This was the second highest ratio among graduate programs in the US, with only the naturopathic program at National University of Natural Medicine being higher.[13][14]

Academics

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Bastyr offers bachelor's completion, master's, combined undergraduate/masters, doctoral, and certificate programs.[18] Average first-year cost (tuition, fees, and books) not including room and board for undergraduate programs is $26,523,[23] and for the doctorate in naturopathic medicine is $39,589.[24] Bastyr presents itself as the "Harvard of naturopathic medicine."[21] The Princeton Review reports that the naturopathic medicine program at Bastyr had an acceptance rate of 68%.[25]

Accreditation

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Bastyr University is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) as an institution that can grant undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.[26] Bastyr's Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine program is accredited by the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education (CNME), which is a naturopathic organization affiliated with the naturopathic profession.[10] The Master of Science in Acupuncture (MSA), the Master of Science in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (MSAOM), and the Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (DAOM) are accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine (ACAHM).[27]

The Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics, the accrediting agency for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, has accredited Bastyr's Bachelor of Science with a major in nutrition with Didactic Program in Dietetics, Master of Science in nutrition with Didactic Program in Dietetics, and Dietetic Internship.[28]

Bastyr University has received approval from the state of Washington as a recognized midwifery training facility and provides education for midwifery students in the articulated Bachelor/Master of Science in Midwifery degree. Both programs are accredited through the Midwifery Education Accreditation Council.[29][30]

The university is a member of the American Association of Naturopathic Medical Colleges[31] and Council of Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.[32]

Reception

[edit]

[Bastyr naturopathic students] take classes with the same names as medical school courses, but pseudoscience and nonsensical information is integrated into every course.

Britt Marie Hermes[33]

These schools of quackery operate like cults. People are being brainwashed with books, by peers, through media and so forth.

Edzard Ernst[34]

Further information: Homeopathy, Naturopathy, and Pseudoscience

The Bastyr curriculum has been criticized for teaching pseudoscience and quackery, as its courses in homeopathy, herbalism, acupuncture, and ayurvedic methods lack a compelling evidence basis.[35][36] Clinical training in the naturopathic medicine program was revealed to be significantly fewer hours than what Bastyr claims to provide its students, focusing on dubious diagnostics to prescribe experimental and pseudoscientific treatments that do not adhere to medical standards of care.[37] Research conducted at Bastyr has been criticized as being a waste of taxpayer dollars by studying implausible treatments inconsistent with the best understandings of science and medicine.[38][4]

The former president of Bastyr, Joseph Pizzorno, has been criticized for promoting dangerous and ineffective naturopathic treatments.[5][39] Pizzorno co-authored the Textbook of Natural Medicine, which includes recommendations to treat diseases ranging from acne to AIDS using combinations of vitamins, minerals, and herbs at doses that would cause toxicity.[5] Pizzorno is an advocate of the discredited blood type diet, developed by fellow naturopath and Bastyr graduate Peter D'Adamo.[39] Pizzorno called the diet "the medical breakthrough of the ages" and described D'Adamo as "the best Bastyr has to offer.[39] The consensus among dietitians, physicians, and scientists is that blood type diets are unsupported by scientific evidence.[40][41][42][43][44]

Naturopaths trained at Bastyr are required to study various non-medical folk remedies, including homeopathy.[45] David Gorski has been highly critical of this requirement; for him this makes the university fail the "litmus test" of whether it adheres to "science and reality".[46] In 1998, Bastyr offered an elective course in iridology, a debunked system of diagnosing medical conditions by looking for irregularities in the pigmentation of the iris.[47]

In 2007, Bastyr University was found by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) to have violated the standards of academic freedom and shared governance for faculty members who were fired without cause of academic due process.[48][49] Bastyr was placed on the AAUP censure list for violating generally recognized principles of academic freedom and tenure,[50][51] but that censure was removed in June 2021.[52]

Main campus

[edit]
The building is the former St. Thomas Seminary
Bastyr's Student Village consists of 11 buildings, each housing a dozen students. Bastyr's medicinal herb garden can be seen in the foreground

Bastyr's main campus sits on 51 acres (20.5 ha) of forests and athletic fields near Lake Washington.[15] The Saint Edward State Park forest surrounds it on three sides. Housing facilities include a student village of 11 cottage-style buildings designed to blend into the campus's natural setting and built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) platinum specifications.[53]

The campus includes a renovated chapel,[54] originally built in the 1950s for the St. Edward Seminary, which is now rented for musical performances, weddings, and other events.[55] The chapel is known for its acoustical quality and architectural details, which include stained-glass windows, mosaics, and a box-beam ceiling.[54] Scores for films including Brokeback Mountain, About Schmidt, Mr. Holland's Opus, and Mirror Mirror and for video games have been recorded in the chapel.[56] Dave Matthews used it to record the orchestral track for one of his albums;[56] his wife, Ashley Harper, is a naturopathic doctor who received her degree from Bastyr.[57][58]

Seattle chef Jim Watkins became director of food services in 2011 and introduced meat dishes to the previously strictly vegetarian menu.[59][60]

Bastyr operates a naturopathic teaching clinic in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle, where they offer consultations to the public.[61]

California campus

[edit]

In September 2012, Bastyr University California opened in a two-story commercial building in San Diego with a small teaching clinic on the ground floor.[6] The program offers the doctor of naturopathic medicine program[6] The first students were expected to graduate in spring 2016.[62]

Research

[edit]

The Tierney Basic Sciences Research Laboratory was the first research laboratory at a natural health university when it opened in 2000.[21] One study, run jointly with Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, was funded by a $3.1 million grant awarded in 2010 from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), part of the National Institutes of Health.[63]

Despite receiving research funds from NCCAM, Bastyr has been criticized for studying topics that are implausible or impossible for medical effectiveness, which are considered a waste of precious federal research funds.[4][38] A paranormal study funded by NCCAM and conducted at Bastyr investigated extrasensory perception and "distance healing" of HIV/AIDS patients by psychic methods.[39][64] Bastyr's study was based on earlier work on the topic by Elisabeth Targ, which has been marked as scientific fraud.[4] An unidentified member of the NCCAM office described another of Bastyr's AIDS research projects – in which people with AIDS were surveyed as to what alternative therapies they were trying and how effective they were – as a "million-dollar fishing expedition."[65]

Other pseudoscientific topics researched as Bastyr include homeopathy, energy medicine, and remote viewing.[4] These topics are disproved by numerous rigorous investigations that preceded the studies conducted at Bastyr and have been criticized as serving only to justify NCCAM's continued existence.[4]

Notable alumni

[edit]
Britt Marie Hermes
  • Peter J. D'Adamo, a proponent of dangerous fad diets, and member of Bastyr University's first graduating naturopathic class.[66]
  • Britt Marie Hermes, a 2011 graduate of the doctorate of naturopathic medicine program who went on to practice for three years in Washington and Arizona before becoming an outspoken critic of homeopathy and naturopathic medicine.[67]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Dr. Devin Byrd Appointed Sixth President of Bastyr University". Bastyr University. 22 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Leadership Team". Bastyr University. Archived from the original on 18 November 2017.
  3. ^ a b Atwood, Kimball C. IV (2003). "Naturopathy: A critical appraisal". Medscape General Medicine. 5 (4): 39. PMID 14745386.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Atwood, Kimball C. (2003). "The ongoing problem with the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine". Skeptical Inquirer. 25 (7). Archived from the original on 16 November 2009. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  5. ^ a b c Barrett, Stephen (November 26, 2013). "A close look at naturopathy". QuackWatch. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  6. ^ a b c Sisson, Paul (8 December 2012). "Med school embraces natural remedies". San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  7. ^ "Questionable Organizations: An Overview". Quackwatch. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  8. ^ Barrett, Stephen; Jarvis, William T. (1993). The Health Robbers: A Close Look at Quackery in America. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books. p. 236. ISBN 0-87975-855-4.
  9. ^ Massachusetts Medical Society (17 November 2015). "MMS Testimony in Opposition to H. 1992 and S. 1205, An Act to Create a Board of Registration in Naturopathy". www.massmed.org. Massachusetts Medical Society. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  10. ^ a b Hermes, Britt (29 August 2015). "ND Confession, Part II: The Accreditation of Naturopathic "Medical" Education". Science-Based Medicine. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  11. ^ Thielking, Megan (20 October 2016). "'Essentially witchcraft:' A former naturopath takes on the field". STAT. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  12. ^ LeMieux, Julianna (16 November 2016). "Why 'Naturopathic Medicine' is an oxymoron". American Council on Science and Health. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  13. ^ a b Camhi, Tiffany (30 August 2024). "Oregon alternative medicine students face a long road to loan forgiveness". OPB. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  14. ^ a b U.S. Department of Education. "Most Recent Data by Field of Study". U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Archived from the original on 9 September 2024.
  15. ^ a b c d Eng, James (31 March 1996). "Bastyr University aims to meld traditional with 'natural' medicine". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  16. ^ Black, Cherie (26 January 2007). "William A. Mitchell, 1947-2007: Physician co-founded Bastyr". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
  17. ^ Birkland, Dave (1 July 1995). "Dr. John Bastyr, 83, renowned For naturopathic medical skill". Seattle Times. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  18. ^ a b "Directory of Institutions A - D". Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. 26 July 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-10-11. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  19. ^ Bailey, Steven; Skowron, Jared; Fasullo, Craig; Stargrove, Mitchell Bebel; Stargrove, Mitchell Bebel (2011-04-25). Stargrove, Mitchell Bebel; Zeff, Jared; Baer, Hans; Cody, George (eds.). "Naturopathic Medicine History and Professional Formation Timeline" (PDF). American Association of Naturopathic Physicians. pp. 5, 7. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  20. ^ "Joseph E. Pizzorno Jr., ND" (Biography). WebMD. 2008. Archived from the original on 21 November 2017.
  21. ^ a b c "History & Heritage". Bastyr University. Archived from the original on 18 November 2017.
  22. ^ "Bastyr University merges with the Seattle Midwifery School". Bothell/Kenmore Reporter. 9 March 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  23. ^ "Fund Your Undergraduate Degree". Bastyr University. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  24. ^ "Fund Your Graduate Degree: Graduate Tuition". Bastyr University. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  25. ^ "Bastyr University - School of Naturopathic Medicine". Princeton Review.
  26. ^ "Directory:NWCCU". Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  27. ^ "Bastyr University » Directory of Accredited/Pre-accredited Programs and Institutions". ACAOM. 2017-12-14. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
  28. ^ "Didactic Programs in Dietetics". Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Archived from the original on January 28, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  29. ^ "MEAC School Directory". Midwifery Education and Accreditation Council. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
  30. ^ "Accreditation". Bastyr University.
  31. ^ "Accredited Naturopathic Schools of North America". AANMC. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
  32. ^ "Members". Council of Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (CCAOM). Retrieved 2019-01-30.
  33. ^ Kirkey, Sharon (7 July 2017). "Naturopaths not 'real' doctors, despite video claims they are 'medically trained': critics". National Post. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  34. ^ Rathi, Akshat (30 September 2017). "The journey of a "doctor" who joined the cult of alternative medicine and then broke out of it". Quartz. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  35. ^ Atwood IV, Kimball. C. (March 26, 2004). "Naturopathy, pseudoscience, and medicine: Myths and fallacies vs truth". Medscape General Medicine. 6 (1): 33. PMC 1140750. PMID 15208545.
  36. ^ Palmer, Brian (3 June 2014). "Quacking All the Way to the Bank". Slate. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  37. ^ Hermes, Britt (13 March 2015). "ND Confession, Part 1: Clinical training inside and out". Science-Based Medicine. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  38. ^ a b Mielczarek, Eugenie V.; Engler, Brian D. (2014). "Selling Pseudoscience: A Rent in the Fabric of American Medicine". Skeptical Inquirer. 38 (3). Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  39. ^ a b c d Gorski, Timothy (2001). "White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy: A Membership Directory". The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine. 5 (4): 211–222. Archived from the original on 4 March 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  40. ^ Cusack, Leila; De Buck, Emmy; Compernolle, Veerle; Vandekerckhove, Philippe (2013-07-01). "Blood type diets lack supporting evidence: A systematic review". The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 98 (1): 99–104. doi:10.3945/ajcn.113.058693. PMID 23697707.
  41. ^ King, May-Jean (4 July 2000). "Ch. 2: ABO Polymorphisms and their putative biological relationships with disease". Human Blood Cells (Consequences of Genetic Polymorphisms and Variations). World Scientific Pub. p. 44. doi:10.1142/9781848160309_0002. ISBN 978-1-86094-196-2.
  42. ^ Zeratsky, Katherine (12 August 2010). "Blood type diet: What is it? Does it work?". Mayo Clinic. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  43. ^ Roberts, David C K (200). "Quick weight loss: Sorting fad from fact". The Medical Journal of Australia. 175 (11–12): 637–40. doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2001.tb143759.x. PMID 11837873. S2CID 39657374. Archived from the original on 24 August 2011.
  44. ^ Wang, Jingzhou; García-Bailo, Bibiana; Nielsen, Daiva E.; El-Sohemy, Ahmed (15 January 2014). "ABO genotype, 'blood-type' diet and cardiometabolic risk factors". PLOS ONE. 9 (1): e84749. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...984749W. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0084749. PMC 3893150. PMID 24454746.
  45. ^ "Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine Program". Bastyr University. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  46. ^ Gorski, D (21 February 2011). "Naturopathy and science". Science-Based Medicine. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  47. ^ Ernst, E. (2000). "Iridology". Archives of Ophthalmology. 118 (1): 120–1. doi:10.1001/archopht.118.1.120. PMID 10636425.
  48. ^ Jaschik, Scott (13 April 2007). "Can Academic Freedom and 'at Will' Employment Co-Exist?". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  49. ^ American Association of University Professors (2007). Academic Freedom and Tenure: Bastyr University (PDF) (Report). American Association of University Professors. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  50. ^ "Censure List". AAUP.org. American Association of University Professors. 18 July 2006. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  51. ^ "Academic Freedom and Tenure: Bastyr University". American Association of University Professors. 11 April 2007.
  52. ^ "Six Governance Sanctions and One Censure Removal". 9 June 2021.
  53. ^ "The dorm gets a holistic upgrade". Sierra Magazine. September–October 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  54. ^ a b Long, Katherine (10 August 2009). "Bastyr Chapel architect sets record straight on acoustics". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  55. ^ "Rent the Bastyr Wedding Chapel". Bastyr University. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  56. ^ a b Long, Katherine (July 1, 2009). "Bastyr Chapel is feast for ears, eyes". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 2012-06-21.
  57. ^ Kroll, David (27 November 2009). "Ontario naturopathic prescribing proposal is bad medicine". Science-Based Medicine. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  58. ^ "Rocker Dave Matthews' sustainable winery is truly the 'Best of What's Around'". The Culture-ist. 30 April 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  59. ^ Cicero, Providence (7 January 2012). "Mindful eating is Bastyr chef's mission". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  60. ^ Hopkins, Katy (7 June 2011). "Colleges that offer courses, choices for vegetarians". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  61. ^ Stojnic, Niki (11 June 2014). "Mainstreaming alternative medicine". Seattle Magazine. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  62. ^ Kunkler, Aaron (25 November 2015). "Dr. Charles Powell sets agenda for Kenmore's Bastyr University following busy summer". Bothell Reporter. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  63. ^ "Bastyr/UW Oncomycology Translational Research Center". Grantome. September 29, 2010. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  64. ^ Offen, M. Louis (1 May 1999). "Health Care Fraud". Neurologic Clinics. 17 (2): 321–333. doi:10.1016/S0733-8619(05)70135-3. PMID 10196413.
  65. ^ Walker, Paulette (11 July 1997). "Dispute Persists Over Funds for Study of Alternative Medicine". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  66. ^ Miller, Kelsey (11 July 2016). "Why The Blood-Type Diet Is A Dangerous Myth". Refinery29. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  67. ^ Belluz, Julia (2 September 2015). "Why one naturopath quit after watching her peers treat cancer patients". Vox.
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