With a focus on naturopathic primary care, the annual conference of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP) was held August 6-9, 2014, in Phoenix, Arizona. There were 140 exhibitors with 325 paid attendees and more than 750 total participants.
Conference content provided more than 20 naturopathic continuing education credits, of which 5.5 were for pharmacy. The California Acupuncture Board approved the conference content for 20.25 credits. Content was categorized into one of these tracks: primary care, nature cure, research, women’s health, oncology, pediatrics, and practice management.
“With more than 150 proposals, competition for speaking at our conference was at an all-time high,” said organization president Kasra Pournadeali, ND. “This year’s theme of naturopathic primary care speaks volumes on how we are emerging as a solution in today’s healthcare crisis.”
In addition to providing stellar content for attendees, the organization utilizes this annual conference to finalize elections. Newly elected board members for 2015 include Michael Cronin, ND; Carrie Louise Daenell, ND; Laura Farr, ND; Michelle Niesley, ND, FABNO; and Lorilee Schoenbeck, ND. Jaclyn Chasse, ND, is president-elect of the AANP and will assume her role as president in 2015. Chasse is in private practice in New Hampshire and received her naturopathic doctorate from Bastyr University, Kenmore, Washington.
The following awards were given out at this year’s conference as well:
- Corporation of the Year: Mountain Peak Nutritionals
- President’s Award: Emily Telfair, ND
- The Champion Award: Laura Farr, ND
- The Vis Award: Eric Yarnell, ND
- Physician of the Year: Lise Alschuler, ND, FABNO
Alschuler specializes in naturopathic oncology and is in private practice at Naturopathic Specialists in Scottsdale, Arizona. She is an accomplished author and advocate of naturopathic medicine who is currently the president of the Oncology Association of Naturopathic Physicians. She is a past president of the AANP and received her naturopathic doctorate from Bastyr University.
