Bastyr University Explained

Bastyr University
Established:1978
Endowment:$4.32M (2021)
President:Devin Byrd[1]
Provost:Dave Rule[2]
Students:728
Undergrad:74
Country:United States
Former Names:John Bastyr College of Naturopathic Medicine
Bastyr College
Colors:Cranberry and ginger
Website:www.bastyr.edu
Motto:Vis medicatrix naturae
Motto Lang:la
Mottoeng:The healing power of nature

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] Quackwatch, a group against health fraud, put Bastyr University on its list of "questionable organizations" as a school which is "accredited but not recommended".[6]

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.[7] [8] [9] Bastyr's naturopathic program has been accused by critics of misrepresenting its medical rigor and its ability to train primary care clinicians.[3] [10] [11]

History

Bastyr University was established in 1978 as the John Bastyr College of Naturopathic Medicine in Seattle. 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.[12] [13] Baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral degree programs are offered.[14] In 1984, the school was renamed Bastyr College; in 1994, it became Bastyr University.[15]

In 1996, Bastyr relocated to its current location in the Saint Thomas Center, formerly St. Edward Seminary, a Catholic seminary building in Kenmore, Washington. Pizzorno served as president until his retirement in June 2000.[16] 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, the predecessor to the controversial National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.

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.[17] In 2010, Bastyr merged with Seattle Midwifery School to offer a Master of Science degree to become a direct-entry midwife eligible for certification.[18]

Academics

Bastyr offers bachelor's completion, master's, combined undergraduate/masters, doctoral, and certificate programs. Average first-year cost (tuition, fees, and books) not including room and board for undergraduate programs is $26,523,[19] and for the doctorate in naturopathic medicine is $39,589.[20] Bastyr presents itself as the "Harvard of naturopathic medicine."[17] The Princeton Review reports that the naturopathic medicine program at Bastyr had an acceptance rate of 68%.[21]

Accreditation

Bastyr University is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) as an institution that can grant undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.[22] 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.[9] 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).[23]

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.[24]

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.[25] [26]

The university is a member of the American Association of Naturopathic Medical Colleges[27] and Council of Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.[28]

Reception

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.[29] [30] 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.[31] 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.[32] [33]

The former president of Bastyr, Joseph Pizzorno, has been criticized for promoting dangerous and ineffective naturopathic treatments.[4] 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.[4] Pizzorno is an advocate of the discredited blood type diet, developed by fellow naturopath and Bastyr graduate Peter D'Adamo. Pizzorno called the diet "the medical breakthrough of the ages" and described D'Adamo as "the best Bastyr has to offer. The consensus among dietitians, physicians, and scientists is that blood type diets are unsupported by scientific evidence.[34] [35] [36] [37] [38]

Naturopaths trained at Bastyr are required to study various non-medical folk remedies, including homeopathy.[39] 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".[40] 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.[41]

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.[42] [43] Bastyr was placed on the AAUP censure list for violating generally recognized principles of academic freedom and tenure,[44] [45] but that censure was removed in June 2021.[46]

Main campus

Bastyr's main campus sits on 51 acres (20.5 ha) of forests and athletic fields near Lake Washington.[47] 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.[48]

The campus includes a renovated chapel,[49] originally built in the 1950s for the St. Edward Seminary, which is now rented for musical performances, weddings, and other events.[50] The chapel is known for its acoustical quality and architectural details, which include stained-glass windows, mosaics, and a box-beam ceiling.[49] 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. Dave Matthews used it to record the orchestral track for one of his albums;[51] his wife, Ashley Harper, is a naturopathic doctor who received her degree from Bastyr.[52] [53]

Seattle chef Jim Watkins became director of food services in 2011 and introduced meat dishes to the previously strictly vegetarian menu.[54] [55]

Bastyr operates a naturopathic teaching clinic in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle, where they offer consultations to the public.[56]

California campus

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.[5] The program offers the doctor of naturopathic medicine program The first students were expected to graduate in spring 2016.[57]

Research

The Tierney Basic Sciences Research Laboratory was the first research laboratory at a natural health university when it opened in 2000. 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.[58]

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.[33] [32] A paranormal study funded by NCCAM and conducted at Bastyr investigated extrasensory perception and "distance healing" of HIV/AIDS patients by psychic methods.[59] [60] Bastyr's study was based on earlier work on the topic by Elisabeth Targ, which has been marked as scientific fraud.[33] 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."[61]

Other pseudoscientific topics researched as Bastyr include homeopathy, energy medicine, and remote viewing.[33] 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.[33]

Notable alumni

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Dr. Devin Byrd Appointed Sixth President of Bastyr University . 22 June 2021 . Bastyr University.
  2. Web site: Leadership Team . Bastyr University . live . 18 November 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171118222841/https://bastyr.edu/about/leadership.
  3. Atwood . Kimball C. IV . Kimball Atwood . 2003 . Naturopathy: A critical appraisal . registration . Medscape General Medicine . 5 . 4 . 39 . 14745386.
  4. Web site: A close look at naturopathy . Barrett . Stephen . Stephen Barrett. . November 26, 2013 . 28 September 2015.
  5. News: Sisson. Paul. Med school embraces natural remedies. 28 June 2016. San Diego Union-Tribune. 8 December 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20160808141059/http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2012/dec/08/natural-remedies-medical-school/. 8 August 2016.
  6. Web site: Questionable Organizations: An Overview . . 22 October 2016.
  7. Book: Barrett. Stephen. Jarvis. William T.. Stephen Barrett. The Health Robbers: A Close Look at Quackery in America. 1993. Prometheus Books. Buffalo, NY. 0-87975-855-4. 236. registration.
  8. Web site: Massachusetts Medical Society . 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 . 22 October 2016.
  9. Web site: Hermes. Britt. Britt Marie Hermes. ND Confession, Part II: The Accreditation of Naturopathic "Medical" Education. Science-Based Medicine. 30 September 2016. 29 August 2015.
  10. News: Thielking. Megan. 'Essentially witchcraft:' A former naturopath takes on the field. 22 October 2016. STAT. 20 October 2016.
  11. News: LeMieux. Julianna. Why 'Naturopathic Medicine' is an oxymoron. 17 November 2017. American Council on Science and Health. 16 November 2016.
  12. News: William A. Mitchell, 1947-2007: Physician co-founded Bastyr . . Black . Cherie . 26 January 2007.
  13. News: Birkland. Dave. Dr. John Bastyr, 83, renowned For naturopathic medical skill. 28 June 2016. Seattle Times. 1 July 1995.
  14. Web site: Directory of Institutions A - D . Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities . 26 November 2017 . 26 July 2017 . 2017-10-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171011021640/http://www.nwccu.org/Directory%20of%20Inst/Alpha%20Cluster/a_d.html .
  15. Web site: Naturopathic Medicine History and Professional Formation Timeline . Steven . Bailey . Jared . Skowron . Craig . Fasullo . Mitchell Bebel . Stargrove . Mitchell Bebel . Stargrove . Mitchell Bebel . Stargrove . Jared . Zeff . Hans . Baer . George . Cody . American Association of Naturopathic Physicians . 2011-04-25 . 2019-02-01 . 5, 7.
  16. Web site: Joseph E. Pizzorno Jr., ND . WebMD . Biography . 2008 . live . 21 November 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171121095034/https://www.webmd.com/joe-pizzorno-jr-nd.
  17. Web site: History & Heritage . Bastyr University . live . 18 November 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171118230606/http://bastyr.edu/about/overview/history.
  18. News: Bastyr University merges with the Seattle Midwifery School. 26 June 2016. Bothell/Kenmore Reporter. 9 March 2010.
  19. Web site: Fund Your Undergraduate Degree. Bastyr University. 2 September 2015.
  20. Web site: Fund Your Graduate Degree: Graduate Tuition. Bastyr University. 2 September 2015.
  21. Web site: Bastyr University - School of Naturopathic Medicine. Princeton Review.
  22. Web site: Directory:NWCCU. Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. December 17, 2017.
  23. Web site: Bastyr University » Directory of Accredited/Pre-accredited Programs and Institutions . ACAOM . 2017-12-14 . 2019-01-31.
  24. Web site: Didactic Programs in Dietetics. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. January 22, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160128104128/http://www.eatrightacend.org/ACEND/content.aspx?id=6442485327. January 28, 2016.
  25. Web site: MEAC School Directory . Midwifery Education and Accreditation Council . 2019-01-31.
  26. Web site: Accreditation . Bastyr University.
  27. Web site: Accredited Naturopathic Schools of North America . AANMC . 2019-01-31.
  28. Web site: Members . Council of Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (CCAOM) . 2019-01-30.
  29. Atwood IV . Kimball. C. . Kimball Atwood. March 26, 2004 . Naturopathy, pseudoscience, and medicine: Myths and fallacies vs truth . Medscape General Medicine . 6 . 1 . 33 . 15208545. 1140750.
  30. News: Palmer. Brian. Quacking All the Way to the Bank. 1 September 2015. Slate. 3 June 2014.
  31. Web site: Hermes. Britt. Britt Marie Hermes. ND Confession, Part 1: Clinical training inside and out. Science-Based Medicine. 13 March 2015. 2 October 2015.
  32. Mielczarek. Eugenie V.. Engler. Brian D.. Selling Pseudoscience: A Rent in the Fabric of American Medicine. Skeptical Inquirer. 2014. 38. 3. 2 September 2015.
  33. Atwood. Kimball C.. Kimball Atwood. The ongoing problem with the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Skeptical Inquirer. 2003. 25. 7. 13 September 2015. 16 November 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20091116142044/http://www.csicop.org/si/show/ongoing_problem_with_the_national_center.
  34. Blood type diets lack supporting evidence: A systematic review. . Leila . Cusack . Emmy . De Buck . Veerle . Compernolle . Philippe . Vandekerckhove . . 2013-07-01. 98 . 1 . 99–104 . 23697707 . 10.3945/ajcn.113.058693. free .
  35. Book: King, May-Jean . Human Blood Cells (Consequences of Genetic Polymorphisms and Variations) . 44 . Ch. 2: ABO Polymorphisms and their putative biological relationships with disease . . World Scientific Pub . 4 July 2000 . 978-1-86094-196-2 . 10.1142/9781848160309_0002 .
  36. Web site: Blood type diet: What is it? Does it work? . Katherine . Zeratsky . 12 August 2010 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20110612124046/http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/blood-type-diet/AN01415 . 12 June 2011 . 21 August 2013.
  37. Quick weight loss: Sorting fad from fact . David C K . Roberts . 200 . . 175 . 11–12. https://web.archive.org/web/20110824040839/http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/175_12_171201/roberts/roberts/html . 24 August 2011 . 11837873 . 637–40 . 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2001.tb143759.x. 39657374.
  38. Wang. Jingzhou. Bibiana . García-Bailo . Daiva E. . Nielsen . Ahmed . El-Sohemy . ABO genotype, 'blood-type' diet and cardiometabolic risk factors. PLOS ONE. 15 January 2014 . 9 . 1 . e84749 . 10.1371/journal.pone.0084749 . 24454746 . 3893150. 2014PLoSO...984749W . free.
  39. Web site: Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine Program. Bastyr University. 25 September 2015.
  40. Web site: Science-Based Medicine . Gorski . D . David Gorski . 21 February 2011 . 22 October 2016 . Naturopathy and science.
  41. Ernst. E.. Iridology. Archives of Ophthalmology. 2000. 118. 1. 120–1. 10.1001/archopht.118.1.120. 10636425.
  42. News: Jaschik. Scott. Can Academic Freedom and 'at Will' Employment Co-Exist?. 1 December 2017. Inside Higher Ed. 13 April 2007.
  43. American Association of University Professors . American Association of University Professors . 2007 . Academic Freedom and Tenure: Bastyr University . American Association of University Professors . 1 September 2015.
  44. Web site: Censure List. AAUP.org. 18 July 2006. American Association of University Professors. 1 September 2015.
  45. Web site: Academic Freedom and Tenure: Bastyr University . 11 April 2007 . American Association of University Professors .
  46. Web site: Six Governance Sanctions and One Censure Removal. 9 June 2021.
  47. News: Eng. James. Bastyr University aims to meld traditional with 'natural' medicine. 26 June 2016. Los Angeles Times. 31 March 1996.
  48. News: The dorm gets a holistic upgrade. 25 July 2016. Sierra Magazine. September–October 2011.
  49. News: Long. Katherine. Bastyr Chapel architect sets record straight on acoustics. The Seattle Times. 25 July 2016. 10 August 2009.
  50. Web site: Rent the Bastyr Wedding Chapel. Bastyr University. 27 July 2016.
  51. News: Bastyr Chapel is feast for ears, eyes . . Katherine . Long . July 1, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120621112527/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/musicnightlife/2009405044_bastyrsound01m0.html . 2012-06-21 .
  52. Web site: Kroll. David. Ontario naturopathic prescribing proposal is bad medicine. Science-Based Medicine. 27 November 2009. 25 July 2016.
  53. Web site: Rocker Dave Matthews' sustainable winery is truly the 'Best of What's Around'. The Culture-ist. 25 July 2016. 30 April 2012.
  54. News: Cicero. Providence. Mindful eating is Bastyr chef's mission. 25 July 2016. The Seattle Times. 7 January 2012.
  55. News: Hopkins. Katy. Colleges that offer courses, choices for vegetarians. 25 July 2016. U.S. News & World Report. 7 June 2011.
  56. News: Stojnic. Niki. Mainstreaming alternative medicine. 25 July 2016. Seattle Magazine. 11 June 2014.
  57. News: Kunkler. Aaron. Dr. Charles Powell sets agenda for Kenmore's Bastyr University following busy summer. 25 July 2016. Bothell Reporter. 25 November 2015.
  58. Bastyr/UW Oncomycology Translational Research Center . . September 29, 2010 . Grantome . 2 May 2016.
  59. Gorski. Timothy. White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy: A Membership Directory. The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine. 2001. 5. 4. 211–222. 15 January 2017. 4 March 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130304041333/http://www.sram.org/article/white_house_commission_on_complementary_and_alternative_medicine_policy_a_m.
  60. Offen. M. Louis. Health Care Fraud. Neurologic Clinics. 1 May 1999. 17. 2. 321–333. 10.1016/S0733-8619(05)70135-3. 10196413.
  61. News: Walker. Paulette. Dispute Persists Over Funds for Study of Alternative Medicine. 1 December 2017. The Chronicle of Higher Education. 11 July 1997.
  62. News: Miller. Kelsey. Why The Blood-Type Diet Is A Dangerous Myth. 26 November 2017. Refinery29. 11 July 2016. en.
  63. News: Belluz. Julia . Why one naturopath quit after watching her peers treat cancer patients . Vox. 2 September 2015.

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