Biography:
Dr. Altman entered the medical field in 1999 when she trained to become a Certified Nursing Assistant at William Rainey Harper College. Dr. Altman received her undergraduate degree in 2004 from The Evergreen State College where she focused on ethnobotany, biology and chemistry. She also ran an independent laboratory project in which she cloned orchids and researched novel ways to recover of infected orchid cultures. During this time she also became a medical assistant and went on to train medical assistants after her graduation.
Dr. Altman received her Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine and her Masters of Science in Acupuncture at Bastyr University in 2011. She also attended the New England School of Homeopathy during her medical training and completed a certificate program. She went on to complete a 3-year residency in naturopathic medicine at the Bastyr Center for Natural Health. After completing the chief residency in 2014, Dr. Altman began teaching full time at Bastyr University and started seeing patients in private practice. She currently teaches several classes and supervises clinic shifts at Bastyr University and has a private practice.
Teaching/Research Interests:
Hands-on clinical training, case based learning, and treatment and management of digestive disorders. Research interests include IBS, SIBO and diabetes.
Teaching/Healing Philosophy:
Dr Altman’s teaching philosophy is to provide students with a solid foundation of core skills which they can expand upon as well as to cultivate their critical thinking abilities.
Dr. Altman’s healing philosophy is to empower patients to achieve optimal health through education, support and guidance. This begins with re-establishing the core foundations of health and treating the underlying cause disease or dysfunction.
Classes Taught:
- Advanced Case Studies 1-4
- Naturopathic Clinical Diagnosis
- Clinic Observation 1
- Clinic Observation 2
- Botanical Medicine Formulations Lab 1-5
- Digestive Module (Past)
- Integrated Case Studies 1-3 (Past)
Clinical Interests:
Digestive disorders, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, primary care and pain management.
Clinical Modalities Supervised:
Naturopathic manipulation, hydrotherapy, homeopathy, herbal medicine, and East Asian medicine
Current Research:
Prospective Observational Study of Naturopathic Approaches to IBS in Academic Teaching Clinics study.
Books or Articles Authored:
Impact of Quercetin on Acute Glucose Tolerance and Endothelial Function in Type 2 diabetes: a randomized controlled trial
Professional Affiliations:
The Gastroenterology Association of Naturopathic Physicians
The Washington Association of Naturopathic Physicians
The Naturopathic Association of Primary Care Physicians
American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (past)
Acupuncturists Without Borders (past)