“Adding herbal medicine will make my practice more tangible and rounded.”
We have recently caught up with acupuncture practitioner Andrew Jones who is currently in Year 2 on our MSc/PGDip in Chinese Herbal Medicine. Andrew talks about his experience on the course and his blog is a useful insight if you are considering studying herbs with on our next course.
- What made you decide to study herbs?
I had herbal treatment early on in my acupuncture career and found it powerful; this inspired me to want to train in herbs, although I have had to wait for the right moment. In the meantime, in acupuncture practice, I have seen lots of patients with chronic problems who I’ve found it hard to make progress with, or who I could only shift a little using acupuncture. Practising herbal medicine will significantly broaden my scope of practice and effectiveness. I’m very excited to be able to add it to my toolbox.
2.What are the advantages of studying online?
Studying online means flexibility; you can attend from anywhere with an internet connection. My fellow students are all over the UK, but we can still all come together online when we need to. You don’t have to come to the college for seminars, so if you don’t live near York you can still attend the courses. Likewise as you find in the online student clinic, patients attend from all over the country. Understanding online working means being able to develop a practice online once qualified. During Covid lockdowns, many herbal practitioner were able to move online, while that wasn’t possible for acupuncture or massage. Being able to operate online gives you and your patients greater flexibility.
3.What is online clinic like?
Usually we are two students and one supervisor in clinic. Other students can tune in to watch but are not involved in taking the case or discussion. We (the students) take the patient’s case, one student leading, then the second asking any questions they would like to, and finally the supervisor. In the first year, you contribute your ideas to diagnosis and creating a herbal formula, but the supervisor writes the final formula. In the second year, students have a much greater role in writing formulae, with the supervisor making sure you’re not doing anything that will push the patient in the wrong direction.
It’s not possible to take pulses, so tongue reading and asking the right questions are of increased importance. The course does develop these skills, alongside the herbal knowledge required. Pulse reading is also developed in the face-to-face classes at the start of each year.
4.Has there been any outstanding examples of teaching you would like to share?
I have seen a level of sensitivity and understanding to certain patients in clinic from the supervisors that has impressed me. I think this confidence comes partly from the supervisors themselves, partly from years of practice, and partly from knowing the power of the medicine to help those that need it. It has reassured me in clinic to have their support.
All the supervisors have a passion for the subject and their clear-sightedness, particularly in clinic, is something to aspire to.
The teaching and materials are presented very clearly, and the teachers adapt if they can, to help different students’ learning styles.
5.Have you needed any support?
I have had to ask occasional questions about assessments and have had quick responses when I have. I haven’t needed any other specific support but knowing that it’s there has been helpful. As students we have supported each other when we’ve needed to ask questions about assessments, or change clinic dates, or just have a chat about how things are going.
6.Are you going to complete your MSc?
My priority is to be able to use herbs in practice, and I already have a master’s degree so am not eligible for any loans. I chose therefore to follow the diploma route and hope to be in practice shortly after completing the second year.
7.Have you seen a difference in your practice style or outcomes since you started studying herbs?
Studying herbs has been very interesting for my acupuncture practice. It has joined some of the theoretical dots that were still unclear following acupuncture training. You can do a whole different range of things with herbal medicine, which makes the practice more tangible and rounded, even though the underlying theories are the same. It also brings in Chinese ideas about nutrition; many of the herbs used are food-medicines, and flavour is an important component to understanding the actions of herbs. This means you can give better and more appropriate nutritional guidance to patients coming for acupuncture.
Pulse and tongue are vital in herbal medicine, in a way that they might not be in treating musculo-skeletal cases. Learning CHM has made me focus much more on refining my understanding of pulse and tongue reading with all my patients.
8.What about exams and assignments – how have these been?
The emphasis for most assessments has been on developing practical understanding. Diagnostic skills are tested with ongoing cases in clinic or by set case assessments. We must show we can understand and analyse research papers and research the safe use of herbs, and we have also had to present to the rest of the class on a subject that particularly interests us.
There are lots of different ways to approach the presentation assessments, with an opportunity to explore the areas that appeal to you.
Studying online does require a certain self-motivation, when it comes to assessments, but having a group to chat with fellow students has proved useful.
9.Tell us about the evening tutorial sessions – are these helpful?
The evening tutorial sessions are very useful for fleshing out your understanding and exploring different areas of learning. It may give you some good ideas for your presentations, and it gives an opportunity to explore areas of practice with specialists in their fields.
10.How hard is it to learn the herbs and what helps you?
Remembering the herbs can be difficult at first, but it’s worth knowing even the supervisors don’t necessarily remember every detail about every herb! As with anything with an investment of time and seeing them applied in practice you’ll come to know them. We learn them in categories (heat clearing or tonics for example), which helps to compartmentalise them in your mind.
It has helped me to have some grounding in Mandarin; if you can learn the Chinese names for different plant parts (leaf, root, seed, bark), that will help a lot, because different parts of plants have broad associated functions, and their names often tell you which part of the plant is being used.
Understanding the natures of different parts of plants helps; for example, flowers tend to have a light nature and their qi tends to rise; branches tend to branch out and affect the collaterals, and so on. This doesn’t apply to every herb but there are useful ground rules you can apply to understand the material. It’s amazing seeing just how clear-sighted and logical the ancients were in their understanding of herbal medicine; it seems difficult at first but as a holistic system it has a real beauty.
The college sends some herbs to you at the start of the course so that you can see what they look like; having this palpable engagement with the material is helpful. You might find other ways to do that during the course.
For me, clinical practise and seeing them applied to different complex patterns has been the most important part of learning how to use and remember them.
11. Why should practitioners’ study on the NCA herbs course?
The NCA course opens up a world of treatment that you only superficially touch on with acupuncture or other external modalities. They enable you to apply Chinese medicine to a deeper level, treat difficult cases more quickly and treat cases you wouldn’t have been able to treat at all with acupuncture. As long as patients are taking their herbs, they are having a daily treatment. Herb treatment can also be cheaper than regular treatments, making it more financially sustainable for many people.
The NCA’s staff, teaching and otherwise, are experienced and knowledgeable, and provide a friendly environment for learning. The course is well structured and builds on concepts that you will have learned during acupuncture training; course materials are online so are always available for review. Guest lecturers are invited in to teach particular areas of treatment. If you are considering training in herbal medicine I would highly recommend the NCA course.
Find out more about studying on our MSc/PGDip in Chinese Herbal Medicine https://nca.ac.uk/chinese-herbal-medicine-course