Herbalism is in our roots!

Frequently Asked Questions

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What is the difference between the diploma and a BSc?

The course involves study up to the equivalent of Level 6 (i.e. BSc level) but we have intentionally chosen a diploma award in order to offer a fully comprehensive training and broad-based clinical apprenticeship at a more affordable fee.

Approximately, how many hours of study is the course a week?

A professional training course demands a serious investment of time.

For the 4 year course, the recommended study time is 21-30 hours per week depending on the demands of the course at the particular time and relevant prior learning. For the 6 year course the recommended study time is 14 to 21 hours per week. 

Of these hours, 30-50% would typically be computer based (watching videos and completing online tasks, attending webinars, and completing quizzes and short tests). The remainder comprises directed or self-directed background reading, research and project work, tutorials, residential gatherings and herb garden projects. Students are expected to engage in their studies for at least 40 weeks of the year.

I haven’t completed your Foundation Course, am I able to enrol directly on to the Professional Course?

Students do not normally enrol on the Professional Course without having completed a suitable Foundation Course (such as the Heartwood Foundation Course), except in cases where previous educational or professional experience qualifies them to register. We can supply a list of suitable Foundation courses on request.

Is it possible to complete the Professional Course without the clinical element?

The Professional Course is a training course for herbal practitioners, and the clinical element is an integral part of that training.

I work full time, am I able to enrol on this course?

Yes. The provision of the 6 year course has been designed specifically for students who have other demands on their time, to ensure that they do not feel that they have to make compromises either in the training or in their other commitments, and in particular, there is time to complete some of your clinical training after the main academic modules are complete.

Can the course be completed in a shorter time period than 4 years?

The training is already very concentrated and it would not be realistic to complete it in a shorter time than 4 years.

Does your approach value scientific knowledge or tradition more highly?

Science and tradition are woven together throughout your studies. Science provides us with an understanding of how the body works, what happens when things go wrong and how to examine patients as well as useful information on the activities and applications of herbal medicines. Tradition, including the experience of contemporary herbalists and authors, provides us with much of our materia medica and therapeutic knowledge and pharmacy skills. Nicholas Culpeper, the famous 17th century herbalist, said that good medicine required the attendance of Dr Reason, Dr Tradition and Dr Experience. We hope that our course follows in that tradition. 

Do you teach herbal energetics?

We have a range of tutors who contribute to the materia medica and therapeutics modules on the course. These tutors draw on diverse sources, including various understandings of energetics. We don’t teach degrees of heat, cold, damp and dry, but tutors encourage you to get to know the herbal medicines as directly as possible, including through tasting them and knowing them as living plants, which we believe is a very useful way of getting to know them energetically. 

What is your approach to nutrition?

We don’t teach a particular approach to nutrition that is suitable for everyone. Instead, while we do encourage the importance of diversity of whole foods in diets, and the value of plant foods (we are herbalists, after all), dietary suggestions for conditions and presentations are made where appropriate within the herbal therapeutics and integration modules.   

Why is the Heartwood Professional Course more demanding than some other courses?

Our Professional Course involves around 3,600 hours of study and 300 hours of clinical training. It is certainly a big commitment. But it is a training course for practitioners who will face a wide range of situations in which the depth and type of knowledge covered in many of the teaching units are absolutely essential. The study required in some other courses is equivalent to our Foundation Course, which we consider to be in no way suitable as training for a professional medical herbalist, and which we generally ask people to undertake before engaging on the Professional Course.

Without exception, the teaching staff have encountered patients facing difficult medical choices, sometimes life-threatening ones. It is important in those situations to understand in proper depth what is going on, how one can help and where the limits to herbal treatment lie. 

It is also important to be able to correspond with other health professionals on a basis of shared understanding and mutual respect. A practitioner should, when reading a doctor’s report, for example, fully understand not only the medical terminology used but also the clinical reasoning. Not to do so makes meaningful exchange and potential collaboration impossible, and that is very much not in the patient’s best interest.

This type of communication with other health professionals is also invaluable in establishing a thriving practice. Many doctors are frustrated by seeing patients with long-term problems that are hard to treat safely with pharmaceutical drugs and would like to be able to do more. It helps greatly if they can refer such patients to a practitioner whose treatment is gentle, safe and effective, and in whose professionalism they can be fully confident.

And lastly, there is the need for self-evaluation, research and communication that enable the profession to grow and to be taken seriously by the wider world. This is what being in a profession really means.

We do not claim to be the only course to offer such thorough training, and we are only too happy for there to be a choice. But we are very firmly committed to offering the standards we would like the public to be able to expect in all herbal practitioners.

Will the course curriculum change during my studies?

Heartwood is constantly involved in a process of review and improvement to benefit our students. As part of the process of improvement, we may make some changes to module content or the order in which modules are taught, but the curriculum outline given here will not change dramatically.

What if my personal circumstances change and I need to take a year out from my studies?

Yes, this is possible. Please contact admin for further information: admin@heartwoodteam.net

Since all of the study is online, if a student is having an issue or struggling with a topic how would this be best resolved – i.e. what support is there to overcoming these types of situations?

Since all of the study is online, if a student is having an issue or struggling with a topic, how would this be best resolved – i.e. what support is there to overcome these types of situations?
 In addition to the online studies, you have access to the following opportunities: 

• a personal tutor scheme
• a vibrant student forum for each student group as well as a community forum
• regular live webinars with Module tutors

Cost

The cost of the course substantially less than that of a degree course and allows students the flexibility to complete their studies around work, family commitments. As a matter of policy, the Charity aims to promote professional education at minimum cost to help avoid students incurring debt.

Completion of modules

A new lesson in each module component is posted each week, but learners always have access to all previous lessons for the entire year of study in which they are engaged so that they can adapt their study routine to their personal timetable. However, the end of term and end of year summative assessments must be completed according to terms set out in the relevant assessment briefs.

Do I need to attend all the webinars?

Heartwood webinars are live events, but they are always recorded and archived so that they are available for all learners to view at any time. 

Moreover, you are still able to post questions to the webinar leader after you have viewed a recording, so missing a live webinar session because of family, work or other prior commitments will neither detract from your learning nor adversely affect your fulfilment of assessment criteria.