By now if you have followed the previous blogs you should be clear what your primary motivation for taking the big step in changing your life and have thought through some of the secondary factors that help you make decisions – be warned recent scientific evidence shows that most of us make major life decisions on emotions (think secondary factors) rather than logical (primary) – a bit like buying a new pair of shoes because you like the colour (feelgood factor) but they are not in your size!

So if you have clarified your needs the next step is to check out the course providers – the Alliance of Registered Homeopaths (www.a-r-h.org ) ‘Which Course Guide’ will give you a base to start from, as will the Society of Homeopaths ‘Register of Course Providers’. (www.homeopathy-soh.org) . Then, if you can do the leg work by internet – visit the websites of individual course providers – ask for a prospectus etc and shortlist those you consider might meet your needs.

Now visit your short listed college/s when it’s in action, to observe how things work and talk to the students – particularly those in their Graduation Year. If you find yourself motivated, enthusiastic and challenged then it’s probably the course for you!

NB: If after joining a course you feel you have got it wrong do not be afraid to change. It is better than wasting three or four years on the wrong course and never ending up practicing!

Visit the CPH website for further information on Homeopathy, including clinics, advice, education and training http://www.college-of-practical-homeopathy.com

Tags: academic course, alliance of registered homeopaths, course providers, health, homeopathic college, homeopaths, homeopathy, homeopathy college, practical homeopathy, society of homeopathsacademic course alliance of registered homeopaths course providers health homeopathic college homeopaths homeopathy homeopathy college practical homeopathy society of homeopaths

The final primary question in choosing a course is will this particular course (note this does not mean college!) suit me and my learning and career needs? You should consider the following when making your choice.

• Class size – some colleges have very large classes – some students prefer this as they can hide at the back, are not challenged and they will not be missed if they find the lecturer dull. (This will not help to build a firm foundation on which to base a career, particularly in the first year when it is important to get a grasp of the basics). Small classes are much friendlier, give time to ask questions, get to know other students and tutors well, but are also more challenging as it is less easy to hide or avoid issues. Remember you will learn as much from other students as you will from lectures and tutors over the duration of a training and so it is vital to join a course that recognises this and supports interaction between students.
• Integrated teaching programme – Explore this in depth as many courses claim they provide an integrated programme but in reality just run a timetable of different subjects based on tutor availability – ask final year students how integrated the course is - not the tutors!
• High quality written handouts – look for decent written support material - avoid those courses that rely on you to record or take notes during lectures as this is a poor form of learning (about 3 -7% of information is retained and often some of this is wrong). Also look for colleges that make use of electronic transfer of material as this means you end up with a comprehensive set of notes that you can fit to your learning needs and that will be a source of reference and comfort for the rest of your career.
• Tutors – All colleges use sessional tutors –This is a more difficult area to assess as you will also not get too much of an opportunity to test them before joining a course so it is a question you should be asking existing students. Remember we all have very different ideas and prejudices around Tutors – the standard of tutoring varies drastically – a good tutor should make you think, not tell you what to think! Try and get an overview of the teaching rather than just comments on one or two tutors as these can be very subjective.
• Clinical training – homeopathy is best learnt ‘hands on’ – some colleges do not allow students near patients until third or fourth year – others have a much more open attitude and aim to get students seeing patient/taking cases and prescribing as early on as part of the course.
• Practitioner Development Module – At the end of the day you can be extremely knowledgeable about homeopathy but not be able to run a practice, or you can be an average homeopath and be very successful. This is because in order to be successful you need to have a range of personal skills, drive, personality, understanding of you own boundaries etc, as well as business skills above and beyond homeopathy – planning, marketing and financial management skills.
• Drop out rates – look at how many started a course and how many actually graduated – do not take verbal assurances for this but ask for evidence – always talk to graduate year students

By this point you should be shortlisting colleges in the same category .i.e degree course with other degree courses. (Warning - if you find you are comparing CPH with a degree course then you are probably making your decision on secondary factors and not primary ones!)

For further information on Homeopathy Courses which are Fun, Exciting and Enjoyable.

Tags: academic course, alternative, clinic training, colleges, complementary medicine, health, homeopathic, homeopathy, integrated teaching, practical homeopathy, practitioner development, trainingacademic course alternative clinic training colleges complementary medicine health homeopathic homeopathy integrated teaching practical homeopathy practitioner development training

The NHS is in serious trouble - Sir Gerry Robinson’s televised attempt to sort out Rotherham General Hospital highlighted the endemic problems with the National Sickness Service - where the incentive is too keep pouring the taxpayers money into a system that creates more sickness that it solves - ideal for the drug companies whose enormous profits rely on being able to hold governments to ransom and for highly paid overpowered consultants who have always been the bane of the NHS from Day 1 - add the third factor of well meaning, poorly paid and overworked basic nursing and support staff is it any wonder that health is the last thing to come out of the NHS!

Is there an alternative ? - yes there is and that is why increasingly thinking people are turning to alternative and complementary approaches such as homeopathy and naturopathy to heal themselves and to promote healthier life styles. If you are a disillusioned soon to be redundant health professional but have managed to keep a passion for helping people see the following to see if there is a more satisfying alternative lifestyle for you.

If you:

• have an interest in health issues (your own and others)
• are concerned about current medical approaches to health
• already qualified as a nurse, Doctor, pharmacist, or alternative practitioner and interested in seeking further training in the complementary health sector
• thinking of changing career
• redundant - looking for retraining
• are fed up with your job
• are returning to work after bringing up children/illness etc
• think you have what it takes be self employed

Then training to become a homeopath or Naturopath could be a good option for you.

Find out what some our recent graduates have to say about what training to become a homeopath has done for them.

Tags: alternative medicine, career, college, courses, doctor, education, health, homeopathic college, homeopaths, homeopathy, medicine, naturopathy, NHS, nurse, pharmacist, redundant, trainingalternative medicine career college courses doctor education health homeopathic college homeopaths homeopathy medicine naturopathy NHS nurse pharmacist redundant training