2210 McKinley Avenue, Unit 4 (1 minute walk from Downtown Berkeley BART 1 block west of Martin Luther King, between Allston and Bancroft across from Bank of America Public Parking Lot - Click here for directions), Berkeley, California, 94703 USA
(1) 510-292-6696 - Please CALL US, no e-mail available (Namo AT Shurangama.com).
 

"Om Namo Aryavalokiteshvaraya Bodhisattvaya Mahasattvaya Maha Karunikaya Om Sarva Abhaya!"

Herbal Education Guidelines Core Curriculum 7 Modules

The American Herbalist Guild's recommended hours accompanying subjects is provided not as a requirement, but as a general guide for the student or school seeking to use these guidelines in the development of a course of herbal studies, or in the formation of curriculum material. It provides a sense of the "weight" each subject should carry for the student. The Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute entirely agrees with these hours below and has developed our academic programs around these recommended allotment of didactic and clinical hours.  The Guild acknowledges that each student will have their own pace of study, each school its own emphasis on coursework, and that with the current status of herbal education in the United States, opportunities for study will vary and may for some be limited. The Guild and the Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute does, however, expect that a basic level of core competency in the following areas be possessed by applicants for the Guild's professional membership and for certificate-level graduates of the Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute's programs. 

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Our Level IV Master Ayurvedic Herbalist Program corresponds completely with the American Herbalists Guild's educational guidelines.   For complete course-by-course details correlating our distance learning and in-person courses with the educational guidelines of the Guild, click here to download a detailed Excel spreadsheet.  The spreadsheet also provides course prices, descriptions, course codes, units and hours, prerequisites, and textbook book requirements.

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Toward this goal of supporting the diversity of learning styles of students studying from a wide variety of competent teachers with differing teaching styles, the Guild and the Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute will make every effort to direct students toward study programs and materials that enable them to obtain this knowledge. Hence, the Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute frequently recommends that our students consider attending Dr. Vasant Lad's full one year program at the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Although the Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute's program is very complete, we wish to nourish our "root" and support our past teachers and preceptors.  The majority of the faculty members of the Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute have graduated from Dr. Lad's comprehensive one year Ayurvedic Studies Program (ASP) at the Ayurvedic Institute in New Mexico.  Several of our faculty have studied with Dr. Lad in Gurukula (advanced clinical apprenticeship) for several years in both New Mexico and at Dr. Lad's clinic in Pune, India.  First year graduates of the Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute are likely to be qualified to bypass the first year of the Ayurvedic Institute (Ayurvedic Studies Program Level I) and directly attend Dr. Lad's 430 hour Ayurvedic Studies Level II Program.  To quote from the Ayurvedic Institute's 2002-2003 Academic Catalog (http://www.ayurveda.com/acadcat-2002-3.doc):

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"2002-2003 Ayurvedic Studies Level II Program: Participating students may include graduates of the Ayurvedic Studies Level I program, Ayurvedic students from other institutions, licensed health care professionals with previous Ayurvedic training, and licensed health care professionals with no Ayurvedic training."  "Depending on your student category, the academic year begins with the Intensives in October for the first quarter or in January for the second and third quarters." 

Both the American Herbalist Guild (AHG) and the Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute in honoring the diverse models of herbal medicine and methods of learning, deem that the knowledge and skills necessary to be an herbalist can be accomplished through a combination of the following: in-person instructor-led learning, accepted correspondence courses (distance learning), residential schools, and academic centers of learning, self-study, audio-visual aids, and practical experience. Admission as a professional member of the American Herbalist Guild (AHG) additionally requires that such training be deemed acceptable by the admissions review board. To verify which programs will help you meet these requirements, feel free to contact the AHG Education or Admissions Committee.

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Both the American Herbalist Guild (AHG) and the Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute judge that clinical requirements may be met through multiple routes as well, including apprenticeship, clinical work with a qualified practitioner, or attendance at a formal training program with a clinical component. Both the American Herbalist Guild (AHG) and the Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute recognize the difficulty in finding apprenticeships and therefore the both the Guild and the Institute will make every effort to place students with mentors, to that end, both the Guild and the Institute has developed a formal mentorship program.

Recommended Hours of Training
According to American Herbalist Guild
to Attain a Master Herbalist Certification

Hours of Didactic Study..............1200

Clinical Hours...............................400

Total Hours of Study..................1,600

Our Level IV Master Ayurvedic Herbalist (M.A.H. -- 1,800 hours / 120 units -- $6193  Donation) Program corresponds completely with the Guild's educational guidelines.

Full complete course-by-course details correlating our distance learning and in-person courses with the educational guidelines of the Guild, click here to download a detailed Excel spreadsheet.

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This equates to approximately 40 weeks (or 10 months) of full-time work. The American Herbalist Guild (AHG) insists that this education should be accomplished within ten (10) years of applying for professional membership.  A student may elect to engage in part-time studies. In this case, we at the Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute insist that a study plan will be designed to ensure that the program can be completed within the desired time period. The Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute wishes to begin to move the academic quality of its 1,800 hour program in line with similar programs at Chinese Medicine schools, where the 2900 hour Master of Science in Traditional Chinese Medicine degree (MSTCM) is awarded; students in these schools are required to complete all TCM studies within eight years of initial matriculation.  Hence, the Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute also insists that the 1,800 hours of Ayurvedic training be completed within eight years of initial matriculation.

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Documentation

Both the American Herbalist Guild (AHG) and the Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute maintain that if you are planning a course of self-study, it is essential that you thoroughly document and keep records of all your work.  The Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute does indeed offer comprehensive Distance Learning (correspondence course) programs in order to complete the Guild's recommendation of 1200 of didactic study.

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Core Curriculum - 7 Recommended Modules

The Guild states that these hours can be obtained through in-person instructor-led learning, residential schools, colleges, and academic centers of learning, self-study and accepted correspondence courses (distance learning). The Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute offers all the materials you need to complete these basic requirements.  

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1.  Basic Human Sciences - Total Hours 200

Anatomy

Physiology 

Pathology 

Biochemistry 

Medical Terminology 

Nutrition 

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2.  Botany and Plant Identification - Total Hours 60

Plant Identification 

Ethical Wildcrafting and Sustainability 

Harvesting 

Field Identification Procedures and Safety

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3.  Materia Medica / Therapeutic Herbalism - Total Hours 400

400 hours divided by 150 plants = 2.6 hours per substance

400 hours minus 300 hours core theory = 100 hours divided by 150 plants = .6 hours hours per substance

The student shall have a core knowledge of 150 plants. Study shall include the following for each plant:

Dosages and Dosage Forms

Historical Uses - we teach straight from the Classics of Ayurveda and from the wealth of knowledge passed on to us by Dr. Vasant Lad.

Botanical Name (Latin and Greek roots)

Common Name (English) and Classical Name (Sanskrit, Tibetan or Chinese)

Major Plant Constituents

Parts Used

Therapeutic Actions and Applications

Indications/Contraindications/Cautions

Toxicology/Potential Adverse Effects

Review of the Literature

Harvestable Status

Plant Families

Specific Life Cycles (i.e., pregnancy, elderly)

Additionally, at the Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute, for each herb we teach you the Traditional Ayurvedic Medicine (TAM) concepts of:

Guna (Which of the 20 qualities)

Karma (Action in a Traditional Ayurvedic Medicine sense)

Rasa (Taste - sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent, astringent)

Virya (Heating or cooling energy)

Vipak (Post digestive taste)

Prabhav (Unexplained therapeutic action)

Dhatu Pratyanika (Tissue affinity - Channel tropism)

Avayava Pratyanika (Organ affinity - Channel tropism)

Mala Pratyanika (Affinities and effects on the wastes - urine, feces, sweat)

Srotamsi Pratyanika (Channel / Meridian affinity - tropism)

What Tradition Chinese Medicine (TCM) has to say about the herb if appropriate

Viyadhi Pratyanika (Disease affinity / tropism)

Dosha Pratyanika (What the herb does to Vata, Pitta, or Kapha constitutions - 5 elements affinity)

Chakra Pratyanika (Affinities the herb has with which of the 7 Energy Charkas) 

Where to obtain the best quality specimen / source of this herb in the West

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4.  Pharmacy, Pharmacognosy and Dispensing - Total Hours 80

Plant Chemistry and Pharmacology

Herbal Formulation

Basic Principles of Medicine Making

Modes of Administration/Delivery

Maintaining a Dispensary

Raw Material Identification

Laws Regarding Labeling and Dispensing

Dispensing Strategies

Herb-Drug Interactions

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5.  Clinical Skills - Total Hours 400

Counseling Skills

Personal Development and Professionalism

Physical Assessment Skills/Constitutional Analysis

Laboratory Findings Assessment

Dosing Strategies

Interview and Case Taking Skills

Record Keeping for the Clinical Herbalist

History Assessment

Lifestyle/Wellness Counseling

Nutritional and Dietary Counseling

Informed Consent and Disclosure

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6.  Career Preparation / Practice Development / Ethics - Total Hours 20

Understanding American Herbalist Guild (AGH) Ethics

Maintaining Records

Professional Networking & Referral

Scope of Practice (still being developed in the USA)

Confidentiality, Legal and Legislative Issues

Basic Small Business Management

Promoting and Marketing and Herbal Practice

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7. History & Philosophy / Introduction to Research - Total Hours 40

Philosophy of Western Herbalism

History of American Herbalism

World Models of Herbal Medicine

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Additional Clinical Hours Requirement: 400

Some Suggestions for Achieving Educational Guidelines for the American Herbalists Guild (AHG):

Keep an updated resume. 

Document every class or workshop you take. Include the following information: title of course, number of in-class hours (breaks not counted), topics learned, instructor name, address, phone number, email address. 

The Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute can provide transcripts of each class, seminar or workshop completed for a nominal fee.

Keep a scrapbook that includes certificates of completion of workshops and courses.  The Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute can provide Certificates of Completion of each class, seminar or workshop completed for a nominal fee.

Get letters of recommendation from teachers or herbalists or clinicians who know you well.  The Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute can provide such certified letters of recommendation for a nominal fee.

To get teachers to know you, work with them, engage them in conversation at symposiums, contact them for assistance. The Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute allows you to email or telephone any of the faculty for assistance (at their reasonable discretion) if you are an enrolled student at the Institute.

Attend symposiums, weekend workshops and take college courses, but make sure they count towards the hours you need.   The Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute recommends reviewing the Certificate requirements for details on which symposiums, conferences and external courses, seminars or workshops are appropriate for transfer credit. 

Follow the American Herbalist Guild's Code of Ethics.

Achieve these hours within 7 years time.

Write up and use a full disclosure/informed consent form with all clients.

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Some Ways to Achieve the 1200 Coursework Hours:

Correspondence course on herbal medicine such as the Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute Programs. Check to see which ones qualify.

Residential course on herbal medicine. Check to see which ones qualify.

Short herb workshops, either correspondence or on-site.

College or community college courses, seminars or workshops.

Herb symposiums and conferences. (Number of credit hours attained is limited.)

Tapes from herb symposiums and conferences. (Number of credit hours attained is limited.)

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Some Ways to Achieve the 400 Clinical Work Hours:

Use the American Herbalist Guild Mentorship Program - The Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute offers a full time Herbal Apprenticeship (Mentoring Program) for students of our Ayurvedic Certification Programs.  This involves regularly sitting in on and assisting with the daily Ayurvedic Consultations of Ven. Losang Jinpa, D.Ayur and of Rev. Jenny Dinh, D.Ayur, M.A.H. at the Medicine Buddha Healing Center in downtown Berkeley, California. 

Ven. Losang Jinpa, D.Ayur, C.M.T., M.A.H., Ph.D
Ayurvedic Practitioner, Pastoral Counselor, Master Ayurvedic Herbalist (M.A.H.), Doctorate in Buddhist Ayurveda, Buddhist Monk
Center Co-Founder and Director
(1) 510-292-6696

Completed a Six-Year Apprenticeship with Dr. Lad observing over 1900 patient consultations and served on the faculty of Dr. Lad's Ayurvedic Institute and currently serves as the primary faculty of the Ayurveda Healing Arts Institute in Berkeley.

  

Attend clinical training intensives.

Volunteer your clinical skills at herb clinics. (Client contact or case discussion counts only.)

Sit in on cases with an herbal practitioner.

Keep thorough case records of all client contact.

Be sure to document everything carefully and make sure the experience is counted towards the 400 hours.

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Source: http://www.americanherbalistsguild.com/edguide.htm