Natural health education balance

Natural Health Education Strikes an Online/In-Person Balance for Fall

By Marilyn Zink It’s back to school time and many in the education industry are concerned about new coronavirus variants in the fall. Though the pandemic is waning in much of the western world, there are still concerns about a 4th wave as a result of the Delta variant spreading quickly. Colleges and institutions in the natural health field have adapted many programs as a result of the pandemic. We spoke with several educators to learn how they have prepared and adapted to the coronavirus pandemic. Most institutions have both online and inperson learning along with blended programs.

Program for Autumn Enrolment is Now Open Oshio College of Acupuncture and Herbology/Royal Pacific Institute

*On-line study of some courses of the Acupuncture program is available this September. *A good opportunity for those who want to become an acupuncturist but don’t live near Victoria. 您期待的好消息来了：维多利亚太平洋中医学院中 文班正式招生了。 您可以在加拿大，用中文，学中医，学针灸！！ 今年9-12月还能上网课。 可以申请学生贷款和资助。 详情请致电1（250）360-2700；电邮：oshio@ shaw.ca 或访问学校网站: oshio.ca,royalpacificinstitute.net Serving the community for over 22 years.

Many graduates are from Vancouver Island. Contact us:1(250) 360-2700 oshio@shaw.ca Student loans available Online courses as well as a combination of in-person and online courses are offered at Oshio College of Acupuncture and Herbology says Dean Dr. Ganglin Yin. “From our experience, students feel more comfortable with online courses,” says Dr. Yin. “We can offer online until the end of December.” He says in January students will be required to come to one of two campuses in Victoria, B.C. for education that that can’t complete online.

Windsong School of Healing offers a combination of online and in person education, depending on what the student is taking. “We do our theory online now, we do a hands-on practical,” says Lori-Ann MacLeod, senior educational lead instructor. The school offers am Esthetics and Spa Therapist program, Certified Holistic Health Practitioner program as well as a combined Certified Holistic and Shiatsu Diploma. “You can also take Shiatsu separately or energy medicine, oriental bodywork,” says MacLeod. The school has a teaching platform for its online courses. “We have students from all over the world,” says MacLeod. The school is currently based in Port Alberni but moving to the Vancouver, B.C. area in September. Dominion Herbal College, North America’s oldest school of herbal medicine, established in 1926, offers a combination of online and blended programs (both online and in-person).

Chartered Herbalist and Herbal Consulting are offered online, the Master Herbalist is distance learning while the 4-year Clinical Herbal Therapy program is a combination of distance and in-person practicum.

Pacific Rim College, which offers herbal and nutrition programs, has a variety of online programs and blended online and in-person programs. “Since the beginning of the pandemic, the college has had to adjust rather quickly, says Liza Couse, Associate Dean of Online Herbal Medicine. “Some are blended programs, some are online learning.” As of September 2021, the Phytotherapy, Community Herbalist, and Nutrition programs will be mostly online with some practice classes and clinics on campus Starting next spring, the Phytotherapy and Nutrition programs will be offered completely online and in person at the school’s Victoria based campus, offering students a choice. “As of May 2022, there will be a complete online version for a diploma or those who want to go in person,” says Couse. “ Anything that is more lecture based is online. The pandemic accelerated it.” Last year in April, the school launched the Home Herbalist Program and the Community Herbalist Online program, which was already in the works before the pandemic started. The Community Herbalist program has been so successful Couse says more than 600 students have registered. (CHECK) “The circumstances were already in favour. It seems like there was an exaggerated demand,” she says. The program, along with other programs and course, is part of the Pacific Rim College Online site, which is separate from the college’s regular website. Whether the pandemic enters a 4th wave or ends, it seems that most natural health institutions are well positioned to continue and flourish. That’s for post-secondary institutions but elementary and secondary institutions may well face a different outcome as students are heading back to in-person education. Educators in Canada have recognized that in-person education is of prime importance to primary and highschool students. Covid-19 protocols are determined by the government of each province, with the approach adjusted to reflect community risk.*

Online learning for herbal eduction can happen anywhere you have a computer. Photo submitted; courtesy Kelly Brown for Pacific Rim College Online

* https://covid19-sciencetable.ca/ sciencebrief/school-operation-forthe-2021-2022-academic-year-in-thecontext-of-the-covid-19-pandemic/