HPTG Course Appraisals

 

Course Appraisal by J. Claire K. Niala DO ND BSc (Hons) Ost Med BSc (Hons) Psych

HPTG 6-day Southern Course

 

J. Claire K. Niala is a Registered Osteopath & Naturopath with a background in Psychology. Working in healthcare for 10 years, she ran a successful Osteopathic practice in London, and started a Complementary & Alternative Medicine Practice in Birmingham 1 year ago.

 

I first heard about homeopathy in the first year of my Osteopathy & Naturopathy degree. At the time I thought the idea of water having a memory was complete and utter nonsense. Even when I started to practice as an Osteopath four years later, I still wasn't really open to a lot of other modalities with regards to treatment. I was content just to look at musculoskeletal disorders and focused my energies entirely on that.

 

It began to strike me that actually my practice was getting quite reductionist. I was forgetting the 'holistic' principles taught to me at college and falling into the pattern of the old Osteopathic anecdote - as I would remark to a colleague, "Someone came in to see me today who had hypertension, asthma and a history of depression". To which they would reply, "That's interesting - what were you treating them for ?" "The usual - Low Back Pain."

 

As the Osteopathic tools in my kit bag did not allow me to fully treat all aspects of a patients dis-ease, I did not explore them. As my views changed radically from those I held when I first started to study Osteopathy, I began to want to work more closely with patients energies and I came to the understanding that this is what lies at the he-art of homeopathy. It was a personal experience of homeopathy that cemented my decision to work with it.

 

I had been looking around for appropriate courses for quite some time but hadn't found any that took into account the training that I had already had in Complementary and Alternative Medicine. When I stumbled across the HPTG website I was struck by how professional and easy it was to use, and so I made contact with the Course Administrator who was both accessible and efficient in answering my queries.

 

I initially found it quite challenging to learn alongside allopaths. By the time I had started the course I was feeling fully open to homeopathy and sometimes felt that some of the views expressed by my fellow students were 'taking me back' to a place I wanted to leave behind. In the end, I found it rewarding to have explored exactly what it was that had led me to homeopathy in the first place and thoroughly enjoyed the contribution of the vets too - it's so stimulating to learn in a mixed environment.

It was really good to have our study venue in Nelsons Homeopathic Pharmacy (though I probably spent far too much money upstairs at in the pharmacy), because if a remedy was mentioned that I wanted to work with, or to get for a friend or relative, it was useful to have immediate access to it. The real treasures on the course were the tutors, especially Dr Kathryn Vale and the vets Geoff Johnson and Jane Seymour. The great effort they put into making homeopathy come alive carried on into fruitful lunchtime discussions. I left at the end of each learning day feeling invigorated - like I had been taught a great deal by people who really cared about their subject.

 

Before I started the course I had seen homeopathy as something that was best at tackling long standing chronic problems. Now I feel more confident to use it in acute situations, and the results have been astounding. Homeopathy is steadily affecting my practice. Whereas previously I simply noted, but did not pay much attention to, some of the 'strange, rare and peculiar' symptoms that patients had told me about . These symptoms have now taken on a new meaning. It is fascinating to see what will repertorise - and mainly it all will ! I think I listen to my patients more. I am no longer caught up in looking for 'buzzwords' that will indicate a 'particular pathology'. I want to hear the patient's story and I want it to help me to build up a picture that allows me to see all of him/her.

 

It is easy to get complacent when you already work in Complementary and Alternative Medicine. To think that, because you are already successfully treating people, that there is not much deeper to go, but homeopathy has radicalised my practice and completely transformed it. Before I started the course my practice was somewhere I went to and had to get my hands on people - now I am working towards being much more the barefoot doctor and taking my practice with me wherever I go. (Helios Homeopathic Pharmacy Travel Kits do help too!)

 

Course Appraisal by Margot Hunter BVMS MRCVS

MFHom three year course

 

Being a veterinary surgeon with a small animal/equine, two-person practice near Edinburgh and looking for a course in homeopathy, I thought Glasgow would be the place to go.  However I soon discovered that such a course no longer existed.  

 

This was back in 2000.  I had time on my hands and a personal interest in homeopathy.  More and more clients were asking about 'alternative' treatments for their pets and my veterinary partner had embarked on an acupuncture course.  This was a means of diversification for the practice, so I decided to look for another course.

 

Staring at me from pages of veterinary journals was the HPTG course in Oxford.  I made enquiries.  A three-year modular course with local support groups.  It sounded what I was looking for.  OK it was 350 miles away but there are 'planes, trains, etc.

I enrolled to start the 2001-2002. This was to be a somewhat eventful year for me.  Firstly I became pregnant.  At 38, I had given up on the idea of ever having children.  Was this the start of the positive powers of homeopathy ?!

 

Having looked at all methods of travelling to the course I opted to drive.  I became very familiar with the A702, M74, M6, M42, M40 and the A34 over the next three years.  My journeys took between 6.5 & 8 hours depending on the traffic.

 

I must say I was rather overawed on the first module.  I felt everyone seemed to know far more than I did and appeared very serious about everything.  I soon found more like-minded people whom I may say are those who have stayed with the course throughout.

 

Time just flew by. At the beginning of February, my practice bought a neighbouring practice and took on two assistants, this was a very busy time for everyone.  I attended the February module, then my son was born at the beginning of March, one month early.  A very straight forward birth.  Was this due to my homeopathic remedies?

 

I missed one module but attended the May module with parents in tow as baby-sitters.  This was to be their role on several occasions. I admit it was difficult trying to study, attend modules and my local tutorial group meetings (which are in Yorkshire) and run an expanding veterinary practice with a young son, but I do enjoy a challenge!

 

I found putting the theory into practise quite difficult at first.  I was unsure if what I was doing was right.....and how would clients take to me offering homeopathic remedies?  My colleagues were a bit sceptical but having seen some of the responses I achieved they became more convinced about what I was doing.  I still use conventional veterinary treatments more than homeopathy but I know I have that extra tool to use when required.

 

I have always been interested in behavioural problems, but have found then frustrating and often disappointing to treat conventionally.  I have found these cases ideal to treat homeopathically.  In the third year, when a project is required, I used my knowledge of homeopathy & behavioural problems to show the beneficial effect of using homeopathy over conventional treatments in behavioural cases.  On the personal side, I was pregnant again during year three and gave birth to a baby daughter in June 2004.  My 45 minute labour and immediate recovery has totally convinced me of the merits of homeopathy.

 

This is a remarkable course, which will lead you to question your methods of veterinary medicine.  I now feel I have much greater empathy and understanding of my clients and patients, with everyone benefiting from this.  Mind you - my consultations now take at least twice as long, much to my receptionist's consternation.

 

Course Appraisal by Dr Michael Curtin MB ChB DipMedAc. MFHom

MFHom three year course

Homeopathy in General Practice

 

My first real exposure to homeopathy was when my wife marched my eleven year-old daughter into the local chemist, to get something for her veruccae. Exasperated by my eighteen months of masterly inactivity (it’s a trivial condition right?)..... she had decided that something must be done. The pharmacist gave her Thuja 6C tablets one to be taken daily, and within 3 weeks the little blighters had all disappeared.

 

Intrigued, I decided to look into this further, and a quick trawl of Google, led me to the Faculty of Homeopathy Website (www.trusthomeopathy.org). This proved to be a source of much useful information and gave details of training courses. Reading through the information on the site, I discovered some interesting facts:

  • The sale of homeopathic medicines in pharmacies is increasing between 15% and 20% a year.

  • Referrals to the NHS homeopathic hospitals increase year on year.

  • Over 25% of Scottish GPs have taken some basic Faculty-accredited training in homeopathy.

The following year I enrolled at one of the five accredited colleges. I chose to join the Homeopathic Professionals’ Teaching Group (HPTG), based in Oxford. The course consisted of four two day modules, usually Friday and Saturday (not too disruptive of work or the weekend), with an additional 5 tutorials, organised on a regional basis. My fellow students were a mixed bunch, including a Hospital Consultant (paediatrics and ophthalmology), GPs and a large number of Veterinary Surgeons.  It was interesting to hear the experiences that had brought students from very different backgrounds to homeopathy, but all were friendly, supportive, and above all open-minded.

 

The modules proved to be fun and a refreshing break from the humdrum of daily surgeries. We learnt about the use of homeopathy in the treatment of minor trauma, skin diseases, musculoskeletal problems and genitourinary conditions. Safety and good medical practice were recurring themes; we were constantly reminded that we were doctors first and homeopaths second. Having the Vets learning with us was a very rewarding experience and I was hugely impressed by their observational skills.

 

At the end of the first year we sat the Primary Health Care Exam, designed to demonstrate a basic competence in treating General Practice type problems. A small number of students left the course at this point, but the majority opted to stay for a further two years. During this time we looked at homeopathic philosophy, and studied different models of Health and Disease. At the end of the third year we were encouraged to sit the Faculty examination (MFHom).

 

My partners were very supportive throughout my training. After all, as an accredited acupuncturist I was already the official practice “crank”. I now use homeopathy every day as part of my normal consultations. The patients who come for treatment are largely self selected, although a proportion are referred by Midwives, Health Visitors, McMillan Nurses and my partners.  The most common conditions treated are:

  • Skin lesions

  • Hay fever

  • Musculoskeletal aches and pain

  • Dysmenorrhoea and Menorrhagia

  • PMT.

 

With practice, it is possible to prescribe effective homeopathy within the time constraints of a normal consultation, although with more complex cases it may be necessary to bring the patient back once or twice to complete the process.

 

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