Sign
up here for notices of this and future trips to Nicaragua
and other destinations for the study of herbalism.
Clinical Training in
Nicaragua
February
2014 Spanish
language skills are not necessary, translation
provided
Podcast
interview with Paul Bergner and Tania Neubauer, ND about this trip
Join
Paul
Bergner,
director of North American Institute
of Medical Herbalism together with 7Song of the Northeast School
of Botanical medicine, Tania Neubauer, ND and Clinical
Herbalist, and an international faculty
of naturopathic, herbal and flower essence experts at the Natural Doctors International
clinic in Nicaragua for a holistic clinical intensive unlike any
other!
This delegation provides invaluable clinical learning to
students and practitioners of all skill levels. Spanish
language skills are not necessary. Optional intensive medical
Spanish course at the beginning of the delegation! Previous
clinical experience is not necessary, this could be an
inspiring and intensive beginning to your clinical training.
Medical Herbalism in a
Primary Care Clinical Setting
- Twenty four hours of collaborative primary care
clinical experience with ND and herbalist faculty
supervision.
- Herbal "grand rounds" case review each morning of
clinic practice
- Six hours of special classes relevant to
therapeutics in the clinic: Herbal First Aid and Acute Care;
Herbal Therapeutics for Pain; other clinical topics TBA;
Building and Maintaining a Modular Herbal Pharmacy.
- Additional Classes on Global Health
- Up to 50 units of CE may be available for NDs.
Please let us know if you want CE.
Cultural Immersion
Since 2004, Natural Doctors International has placed naturopathic
physicians in long-term service on the enchanting island of Ometepe,
Nicaragua, an extremely medically-underserved area. NDI physicians
collaborate with Nicaraguan doctors, nurses and other staff in the
public hospital and clinics of the island, as well as operating a
natural medicine clinic in the village of Los Angeles.
Delegation participants will accompany NDs who are enmeshed in the
community for the long-term in a culturally fluent medical clinic
that is worlds apart from the typical short-term medical relief
approach. The cultural immersion experience includes lodging and
meals with Nicaraguan families who share the warmth of their homes
and hearts.
Left: a rural Nicaraguan home
.
Clinical experience
Participants in this
course will work in a primary care setting under the supervision
of licensed naturopathic physicians and will observe all phases of
the clinical visit – interview, physical exam, differential
diagnosis, and preparation and administration of integrative
treatments, which may include herbal medicine, nutritional
supplements, homeopathy, acupuncture, massage and bodywork, flower
essence therapy, counseling, and pharmaceutical medicine. You can
expect to see a vast range of conditions during the clinic time.
Many ask, ‘Is this course relevant to my practice in the Global
North?’ The answer: a resounding YES! A recent clinical
course included attention to colds/flu, pneumonia, asthma,
bronchitis, COPD, parasites and infectious diarrhea, malnutrition,
diabetes, hypertension, bladder and kidney infections, kidney
stones, cancer, scabies, eczema, psoriasis, allergies, wounds,
depression, anxiety, all manner of musculo-skeletal concerns,
STIs, Pap smears, acute abdomen, and many more. You will
collaborate with NDI physicians, medical herbalist faculty, and
Nicaraguan holistic medical practitioners to interview patients
and form treatment plans for any number of conditions common
wherever you may practice. You will practice thinking on your
feet. This course will help you develop flexibility in your
treatment approach, as we work with an extensive but largely
donation-based natural product pharmacy, where medications
available may change daily. We provide translators, either
the physician herself or an NDI staff translator will translate
everything that happens in the visit. Beginning students or
practitioners will find this course gives you an enormous head
start in your learning and your practice. Practitioners with many
years’ experience will find the opportunity to flex your clinical
muscles, seeing a wide range of health concerns far more diverse
than often encountered in most holistic medicine practices.
In addition to this
extensive clinical component, this course includes classroom
case-based reviews of herbal therapeutics for conditions seen in
the clinic, as well as NDI’s famed Global Health course, an
interactive course on the roots of the current global health
situation. All participants will receive a certificate from NDI
for their participation in the course, which may be eligible for
continuing education credit. If you are interested in CE, please
contact the trip organizers ASAP for more information.
Pre-Clinical Intensive Options
If your schedule permits, we highly recommend you join us for
optional pre-clinical intensive studies in northern Nicaragua. Option 2 will take place in
Esteli, a lovely city in the mountains of Northern Nicaragua. In
addition to giving you a more rounded picture of Nicaraguan life
outside of the countryside, you will have a phenomenal opportunity
to develop your medical Spanish skills. Escuela
Horizonte has been educating visitors to Nicaragua for 20
years. Their medical Spanish intensive has served many delegations
including the Yale School of Nursing for years. You will receive
20 hours of language instruction from experienced, professional
teachers in a teacher-student ratio of one-on-one or one-on-two
(never higher). This course is tailored to your language level –
from beginner to advanced, you will start where you want to learn.
Already proficient in medical Spanish? Spend the week on the
language topics of your choice.
In the afternoons, we will visit two Nicaraguan medicinal plant
foundations, Cecalli
and Isnaya,
which grow their own herbs; make their own teas, tinctures, and
salves; publish books on Nicaraguan medicinal plants; and train
community health workers throughout Nicaragua in the use of herbal
medicine. You will tour their clinics and farms and talk with
practitioners at these foundations about their clinical
experiences with herbal medicine and flower essences. Simultaneous
translation for all activities will be provided by Tania Neubauer,
ND-clinical-herbalist.
Option 3 will take place
in Miraflor,
an eco-reserve in the mountains high above Esteli, where you can
hike among organic shade-grown coffee and in a native cloud-forest
blooming with orchids and full of exotic bird calls. The cloud
forest guides are veterans of a movement to bring the herbal
knowledge of Nicaraguan elders into practical use throughout the
country.
Option 1: Clinical
Intensive March 1-10, 2014
10 days – $1800 includes all classes, food
and lodging and in-country travel (airfare to Managua not
included)
Faculty: see more info
Paul Bergner, Director, North American Institute of Medical
Herbalism
7Song, Director, Northeast School of Botanical Medicine; Director
of Holistic Medicine, Ithaca Free Clinic
Tania Neubauer, ND. Clinical Herbalist. Clinical Faculty,
NAIMH.
Natali Montoya Sequeira, Psychologist, naturopath, flower essence
therapist. Matagalpa, Nicaragua
The ND-physician faculty of NDI.
Activities
1. 24 hours of supervised clinical training with patients of the
NDI clinic.
2. Observation of, or practice in, complete physical examination
skills (depending on your training)
3. Participation in intake, physical exam, and development of
herbal therapeutics.
4. Daily herbal grand rounds case reviews.
5. 6 hours of classes on materia medica and therapeutics for first
aid and acute conditions.
6. Classes on working in the medical field in the Global South.
7. Classes on global economics and their relation to global health
issues.
8. Lodging and meals with Nicaraguan families on the island.
9. Visit to the beaches, forests and volcanoes of the Island of
Ometepe
Tania
Neubauer leading a group awareness exercise
Option 2: Clinical Intensive plus Spanish language pre-clinical
intensive February 23-March 10, 2014
.
16 days
$2400 includes all classes, meals
and lodging, in-country travel. (airfare to Managua not
included)
This option
includes all of Option 1, but begins in Esteli, Nicaragua
one week before.
1. 20-classroom-hour immersion program in medical Spanish;
student-teacher ratio 1:1 or 2:1
2. Lodging and meals with a local Nicaraguan family
3. Daily activities including:
4. Visits to herbal foundations with clinic, farms and production
facilities
5. Option 1 in Ometepe
Option 3:
Clinical and Language Intensives plus Miraflor cloud forest
exploration February 20 - March 10, 2014
.
19 days
$2700 includes all classes, meals
and lodging, in-country travel. (airfare to Managua not
included)
This option
includes all of Option 1 and 2, but begins in Miraflor,
Nicaragua three days before.
1. Hikes and plant walks in varied plant zones and ecosystems in a
Nicaraguan ecological reserve and campesino organic coffee
cooperative.
2. Areas include the cool tropical cloud forest and the warmer
areas at lower altitude.
3. Special classes to be announced.
4. All of options 1 and 2
We know of no other clinical learning opportunity like this
anywhere in the world! We hope you can join us for this
transformative educational and cultural experience. Although we
hope to offer this course in the future, it’s possible this may
be your only chance. We encourage you to apply early.
Left: Tecoma stans, an indigenous
diabetes remedy in Nicaragua
Spanish language skills are not necessary.
Previous clinical experience is not necessary, this could be an
inspiring and intensive beginning to your clinical training.
Applications, Payments, Refunds
Details
on application, enrollment, and payments, for 2013-2014 will
be posted soon.
Contact us: 
Phone:
720-279-4824