Columbia Southern University

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Howard, Jan 5, 2003.

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  1. Howard

    Howard New Member

    Just when you think maybe CSU is becoming legit they come out with this. It was advertised in the Rural Electric Coop Magazine for my area.

    Certified Natural Medicine Specialist
    Certification Program

    Back to Certification Programs

    Herbal Medicine

    Glenn Appelt

    The Study of Natural Medicine

    The Comprehensive Program

    Download Application/Enrollment Now
    This self-paced certificate program is designed for individuals who seek career entrance into the exciting profession of natural products. Whether your job search concerns employment in health food stores, vitamin departments, pharmacies, gardening centers, landscape design, alternative health practices, herbal e-commerce, or the field of medical botany, training as a Natural Medicine Specialist (NMS) will provide you with an advantage over other applicants for these important positions in today’s marketplace. Or if you already work in any of these areas, you will benefit from the NMS program by enhancing your knowledge of the field through in-depth and supportive educational study. Also, if you have a natural curiosity about plants and their healing properties, you will learn the basics of herbology and much more.


    Funny, such a certificate is useful for those who work in gardening centers and landscape design (?).
     
  2. PaulC

    PaulC Member

    The only problem I see with this is the use of the word "Medicine" in the title of the course. Otherwise, this looks pretty innocuous and likely contains just the sort of info you would expect in a course offered at any legitimate community college. I don't think they are advertising it for more than what it is. They say an "entry" level job in a place like a health food store. Not a huge requirement there and the course materials likely do offer an entry-level knowledge base. I mean, have you spent much time talking to those high school kids working at GNC lately. They could probability use a course like this.

    Like I say, my problem would be with the word "medicine". Perhaps it could be called, "Certified Natural Supplement Specialist".

    Disclaimer: I’m in no way an apologist for CSU.
     
  3. timothyrph

    timothyrph New Member

    I tend to agree with PaulC here. First the gentleman teaching the course has a PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Colorado. This would definitely make him well qualified for a fair and balanced presentation of the area. I would prefer it to be titled differently . I would be hesitant to allow anyone who just had 40-50 contact hours to be encouraged to become a "specialists" in an area so big with so many variables. Of course most people who claim herbal knowledge do so without much traditional education on the subject.

    It could serve as a basic course for knowledge, CE for nurses or pharmacists etc. I had pharmacognosy, and natural products chemistry, and pharmacology but the area of herbals was largely ignored for those of us in school 15 years ago. JCAHO (hospital accreditation organization) now has a requirement that herbals be listed with home meds and reviewed for potential drug interactions. A lot of us had to "catch up" in a hurry (when was the last time you saw Ginko Balboa in a hospital?) as herbals can potentially affect other medications being taken, especially Coumadin. It can also affect the counseling of the patient.

    Overall I think this is good information from a legitimate expert. I would like to see the claims of what you are trained for toned down a bit. Just as a lot of people here believe that the word "doctor" is misleading without the tried and true credentials of an accredited or GAAP degree, in the medical fields we are extremely careful with the word "specialist". It denotes an expert. When claimed, people take your word without a lot of questioning.
     

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