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Clinical Training in
Nicaragua
November
2012
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
10
days – November 17 to November 26 -- $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.
Tabatha Parker, ND Executive Director, Natural Doctors
International
Natali Montoya Sequeira, Psychologist, naturopath, flower essence
therapist. Matagalpa, Nicaragua
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
.
16
days, November 11 to November 26
$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
.
19
days, November 8 to November 26
$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
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Contact us: 
Phone:
720-279-4824