How to Choose a Health-Care Professional

How to Choose a Health-Care Professional
by author Wendy Bone

Choosing a qualified health-care practitioner can be confusing. What do all those mysterious letters mean, anyway?

When seeking professional help about your health, do your own research. Some health food stores offer consultations with qualified staff or can recommend a herbalist, homeopath, naturopath or nutritionist in your area. Find out if these practitioners have the right kind of training to suit your needs by taking a look at their credentials.

With the exception of naturopathic doctors in some provinces, most natural health-care professions are not government regulated. As a result, credentials aren’t standardized–they’re given to graduating students by their individual institutions. The best way to ensure quality training is to check if the practitioner has graduated from a well-known college that is accredited by both the provincial government and any professional associations. Individual membership in provincial, national or international self-regulating associations also ensures a minimum standard of education and experience.

Herbalists

Herbalists use botanical remedies for healing and preventive medicine. Human Resources Development Canada says professional herbalists must have at least three years of training, between 300 and 500 hours of a supervised practicum at an accredited college and individual association membership.

Chartered Herbalist (CH): trained for one year on the basics of herbology. Many go on to become master or clinical herbalists. They do not work in clinical settings but can be herbal business owners, health food store consultants, writers, workshop leaders and product distributors.

Clinical Herbal Therapist (CHT) or Clinical Herbalist (Cl.H): professional designations requiring three- or four-year full-time training, with practicum (physicians take two- to three-year training). Clinical herbalism is highly advanced, combining the use of medicinal plants, nutritional science and natural health practices. Clinical herbalists assess the health and case history of a client, perform physical exams, use diagnosis techniques and interpret lab results. They can set up clinical practices.

Clinical Registered Herbal Practitioner (Cl.RHP): membership with the Canadian Herbalists Association of BC.

Diploma of the School of Phytotherapy (DipPhyt): a highly respected herbalist college in the United Kingdom.

Master Herbalist (MH): trained exclusively in herbology for one year, with completion of a major thesis. Master herbalists often write books and articles but do not have clinical practices. However, some are actually clinical herbalists who’ve graduated before the official clinical herbalist designation was created by the American Herbalists Guild in 1989.
Medical Herbalist (MH): same letters as master herbalist—the UK equivalent of CHT or Cl.H.

Member of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists (MNIMH) in the UK.

Homeopaths

Homeopaths use highly diluted amounts of natural substances based on the principle of "like cures like." Homeopathy is widely practised around the world, particularly Britain and India, says Karen Jonas, homeopath and creator of canadahomeopathy.com.

Certified in Classical Homeopathy (CCH) by the Council for Homeopathic Certification (CHC), a non-professional organization.

Certified in Classical Homeopathy by the Canadian Council on Homeopathic Certification (CCHC), the Canadian affiliate of the CHC (non-professional).

Diploma in Classical Homeopathy (DCH) from Vancouver Homeopathic Academy (four-year program).

Diplomate of the Homeopathic Association of Naturopathic Physicians (DHANP) : professional membership for physicians only.

Diplomate of Homeotherapeutics (DHt): accreditation of licensed medical doctors by the American Institute of Homeopathy.

Diplomate of the School of Homeopathic Medicine (CSHomMed) in Toronto: a three-year program.

Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Homeopathy (FCAH): The Canadian Academy of Homeopathy trains and certifies licensed health-care professionals. A four-year program.

Fellow of the School of Homeopathic Medicine (FSHomMed): a four-year program.

Registered Member of the Society of Homeopaths, North America (RSHom, NA): professional membership.

Registered Member of the Society of Homeopaths, United Kingdom (RSHom, UK): professional membership.

Naturopathic Doctors

Naturopathic doctors are general practitioners of clinical nutrition, herbal medicine, homeopathy, acupuncture, Oriental medicine, counselling and physical medicine. Of five colleges in North America, two are in Canada: the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine in Toronto and the Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine in Vancouver. All are accredited but Boucher–it opened in 2000 and accreditation is pending.

Naturopathic medicine is currently regulated in BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. Alberta and Nova Scotia are currently in the regulation process. "In provinces where naturopathic medicine is unregulated, there is no title protection, so it is buyer beware!" says Cassie Lyon, executive director of the Canadian Naturopathic Association (CNA). If you live in an unregulated province, call the CNA to verify credentials.

Naturopathic Doctor (ND): a four-year program.

Nutritional Consultants

Nutritional consultants are not the same as government-regulated dietitians who work in institutions such as hospitals, as well as in the corporate and biotechnology sectors. Dietitians have university degrees (up to PhD) in mainstream food and nutrition theory or food service management. Nutritionists may have the same level of education but with added training in holistic nutrition, or they may have training that takes about six months to a year to complete.

Clinical Nutritionist (CN): a scientist with an advanced degree.

Certified Nutritional Consultant (CNC): a catch-all term for numerous certification courses across North America, largely unregulated. Check for proper government and association accreditation regarding schools in your area.

Diploma in Nutritional Consulting (NC): designation of the alive Academy of Natural Health.

Registered Dietician (RD): requires bachelor’s degree, supervised internship and successful completion of a national exam. For other credentials, visit dietitians.ca.

Registered Holistic Nutritionist (RHN): a graduate of either the Edison Institute of Nutrition (EIN) or the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition (CSNN) who has not registered with the International Organization of Nutritional Consultants (IONC) , the governing body regulating RNCs and RNCPs.

Registered Nutritional Consultant (RNC): first-level training at EIN or CSNN. Registered with the IONC or the NCOC. RNCs write or educate through teaching or seminars but do not have clients.

Registered Nutritional Consultant Practitioner (RNCP): completed second-level training at the same schools and registered at the same associations. They are insured and can see clients.

More Resources

American Herbalists Guild (has Canadian members): 770-751-6021; americanherbalistsguild.com
Canadian Association of Herbal Practitioners: 403-270-0936
Ontario Herbalists Association: 416-536-1509; herbalists.on.ca
canadahomeopathy.com has a comprehensive listing of credentials, plus a directory of homeopaths practising across Canada
Canadian Naturopathic Association: 416-496-8633; naturopathicassoc.ca
International Organization of Nutritional Consultants: 1-800-406-2703; ionc.org

Source: alive #233, March 2002

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