Certification - was New Approaches

[Irene de Villiers]

No, and they are mainly there to collect money with no accounting of
how it is spent as far as I can tell (not that they answer requests
for information or explanation) - NO business gets away with that but
they do?
Nor will they adjust their approach to include veterinary
homeopathy even though there are FAR more animals in need of
homeopathy than people in need of it.
Nor do they rate good school degrees as meeting the guidelines
without a separate test and more money.
They do not keep their website up to date (again - what do they do
with all the money?)
They think they are there to make sure people have current CPR
certificates.
Why is that a *prerequisite" to using homeopathy well?
When will they also test homeopaths to see if they have a driver's
license, know how to safely cross the street, or how to recite the
alphabet (though the latter can be argued as used in homeopathy to
look up stuff so would be more relevant than the CPR certificate.

What will they confuse as relevant and get their knickers in a knot
about next?
CPR is NOT homeopathy. They'd rather stick their noses in somewhere
unrelated to homeoapathy than have anything to do with real
homeopaths such as vethoms.

I am NOT impressed.

I think we need an accountable (financially) and professional (CHC is
not) body to offer the option of an agreed standard for ALL
homeopaths, excluding everything that is NOT homeopathy - and to
certify which degrees at which schools WORLD-wide, automatically
comply with that standard....... and so their graduates do not need
to feed continuous annual income to a few people on to a good scam -
and with no goal in favor of the future of homeopathy in this country
as we NEED.

Supporting the wrong group is not going to get success and
recognition for homeopathy.
It needs a team with the real interests of homeopathy as the
objective and principle for existence - not money making, ignoring
needs of homeopaths, and enforcement of things that are not their
business as the objective. Ugh!
Covering ALL Homeopaths including veterinary, is necessary.
Staying OUT of areas outside their jurisdiction is necessary.
MINIMIZING fees, accounting for their use, and giving value for money
is necessary.
certifying degree courses is necessary to not need exams by those
graduates.
We need an ethical group who does these things.
CHC does not. It is wrong IMO to support what THEY do instead of what
we NEED to have done.

Namaste,
Irene
--
Irene de Villiers, B.Sc AASCA MCSSA D.I.Hom/D.Vet.Hom.
P.O. Box 4703 Spokane WA 99220.
www.angelfire.com/fl/furryboots/clickhere.html (Veterinary Homeopath.)
"Man who say it cannot be done should not interrupt one doing it."

[John Harvey]

Hi, Irene --
If that's how CHC is operating, your suggestion would be much preferable.
If a suitably nonprofit body were to do its job properly in certification, though, then as a matter of highest principle wouldn't it certify the individual student? Or would you have it based upon certification of the individual school's examination? I'm recalling Ivan Illich's scathing criticism (in Deschooling Society) of student certification's being performed by the same body that does the teaching -- in effect, certifying its own teaching.
It may be that we really do want independent certification of the teaching; but given that it may be more important still to have independent certification of the learning, the more direct way of doing so would be to certify the student -- and it would allow for the self-taught, which is an important matter of principle, and the student who learns from an individual teacher rather than a corporate body.
It would also, come to think of it, allow for competition between certification bodies, something gravely lacking in our field.
Cheers --
John
2009/7/4 Irene de Villiers >

[Irene de Villiers]

A combination of both:
What I'd propose is
* that any individual (from any country) can sit a certification exam
directly with the certification body, even though the exam is based
in USA. (Why be so stuck-up as to require residence in USA)
* that any school in the world can apply to be accredited so that
their graduates are automatically qualified for the certification.
* Schools can be annually certified and recertified by some process.
Maybe this:
- Final exams of the students, need to be written in the usual way
(often a tutor allocated to the student is examiner) PLUS sent to a
2nd examiner using a code number not a name, so that identity of the
student is not known to the 2nd examiner.
- The normal one is the one that counts.
- Exams to all be filed at the school, graded.
- Final Exams with high discrepancy of grade between the 2 examiners
will require direct certification exam with the certification body.
- Others are exempt and certified.
- Certification body can also randomly and periodically (at least
every 5 yrs and more often if there is reason) select an exam from
each school that has been graded, to check whether the school can be
recertified for the next 5 years.
It's a good system if the syllabus is god.
But I think the 2nd examiner idea can cover the occasional
inappropriate handling.
Does the above suggestion not also cover those aspects?
Fine with me but...
What certification bodies?

There's not one I'd recognize yet.

A good one would start with proper objectives that cover the needs of
all homeopaths, what their principles afre and how the ensure
implementation - up front.
(not a list of exam prerequisites and fees.)
Did we find an area of some agreement?
So do I fall off my chair?


Or just send 4th July fireworks instead of list ones:-)

Namaste,
Irene
--
Irene de Villiers, B.Sc AASCA MCSSA D.I.Hom/D.Vet.Hom.
P.O. Box 4703 Spokane WA 99220.
www.angelfire.com/fl/furryboots/clickhere.html (Veterinary Homeopath.)
"Man who say it cannot be done should not interrupt one doing it."

[Shannon Nelson]

I also feel that it's best to have certification happen separately from
the school, and after graduation. Possibly even requiring at least a
couple of years to lapse after graduation. In addition to John's
points, I feel that certification should mean that you've achieved a
deeper level of familiarity with and usage of the material, that could
(or at least than usually *would*) be the case at the point of that
final test. I do like the part of what I recall the CHC to be, where
the first requirement is graduation from an accepted school (which may
bring a certification and "initials" of its own)--*or* you can go thru
a more involved process to demonstrate that you got similar training
through internship--and *then* go thru was is (or at least was?) a
somewhat elaborate certification process. Personally I think it's
great to have several different certification bodies, which certify
different populations--there's one for MD-homeopaths, and I assume
there are also some for some of the "other methods". i really like
being able to look at the "letters" after a listing and get an idea of
the person's background (homeopathic and otherwise), and know that they
do represent some basic level of "jumped-thru-the-hoops-and-lived." To
me that's a decent use of the certification process. (And for people
who take the test and fail, there's now "

I do hope they aren't *really * dumbing down the test too much...

Shannon

[Luise Kunkle]

Hi Irene,

just one question: what is the benefit to the practicioner of being
certified?

Regards

Luise
--
One thought to all who, free of doubt,
So definitely know what's true:
2 and 2 is 22 -
and 2 times 2 is 2:-)
==========> ICQ yinyang 96391801 <==========

[Rosemary Hyde]

Good question, Luise.

I found the certification exams very difficult, because I had trouble
memorizing things, and I was very disgruntled about the requirements.
However, as I prepared myself for the exams, and memorized the required
remedies and homeopathic philosophy, I realized that by the time I took (and
passed) the exams, I had benefitted dramatically as a practitioner. I'd
been forced to really hone my knowledge of theory, remedies, and clinical
case management far beyond what they had been. I felt grateful that the exam
had required me to become fluent, independently, in the basics of practicing
successful homeopathy according to Hahnemann's principles.

They do want you to know the keynotes of both the polychrests and the
smaller remedies -- the major patterns that would make you take a remedy
into consideration. Of course, before prescribing, you would use Materia
Medicas.

I also was angry that they required book repertories rather than computers
for the test on repertorizing -- what an anachronism! However, to succeed
in that part of the test, I had to learn the structure of the various
repertories, and especially of the one I would use -- where to look in a
chapter for sensations, for instance, as opposed to sides. Of course,
different Repertory authors have used different structures, but it's useful
to be aware of the parameters that may be manipulated to structure a
Repertory.

In addition, the existence of a reliable credential in our profession has
facilitated for me referring clients to homeopaths in distant places. I may
not know them, but I know it would have been impossible to pass that exam
without actually understanding and knowing how to apply Hahnemann's
principles. I feel easier referring to someone I know has that basis of
knowledge, if I can't refer to someone I know or know of personally.

Just because someone calls him or herself a "homeopath" doesn't mean they
are knowledgeable about classical homeopathy. I have personally known
licensed professionals in other healing arts (e.g., massage therapy,
chiropractic, veterinary medicine) who have taken a couple of weeks of
courses in homeopathy, and who say they are homeopathic practitioners, and
advertise themselves as such. The same is true with Naturopaths who have
taken four introductory courses in homeopathy and not pursued the DHANP
(which has the same standards as the CCH). When they present themselves as
homeopaths, I can safely suspect, in most cases, that they are not
knowledgeable classical homeopaths. In addition to having a recognized
certification credential, we also need to work so that the general public
knows what to look for in selecting a competent homeopath.

Finally, to be taken seriously as a health care profession among other
professions, a credentialing process is a minimum starting point. If we
didn't have this certification process, we'd have to put it in place before
taking other measures to have our profession accepted by others as a genuine
healing art.

It has taken a lot of volunteer work from a lot of devoted people to create
the reasonably accurate and appropriately demanding certification process we
have today. I, for one, really appreciate the effort that these people have
made toward establishing classical homeopathy as a respected profession in
21st century North America. Could the process be improved? Of course. I'd
suggest that if someone has suggestions toward improving our credentialing
process, they contact the Council for Homeopathic Certification and offer
their energy and services to the continuation of this work. I believe CHC is
now proceeding, appropriately, to the accreditation of schools of
homeopathy. Even for graduates of accredited schools, it still is more
useful for the profession as a whole to have a shared certification exam
than to refragment into individually defined credentials given at the end of
a course of study.

The next step, in the US, is to work toward making Health Freedom a reality
in every state. Where Health Freedom laws have been passed, classical
homeopaths as well as other non-licensed alternative practitioners cannot be
prosecuted as criminals for practicing within the purview of their certified
profession. Such prosecution is still possible in states where Health
Freedom Acts are not in place.

Rosemary
“The quieter you become, the more you can hear."
~Ram Das

[Shannon Nelson]

Rosemary,

That's a wonderful summary! Your experience with taking your test is
exactly what I expect would be fairly common--and what I assume I'll
experience when i finally get around to doing mine.

Shannon

[Joy Lucas]

Anyone know how that test compares to the one the Society of Homeopaths offers in Britain - I have no contact with them now but was just curious.

Joy

http://www.joylucashomeopathy.com
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/homeopathystudy/

[Irene de Villiers]

Nothing directly at all.
The benefit is to the profession in general, in that clients can have
some kind of way of determining if the person calling themselves a
homeopath has had any training at all.

The world population is too large, diverse and well travelled for
word of mouth to be sufficient for a new potential client to know
what way to jump to find good help.

We could in theory meet that need in other ways - such as a website
where people list their credentials and each credential has a
detailed description of what training is behind it - or some such. So
the main concern is to have a way of knowing whether someone meets at
least a basic training in homeopathy.

It also is relevant in potential litigation of such things as Zicam -
which are not homeopathic. No homeopath with a "certification" would
call it homeopathic. Having "certification" also can hold sway in a
court case as certification indicates "expertise" - thus "expert
witness".
Right now we have no way to provide an expert witness.

So it is a benefit to the profession and the public to have
certification - not to an individual homeopath (unless perhaps they
are having difficulty finding clients - as this can be a way to match
client and homeopath through a listing of certified ones).

Also certification (I'd make it optional) can be a tool to force
insurance cover for health care using a "certified expert" in the
homeopathy field.
In WA state here, that would be pretty good as we have had a law
since 1994 that NO alternative heath profession may be denied
insurance cover as a whole, as long as it is provided by an
appropriate qualified professional.
We simply lack a legal definition of "appropriate qualified
professional" in homeopathy - it's already there for chiropractic,
physiotherapy, etc etc. Certification could provide that definition.
Once it is there, homeopathy would automatically be covered under
health insurance of ALL health insurance companies in this state by
law:-)
(Other states could follow.)
The principle of the thin edge of the wedge applies..... and
homeopathy as a profession, desperately needs that edge.

Namaste,
Irene
--
Irene de Villiers, B.Sc AASCA MCSSA D.I.Hom/D.Vet.Hom.
P.O. Box 4703 Spokane WA 99220.
www.angelfire.com/fl/furryboots/clickhere.html (Veterinary Homeopath.)
"Man who say it cannot be done should not interrupt one doing it."

[Irene de Villiers]

<< I'd

Been done - often - there are deaf ears involved at CHC.
Who needs that for a certification body?
They do not even acknowledge people who contact them much less give
lip service in response.
They are good at asking for money and failing to say what happens to
it though.....
and not just a one-off fee for a one-off job - annual fees (for a one-
off job of running a poor test).

Been there, done that.
I'll contact any group with a real objective to test homeopathy
skills, and an open policy of financial reporting and with a system
of continuous upgrade in place for any system they use. Closed doors/
ears with open wallets are not that!

We also need a certification system that tests homeopathy skill of
ALL valid practitioners, not just a biased selection of them based on
invalid criteria.
They need to take serious practitioners and teachers of homeopathy
seriously.
CHC does none of that.

Namaste,
Irene
--
Irene de Villiers, B.Sc AASCA MCSSA D.I.Hom/D.Vet.Hom.
P.O. Box 4703 Spokane WA 99220.
www.angelfire.com/fl/furryboots/clickhere.html (Veterinary Homeopath.)
"Man who say it cannot be done should not interrupt one doing it."