In a Canadian first, Ontario students will soon be able to graduate with a three-year advanced diploma in homeopathy from a publicly funded community college — Georgian College, in Barrie, Ont.
And those graduates can go on to become licensed homeopathy practitioners, now that Ontario has created an official College of Homeopaths to govern the profession the way doctors and other health professionals are regulated.
Georgian College’s Homeopathy Advanced Diploma program was deemed eligible for provincial operating funding, and homeopathy students will be able to access student loans and grants through the Ontario Student Assistance Program.
“When assessing programs for funding, the ministry considers labour market demand, student demand and alignment with the institution’s Strategic Mandate Agreement,” ministry spokesperson Tanya Blazina told CBC News in an email.
In Ontario, homeopathy became a licensed profession in 2015 — a move that was also controversial because there were concerns it would legitimize the practice. And apparently it has. The ministry requires that the college ensure that its programs are compliant with the regulatory body in question.
Georgian College’s dean of health, wellness and sciences Fay Lim Lambie said, now that it’s a licensed profession, the college has decided to start training young homeopaths.
“Because this is a regulated health field, we need to ensure our students will have the preparation necessary to become practitioners in the field with competent knowledge, skills and judgment,” she told CBC News.
Health Canada licenses homeopathy under its natural products directorate, although it has ordered some labelling changes to prevent certain health claims, particularly on children’s products.
In the U.S., homeopathy labels must carry blunt warnings that there’s no scientific evidence and that the claims are based on theories “not accepted by most modern medical experts.”
Still, the market for homeopathy is booming. It’s now a $3-billion industry that the FDA warns “exposes more patients to potential risks associated with the proliferation of unproven, untested products and unsubstantiated health claims.”
Courtesy:
www.cbc.ca/news/health/second-opinion-february-3-2018-1.4517468
www.georgiancollege.ca/academics/full-time-programs/homeopathy-homp/