Medical herbalist
Medical herbalists use plants and herbal remedies to help improve their clients' health and wellbeing.
What you'll do
Day-to-day tasks
As a medical herbalist, you may:
- take a detailed history of your client's symptoms and lifestyle
- carry out a physical assessment and tests
- prescribe an appropriate course of herbal treatment
- grow herbs and prepare them, including capsules, extracts, ointments or infusions
- keep accurate client records
- refer clients to their GP where necessary
Working environment
You could work in a therapy clinic or at a client's home.
Career path and progression
With experience you could move into teaching or research.
What it takes
Skills and knowledge
You'll need:
- knowledge of biology
- sensitivity and understanding
- knowledge of psychology
- counselling skills including active listening and a non-judgemental approach
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- thinking and reasoning skills
- excellent verbal communication skills
- the ability to understand people’s reactions
- to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
Restrictions and Requirements
You'll need to:
- have insurance
- pass enhanced background checks
How to become
You can get into this job through:
- a university course
To prepare for work as a medical herbalist, you can complete a degree level course in herbal medicine approved by the National Institute of Medical Herbalists.
Courses last 3 years full time or 4 to 6 years part time and include at least 500 hours of supervised clinical practice with patients.
If you're a trained medical practitioner like a doctor or nurse, you could take a postgraduate degree in herbal medicine.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 2 or 3 A levels, or equivalent, including biology for a degree
- a degree in a relevant subject for postgraduate study
More Information
You'll find it useful to arrange some work shadowing with a practising medical herbalist before you begin your studies.
Career tips
Some training providers offer short courses in herbal medicine, which give you the opportunity to learn more about the subject and to see if it's a career you want to get into.
Further information
There is currently no statutory regulation for medical herbalists.
You can find out more about how to become a medical herbalist from the National Institute of Medical Herbalists.
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External links
This page contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.