As a busy practicing medical doctor with a background of 20 years of a wide range of practice activities, I was drawn to study Chinese Herbalism as an adjunct to and expansion of acupuncture, which I had already found to be a tremendous asset to my medical practice in recent years.
Because of the demands of my practice and family life it was necessary for me to find a way of learning this material that did not interfere excessively with my current practice activities. Roger's course proved perfect for me in this respect. As I worked through the reading and homework assignments I was struck by the lucid and thouroughly logical nature in which material is introduced. I found the textbooks authoritative and well structured for accessing details as they were needed. I continue to use the texts as indispensable aids in dealing with difficult cases. The individual commentary on submitted assignments was concise and insightful, always shedding light on areas where my understanding was limited. Though the work was demanding and discipline and dedication are required to complete it, the course is certainly within the grasp of any health care professional who wishes to expand their knowledge of health and disease. Roger's synthesis of Western pragmatism and Chinese wisdom is brilliant and practical. I have read no other text of Eastern or Western source that distills the elements of diagnosis into such a practical and consistent approach. Increasingly I find that when my results are less than perfect it is simply because I have failed to adhere to the step-by-step approach that RMHI teaches.
Well done Roger! This work will prove to be one of the landmarks in the New Medicine of North America.
— Nigel Ogston, MD; Huntsville, Ontario, Canada.
I've appreciated the commentaries and critiques of homework as instructive and complete. ...Overall, the course is very well put together and delivered.
— Bob May, ND; Seattle, Washington.
In comparing the Western and the Eastern traditions of clinical herbology, the most important factors for me are that Traditional Chinese Medicine has a unique and accurate method of assessing imbalances in the body utilizing tongue and pulse examination, and that it has precise and repeatable methods for designing herbal formulas appropriate to each individual's imbalances; these methods are based on a continuous record of several thousand years of clinical experience. Western herbalism does not have this kind of meticulous matching of herbs to body patterns and, as such, cannot reliably predict the effectiveness of any of its herbal decoctions or know when a formula has overshot its objective. TCM is light years ahead of its Western counterpart in these aspects."
— Leonor A. Horden, LMT; Roseburg, Oregon.
I benefited greatly from the first intensive ... and have noticed how much sharper my skills have become in the areas of casetaking, observing tongues and pulse.
— Mark Ensweiler, DC; Plover, Wisconsin.
The textbooks, homework answer sheets, and general explanations are outstanding. I can't imagine a better herbology course in North America."
— Barbara Georgescu, LMT; East Palestine, Ohio.
Prepare to work. The time commitment is no exaggeration. I've been pleased that the course has not been superficial, but very detailed, and the theory well-organized in a logical, understandable order."
— Jo Rigg; Helena, Montana.
Regarding all the unpleasant and peculiar herbs Roger required us to taste as part of our training...well...at the time I thought, 'what a bother!' But now I am so grateful for the ability to taste and decipher an herb's major properties. I travel to Mexico quite often and meet old, well-established herbal healers, and they are amazed I can do this without having learned it from them. Thank you, Roger, for being such a stickler!"
— Leonor Horden, LMT; Roseburg, Oregon.
