Today we sat down with Carolyn Gomersall who is teaching the very important (but often dreaded) subject "Anatomy & Physiology" to our Diploma Course students.
Carolyn is a UK trained registered nurse specializing in neurology and neurosciences. She has worked as a Nurse Manager in London before coming to Hong Kong in 1993 where she completed her Bachelor of Science (Hons) degree in Health Studies from the University of Surrey. Carolyn has been with APA since last year and enjoys sharing her knowledge and experience with our students in an informal and fun way with plenty of opportunity to ask questions.
We asked her to give us some tips on how to best study A&P and why it is important for aromatherapists to know how the body works:
1) Why is Anatomy & Physiology an important subject in the aromatherapy training?
In my opinion, if you are going to treat clients who are coming to you with a variety of disorders, you must have a thorough understanding of anatomy and physiology if you want to have any kind of credibility. Not only because you need to know where things are in the body and how the body works, but also so you can provide your clients with a clear explanation of the reasons behind their problems and how you may be able to help them, or indeed how they can help themselves. If the client feels that you are knowledgeable and can offer informed advice, they will have more confidence in you as a therapist and this in itself can contribute to the healing process.
2) One of the key body systems for aromatherapy is our nervous system. Can you give us a general overview about it?
The nervous system, working together with the endocrine system, plays the most important role in monitoring and coordinating all internal body functions and responding to changes in the external environment. The nervous system can be divided into two parts: the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system.
The central nervous system is comprised of the brain and spinal cord and is responsible for the registering of sensations, storing of information, decision-making and implementation of actions. It is also the center for intellect, emotions, behavior and memory.
The peripheral nervous system is comprised of all nervous tissue outside of the central nervous system and includes the cranial and spinal nerves, the autonomic nervous system (involuntary actions) and the somatic nervous system (voluntary actions). Its function is to connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body.
The A&P book provided in the course is excellent. There is a clear review summary at the end of each chapter together with some quiz questions. At the back of the book there is also a useful glossary that will give an explanation of words in the text that some students may not be familiar with.
Before the lecture, students should always read the relevant chapter so they have some prior understanding of the topic. Some students may find the full content of the chapter a little too complicated but do not panic! You will not need to know everything in such depth. I will include the important points in my lecture and there is always plenty of time for questions and discussion along the way.
At the end of each lecture we go through a few questions, either from the self quiz section in the book or in the form of multiple choice questions similar in style to those in the exam so students will be familiar with this style of question by the time they get to the exam.
During the course I also show quite a few videos to illustrate the lectures and students complete a revision worksheet on all the topics to help consolidate their knowledge.
The aim of the course is to learn a lot of anatomy and physiology and have a bit of fun along the way!
Thanks so much, Carolyn! If you are interested to learn more about Anatomy & Physiology, have a look at our Certificate and Diploma Courses or email us your questions!
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