Foundation Studies is an international, one-year, online-based course for all healthcare professions offered by Arlesheim Academy. The course aims to introduce students to the concepts, working methods, and therapeutic options of anthroposophic medicine. The next course starts March 2, 2024.
Co-directors of the course, Judit Kedves, a general practitioner at Klinik Arlesheim, and Philipp Busche, a head physician at Klinik Arlesheim were interviewed.
What does Foundation Studies contribute to the landscape of international training in anthroposophic medicine?
With its small group-based, decentralized concept, Foundation Studies is something completely new in the landscape of international and interprofessional training. The course organizes small regional groups, most recently in fourteen countries, and provides them with a systematic set of learning materials. Foundation Studies is aimed at every medical professional group and, in contrast to existing training and further education courses, is meant to be a comprehensive and multi-layered introductory course and, thus, an introduction to other advanced courses. As the organizer, Klinik Arlesheim ensures that all content is closely related to medical practice.
What is the intention behind the establishment of Foundation Studies?
The course brings together people from different healthcare professions who want to discover anthroposophic medicine together. We see studying in interprofessional communities as an exciting and innovative form of learning. With Foundation Studies, we are also exploring the appropriate and adequate use of digital learning options. This is a huge opportunity for international accessibility. As a one-year, online-based program, the course is primarily aimed at people who are unable to attend face-to-face events for familial, geographical, or professional reasons. Exchange and encounters in tutor-supported small groups and self-study with the help of an online learning platform are essential elements that support flexible learning and enable social contact with fellow students.
Is the course networked with similar projects elsewhere?
Foundation Studies is designed to help people start studying anthroposophic medicine, enable interprofessional collaboration, and to motivate participants to enroll in more in-depth specialist training courses afterward. To this end, we are networked with various professional group representatives at the Medical Section and can advise participants on further courses. For institutions or organizations, Foundation Studies offers the opportunity to provide employees with targeted training and to discuss their questions in small groups.
More Academy Arlesheim
Translation Charles Cross
Images Philipp Busche, Photo: New Work Medicine; Judit Kedves, Photo: Xue Li.
