Do I get teased for my occupation? Yes. In fact, almost every day. Granted, the majority of people are just having fun with some good-natured teasing, but I do have to deal with the occasional jerk who thinks I believe that I'm better than them somehow.
I am an herbalist. I'm not a doctor, a mad scientist (although that would be really cool, you have to admit), or even someone with a formal education above a high school level. I've never been to college simply because college wouldn't necessarily help me in my field of work. Sure, I could major in human anatomy or botany, but what I have learned is that it's not a piece of paper that would make me a good herbalist. Time and experience would be things that take me further in my career. Listening to people's stories and hearing what they have to offer are the things that will make me a better herbalist as I grow and learn.
An herbalist is not a doctor. I am fully aware of this fact. The problem is some people either don't know the difference themselves or think we (myself and other herbalists like me) don't see the difference. I think I speak for any herbalist (with a sound mind, that is) in saying that when you're an herbalist, the fact that you aren't a doctor is very clear to you every day. Sometimes in good ways and sometimes in bad ways, just like being a doctor has its perks, and sometimes it just doesn't.
You see, Doctors have a diploma. They spend a lot of money and time and even more effort to obtain their license, while an herbalist will read book after book after book and do research to find clinical trials to get his/her information for someone who may need it. An herbalist will listen to customers who walk into their store with stories of their own. While a doctor will spend anywhere from eight to ten years in college, an herbalist is always in college. We never stop researching. We never stop learning, and every day that we work, we learn something new and exciting to add to our store of knowledge.
Another major difference between a doctor and an herbalist is that a doctor will pick one field of medicine and stick with it for the rest of their career. An herbalist needs to know everything he/she can about every possible subject of the human body and how different plants affect different aspects of the human anatomy. They'll also need to get any and all information they are able to on what herbs counteract with what medicines and which one could, in theory.
An herbalist may have a harder time diagnosing someone than a doctor could. While I do know a few really good herbalists who can identify several different kinds of ailments, an herbalist is still pretty limited since he/she can't just run labs on everyone who walks through our doors. Most of us know the basics, though; if there's fever, there's probably an infection, bread-like smells are yeast, strep leaves white stuff in your throat, people with mono are photosensitive, etc. Some of us even have training that is comparable to nursing skills, which is always handy. I've known a few nurses who have later become herbalists, whether by chance or due to preference. It's a bit of a learned skill that I'm still trying to get the hang of, so more often than not, I'm saying things like, "You should talk to your doctor about your concerns and see what he or she says first."
Another major difference between a doctor and an herbalist is that doctors also prescribe medication. A herbalist will suggest alternative medicine using the DSHEA (Aka The Dietary Supplement Health Act of 1994) as a reference and guide for what we can and can't say.
We aren't allowed to say things like, "This will cure you." We say things like, "This may treat your symptoms," or "Studies have shown that..." or "Y" has been used for "X" number of years to help treat your ailment and ailments like yours." you might even hear the occasional, "Now, I knew a person who tried this supplement to help with a problem similar to yours. They had some good results, so you could try this too."
An herbalist realizes that he/she has a lot more restraints on what he/she can and can't say to people. We certainly can't give "doctor's orders" to anyone. Even if we know for a fact that rest is the best thing for someone, we were just speaking with.
Doctors don't get money for you taking their prescriptions (That would be the pharmaceutical companies or pharmaceutical representatives). Some herbalist do get paid for buying their products in some cases. For example, Jordan Rubin, the founder of Garden of Life, gets a bit of money every time someone buys a Garden of Life multivitamin, protein powder, green food supplement, or any other product made by the Garden of Life company.
In other cases, such as my own, we work in a GNC, a Vitamin Shoppe, Vitamin World, or our own little store that we were able to scrape together in order to educate and help the people of our community. Depending on the store an herbalist works for, they may or may not get a commission for the products inside the store, but they're still not getting paid for products that they have formulated and are now advertising like it's the "Best Cure-All EVER!" like some herbalists do.
We never forget that we're not doctors, and even if we did there are PLENTY of people who love to remind us that we aren't so there's not often a chance for an herbalist to let his/her head get that big.
