Overview

Learn the skills to bring aromatherapy into your own practice. This online aromatherapy course provides an evidence-based overview of essential oil therapy and current aromatherapy practices. It covers the latest research, safety guidelines, and therapeutic applications of essential oils, providing a robust foundation for their use in various healthcare settings as well as for self-care and home use. You will explore a comprehensive list of essential oils, their clinical uses, and the scientific evidence supporting their benefits for conditions such as anxiety, sleep disturbances, headache, nausea, and fatigue. This course emphasizes patient safety, including identification of aromatherapy contraindications, safe aromatherapy combinations, and best practices for individualized patient care. Whether you are a nurse, physician, therapist, dentist, or other health professional, this aromatherapy course will equip you with the knowledge and skills to safely and effectively incorporate essential oil therapy into your patient care. Continuing Education Credits This course has been designed to meet Minnesota Board of Nursing continuing education requirements for 15 contact hours and may be eligible for CE credit from other professional boards that allow self-documenting of continuing education activities. It is your responsibility to check with your regulatory board to confirm this course meets your local requirements and, if necessary, to provide them with the certificate of completion you get if you pay for and fulfill all the requirements of this course.

Syllabus

What is Aromatherapy and its Role in Health and Healthcare?

In this module, you'll get an overview of what aromatherapy is along with its historical, current, and potential roles in healthcare. We’ll also discuss the evidence base for aromatherapy and identify what information is available in an essential oil monograph.

What Do I Need to Know About Safety and Quality?

Now that you’ve gotten an overview of aromatherapy and its uses, we’ll identify some important safety considerations to keep in mind when using essential oils, including skin reactions, special patient populations, product quality indicators, and FDA regulations. By the end of this module, you will have the skills to assess if a patient is a good candidate for essential oils and identify quality products.

Application and Delivery Methods

In this module we’ll be exploring application methods of essential oils. Inhalation, compresses, baths, and diffusion are just a few of the ways essential oils can be used to enhance wellness. We’ll also examine the use of essential oils for self-care and discuss how they can benefit you in your personal life.

Essential Oils for Managing Pain and Anxiety

In this module we’ll discuss essential oils that can be used to manage pain and promote relaxation. How do essential oils work to reduce the perception of pain? What should you do if a patient wants to use essential oils for relaxation but is averse to certain scents? We’ll take a look at sweet orange, lavender, and bergamot monographs, as well as sweet marjoram and roman chamomile.

Essential Oils for Managing Nausea and Fatigue

In this module we’ll explore essential oils that can be used to manage nausea and fatigue, including peppermint, spearmint, lemon, and grapefruit. We’ll identify therapeutic properties and safety considerations of each so you can feel confident using them in your practice.

Peer Review Project
Establishing and Sustaining a Clinical Aromatherapy Program

In this module we will discuss how to establish and sustain a clinical aromatherapy program. We’ll provide you with some handy resources to consult when developing a program, including use tables, example policies, and a checklist for when you’re ready to put things into action.