The Herbal Diplomat® Nurse-Herbalist Program is a comprehensive educational pathway designed for nurses who wish to deepen their clinical discernment, restore balance in their own lives, and engage botanical medicine with precision, ethics, and care.
Grounded in Dr. Martha's Energetics First approach, this program emphasizes observation and pattern recognition before intervention, drawing from traditional medicine with thousands of years of history. It is further informed by Remembrance Medicine — the understanding that healing often begins by recognizing the wisdom already present in the body, the home, daily rhythms, and lived experience.
In this way, the medicine is often already present in the story - your story - not as narrative alone, but as embodied information revealed through careful listening.
This work does not oppose biomedical care. Rather, it restores agency, discernment, and balance, allowing nurses to engage all systems of care more mindfully and less reactively.
WHO THIS PROGRAM IS FOR
This program is designed especially for:
* Registered Nurses and Advanced Practice Registered Nurses
* Nurse educators and clinical leaders
* Nurses seeking a holistic, Energetics-First framework that complements clinical practice
* Nurses interested in botanical medicine approached with cultural diplomacy and professional integrity
No prior herbal training is required.
THE HERBAL DIPLOMAT® ORIENTATION
Herbal Diplomacy is a way of working with plants — and with people — that prioritizes relationship, discernment, and context.
This program draws upon evidence from research, expert practice, and the history of healing traditions as well as the story of your own relationships with plants.
Rather than focusing on products or protocols, the Herbal Diplomat® model emphasizes:
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Plants as partners not commodities
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Precision Self-care language, assessments, and choices
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Respect for scope, culture, and lived experience
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Care that begins with listening before action
This orientation supports nurses’ advisory role in botanical Self-Care while remaining educational, relational, diplomatic, and non-prescriptive.
THE THREE-MODULE LEARNING PATHWAY
The Herbal Diplomat® Nurse-Herbalist Program unfolds as a three-module pathway. Each module may stand on its own, and together they form a coherent whole.
FACULTY
The Herbal Diplomat® Nurse-Herbalist Program is taught by Dr. Martha Libster, PhD, APRN,
an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse and internationally recognized educator and speaker with more than 25 years of experience in herbal diplomacy and nurse-herbalism.
She is the author of four authoritative books on the subject: The Nurse-Herbalist, the award-winning book Herbal Diplomats, Precision Self-care for Nurses, The Integrative Herb Guide.
This program is educational and relational rather than prescriptive, honoring the legal and professional scope of licensed nurses and supporting thoughtful engagement with botanical Self-Care.
🌿 CERTIFICATION
Herbal Diplomat® Nurse-Herbalist Certification
is available to participants who complete the full three-module pathway.
There is no obligation to pursue certification.
Each module may be taken independently.
This program draws upon evidence from research, expert practice, and the history of healing traditions
as well as the students’ own plant relationships to model an integrative approach to plant partnership
in practice.
It includes content on translating botanical science to practice, traditional healing with plants, integrative nursing theory and practice, herbal recipes and remedies, cultural diplomacy and coaching skills, and Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine philosophy in the application of the elements of nurses’ nature care—fire, air, water, earth, and ether.
Case studies of nurse-herbalism in a variety of practice settings, such as hospitals, clinics, home health, and hospice agencies, are provided to inspire the development and implementation of your own practice plan.
🌿 MODULE ONE — FOUNDATIONS
Herbal Diplomat® Foundations for Nurses
The Elements of Care® | Energetics First | Remembrance Medicine
This two-day live virtual course is the entry point to the Herbal Diplomat® pathway.
Foundations introduces The Elements of Care® — an Energetics-First framework that helps nurses recognize patterns of balance and imbalance through observation, presence, and relational awareness before intervention.
Most participants begin here — and decide later.
Next Class: See Our Events Page
Text: Precision Self-care for Nurses
🌿 MODULE TWO — GUIDED SELF-STUDY
Herbal Diplomat® Guided Self-Study
An in-depth, self-paced learning experience that allows participants to integrate Energetics First, plant partnership, and Precision Self-care practices into daily life and professional identity.
This module emphasizes reflection, application, and personal rhythm over time.
Guided self-study includes 4 recorded webinars and herb videos with Dr. Martha and personalized feedback on all assignments.
Develop your unique practice plan in which you will diplomatically apply herbal simples, a centuries-old healing tradition in nursing.
Module 2 focuses on the study of oral applications of more than 58 plants, the integration of herbalism and clinical practice in precision self-care herbal “experiments.”
🌿 MODULE THREE — EMBODIED PRACTICE
Science of Energy Flow® Foot Reflexology with Herbal Stress Relief
A three-day, in-person immersion offering hands-on, embodied learning in topical herbal applications (packs, wraps, compresses, etc) safely to the feet using reflexology techniques.
This module deepens somatic understanding and practical skill through direct experience with Dr. Martha.
Refresh and reward yourself with this Herbs and Flowers Retreat in beautiful Wauwatosa Village, Wisconsin, USA !
Next Retreat: June 5-7 2026
