Department Residency Programs
Sevanti Wellness is proud to offer department-based residency programs to its community members. Residency programs focus on advanced clinical training within the boundaries of their department tradition with some interdepartmental training. Residency training allows practitioners to aim for practice mastery built upon exposure to advanced clinical skill sets and the development of specialty training. We strive to create a healthy residency experience with enthusiastic residents who are clear about their long-term career goals and pleased with the quality of their training. The goal is to develop a master level of clinical competency within their scope of practice.
Why Residency Training?
Our education and training should not end when we graduate from a school of Ayurveda, Jyotish, or Yoga Therapy. In a sense, graduation is just the beginning. In many martial arts traditions, the black belt is considered the beginning of true practice. Graduates and new practitioners have layers of advanced training ahead of them. Rather than practicing from home in an isolating environment, residency program members maintain exposure to novel and advanced practice skills and concepts. They benefit from time with highly experienced department faculty and guest instructors. Each department will host 2-4 faculty available to offer residency curriculum. Departments will occasionally invite outside guest instructors as well. Topics will be related to your department’s field of practice and the growth of your practice. Each department will develop a unique residency program based on their discipline’s spirit, character, and practices. Check with the department director and faculty for more details.
Residency Program Includes
Department Residency Programs include the following:
– Each department offers its own independent residency program and will vary in structure and content.
– Additional residency fees required. Check with your department for required fees.
– Advanced clinical training rarely offered in most school programs
– Didactic clinical courses from experienced instructors
– National certification exam prep courses
– Continued education credits
– To enroll, community members must upgrade their community membership to Residency Program status.
– Residencies are an opportunity to dig deeper into your practice skills or to develop a specialty practice.
– Residents can choose to dedicate their residency to one advisor for specialization or cycle through different advisors for set periods, allowing exposure to various skill sets and specialties.
– Residents can choose a specialty residency and focus on one specialty from the beginning or start with a broader overview before specializing later.
– Residents must select a primary faculty, but they can have several from the same department or from across departments for interdisciplinary studies.
– Department faculty will closely monitor and guide residents’ clinical decisions and case management.
– Residents will participate in lectures, workshops, and other educational sessions to deepen their knowledge. Residents may be asked by their faculty to give talks or seminars to other department residents and/or the larger Sevanti Wellness members. Other departments may request residents to share their knowledge with their department members and residents.
Residency Program Structure
Residency programs focus on advanced clinical training within the boundaries of their department tradition. However, some crossover may occur. The practice of Medical Jyotish is a great example and might include training from faculty in the departments of Ayurveda and Jyotish. Each department’s residency program is organized differently but follows the general training guidelines outlined by Sevanti Wellness with influences from trade association scope of practices such as those of NAMA and IAYT. We should remind ourselves that NAMA and IAYT guidelines are minimal guidelines established to create continuity and standardization in US schools. Their scopes of practice are definitive; however, they should by no means limit the skills of current practitioners. Residency programs allow practitioners to aim for practice mastery built upon exposure to advanced clinical skill sets, specialty training, and business development.
Sevanti Wellness residency programs will rotate residents among faculty, mixing didactic instruction with comprehensive clinical and specialty experience. Substantive instruction and clinical experience will be available in all departments. Programs are structured around a series of clinical rotations with the faculty in your department, with a specialty of your choice, with the first phase often being a general “residency” where residents gain broad clinical experience, followed by more focused training in their chosen specialty in a second phase, all while being supervised by attending advisors. The length of a residency program varies depending on the department and chosen specialty, typically ranging from 12 to 24 months.
Although most guidelines are standardized for all departments, they have structural differences. Department faculty lectures and mentorships will provide the primary training. Some departments may use faculty from other departments (ie, Ayurveda instructors for Jyotish practitioners seeking skills in Medical Jyotish). Some departments may utilize remote instructors or send residents to other institutional courses. Some departments may provide all instruction internally.
Didactic Instruction
All training programs will regularly schedule didactic instruction in their department’s clinical practice. The curriculum will include specialty practices, advanced methods, and pathology. If the program is weak in a particular specialty in high demand, attempts will be made to compensate for the weakness in the program, such as through guest lectures and faculty recruitment. Some departments may use outside training courses to supplement their internal lecture series.
Advanced Clinical Training
Residency programs will provide a reasonable balance between clinical experience and didactic instruction. The clinical component will include supervised case management of both virtual and in-person clients. Each resident will participate in a clinical rotation schedule that includes primary responsibility for client care and provides access to faculty supervision. The program should be organized to provide a stable, well-coordinated, progressive educational experience for the resident and provide high-quality wellness care to clients.
Residents will perform an adequate number of client sessions, the number to be determined by each department, with an appropriate variety of client conditions. Specialty training may require a more focused approach. Resident performance will be adequately supervised. At the same time, there will be sufficient resident responsibility to allow for the growth and maturation of clinical skills.
National Certification Exam Prep Courses
Sevanti Wellness team members are not required to be recognized by national trade associations such as the National Ayurvedic Medical Association (NAMA) or the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT). We aim to support graduates immediately upon graduation before they potentially drop out of practice. The period between graduation and NAMA/IAYT certification is critical. Though we do not require it, NAMA and IAYT recognition is a powerful step in your professional development, and we suggest you consider professional membership.
NAMA and IAYT have national certification exams. Preparation for these exams can be a bit intimidating without guidance. Sevanti Wellness will offer prep courses for both exams to support you on that journey.
Continued Education Credits
If you are a professional NAMA or IAYT member, you must submit continued education hours to maintain your membership. NAMA’s Professional Ayurvedic Continuing Education (PACE) program requires professional members to complete 30 credits every two years. IAYT requires at least 24 hours (24 CEs) of IAYT-approved continuing education every three years. Your attendance and teaching time at Sevanti Wellness may be accepted for CEU credits.
Research
Research opportunities are an option in our residency programs, allowing residents to dive deep into specialty fields of their choice. Opportunities will vary, as will the research interests of residency practitioners. Residents interested in research should carefully investigate each department’s opportunities. Factors to consider include the supervision availability of faculty and the clinical specialty experience of each advisor. Options may be available to request research oversight from other departments and institutions.
Other residency program features:
- Specialty vs. Preliminary Residency:
Some programs offer a specialty residency where residents focus on one specialty from the start, while others may offer a preliminary time period that provides a broader overview before specializing. - Progressive responsibility:
Residents start with basic client care and gradually progress to managing complex cases with increased autonomy as they advance through the program. - Rotation vs Dedication:
Residents have the option to dedicate their residency to one faculty (for specialization) or to cycle through different advisors for set periods, allowing exposure to various skill sets and specialties. - Supervised practice:
Faculty closely monitor and guide residents’ clinical decisions and case management. - Didactic education:
Residents will participate in lectures, workshops, and other educational sessions to deepen their knowledge. Residents may be asked by their faculty to give talks or seminars to other department residents and/or the larger Sevanti Wellness community. Other departments may request residents to share their knowledge with their department members and residents. - Evaluation and feedback:
Regular assessments and feedback from attending advisors help residents track their progress and identify areas for improvement.
Resident Satisfaction
Perhaps the most crucial goal of our residency programs is current residents’ overall satisfaction and happiness. We aim to create a healthy residency experience with active residents who are clear about their long-term career goals and pleased with the quality of their training. The goal is to develop a master level of clinical competency within their scope of practice. We aim for an appropriate resident/resident and resident/advisor ratio and interaction.
To enroll in a residency program, we recommend discussing a residency plan for you with your department director and a faculty of your choice. If your chosen faculty is available, upgrade your membership to Residency Program status. Then, reach out to your department director for the next steps.
