National Institute of Medical Herbalists

Lay members are essential to the NIMH Accreditation Board and are responsible for subjecting education and training courses in herbal medicine to expert scrutiny from outside the herbal profession. 
Lay members are professionals with an interest in herbal medicine and experience of setting and maintaining standards in higher education.  Their role is to protect the public by ensuring that education and training programmes for professional Medical Herbalists prepare them to be safe and competent practitioners. 

Responsibilities

Duties of lay members of the Accreditation Board are as follows;

1. To attend meetings and teleconferences of the Accreditation Board.
2. If appointed to an institutional sub-committee, to chair accreditation and re-accreditation visits and inspect educational provision in co-operation with a NIMH member of the Accreditation Board.
3. If appointed to an institutional sub-committee, to scrutinise accredited institutions’ annual reports in co-operation with a NIMH member of the Accreditation Board.
4. To vote on whether institutions meet the required standards.
5. The Accreditation Board has a lay Chair, a position for which any lay member may stand.
6. To abide by the Accreditation Board’s code of confidentiality.

Reimbursement

Lay members will be paid £150 per day for attending institutional visits and £125 per board meeting.  Travel expenses for lay members will also be met by the Board.

Recruitment

Lay members are elected to the Accreditation Board by a vote by a quorum of the current Accreditation Board members.  Any suitably qualified professional with an interest in herbal medicine may be elected to the Accreditation Board.

The NIMH Accreditation Board regrets that they are unable to enter into discussion with students or staff about individual courses