Meet Dr. Janet Carter, the ACHS 2023 DEAC Famous Alumni! Janet graduated with a Master of Science in Herbal Medicine from ACHS in 2022. She is currently a pharmacist employed at the Department of Veterans Affairs, where she is dedicated to finding alternative holistic modalities to serve the needs of Veterans.
Her initial goal in enrolling at ACHS was to integrate her knowledge of traditional medicine with non-conventional medicine.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, she was inspired to focus on health-related academics. Intending to provide additional modernized holistic options to Veterans and providers, she studied Herbal Medicine.
When Dr. Carter started her program at ACHS, she worked as a Field Implementation Team (FIT) Consultant with the Office of Patient-Centered Care and Cultural Transformation within the Department of Veterans Affairs. Within this office, she worked diligently to share different methods of complementary alternative treatment modalities with Veterans and providers. Dr. Carter thought the best way to share her expertise with her background as a Pharmacist was through Herbal Medicine.
Dr. Carter has always had the mindset that Mother Nature provides. She has a deep respect and passion for nature and plants. She enjoyed her Advanced Herbal classes at ACHS, where she could look at the plants more intricately. She feels that pharmacy and medicine are more than just science; they are an art as well. She was able to grasp both the art and the science aspects within her Wellness Coaching & Communication Skills and Advanced Herbal Materia Medica classes.
During her time with ACHS, Dr. Carter endured a difficult hardship when her mother passed in April 2021. She expressed that her professors were kind, nurturing, and really cared. She was motivated to preserve her mother's honor, so she persevered, graduating with honors. She says that “ACHS has been a strength and a guiding light in my life and I am deeply grateful that I could use the courses as an escape from my grief."
Dr. Carter was highly satisfied with her experience and felt that ACHS was the best fit for her education based on proximity, instructor support, institutional credibility, and the flexible online learning offered.
Dr. Carter is dedicated to finding alternative holistic modalities to serve the needs of Veterans by actively providing research to support the use of Herbal Medicine in Veteran healthcare. Dr. Carter believes that cultural transformation of this magnitude will take years; however, she feels this mission is necessary to assist military personnel, and the public, to view nontraditional methods as an alternative to medications such as opioids.
Dr. Carter recently received a promotion to the new role of End User Engagement Lead for the Federal Electronic Health Records Management (FEHRM) Program Officer department with the Veterans Administration. This promotion was no small feat as she was up against 560 qualified applicants. She states that “attaining a Master’s from ACHS helped me have the confidence in my writing and communication skills to apply for this opportunity."
Through teaching classes and developing instructional content and courses for other providers, Dr. Carter has made significant contributions to her profession, utilizing her ACHS coursework and expertise to enhance the quality of content. Dr. Carter expresses that “finishing a degree with honors has bolstered my self-confidence and efforts to keep sharing alternative treatments. I am grateful to ACHS for allowing me this opportunity for growth and achievement”. Dr. Carter plans to further her contributions to the field of herbal medicine by increasing awareness, conducting research, and providing education to her profession.
Congratulations Dr. Janet Carter for being our 2023 DEAC Famous Alumni! We wish you continued success throughout your career.
Learn more about our Master of Science in Herbal Medicine program
This article is for informational purposes only. Please contact ACHS Admissions at admissions@achs.edu or 800-487-8839 for additional information and to apply for admission. Graduation from any ACHS program does not confer a license to practice medicine. ACHS graduates do not claim to treat, diagnose, cure, or prescribe. Please note that professional success is achieved by a number of factors beyond education and experience, including soft skills, work ethic, integrity, and other skills that may not be developed through education and training alone. Not all graduates will achieve the career outcomes provided as examples in this article and other ACHS marketing materials.