ATMS Journal Spring 2021 (Public) | Page 6

that in the remaining 45 % there was no conclusive evidence of either benefit or harm . 2 Interesting , that this is a similar set of outcomes to research on the efficacy of natural medicine , even if a lesser number of RCTs were available . 3

CEO ’ s Report

Charles Wurf | ATMS CEO
So , I ’ m sorry , I do not have an easy answer for you , other than to suggest that you maintain your critical faculties , regarding in whom and where you place your faith and trust in attempting to answer these difficult questions of our times .
Always in your service …
Peter Berryman President
REFERENCES
1 . Horton R . Offline : What is medicine ’ s 5 sigma ? The Lancet . 2015 . Available online at : https :// www . thelancet . com / pdfs / journals / lancet / PIIS0140-6736 % 2815 % 2960696-1 . pdf
2 . Villas Boas PJ et al . Systematic reviews showed insufficient evidence for clinical practice in 2004 : what about in 2011 ? The next appeal for the evidence-based medicine age . J Eval Clin Pract . 2013 . Available online at : https :// pubmed . ncbi . nlm . nih . gov / 22747638
3 . Homeopathy Research Institute . Placebocontrolled trials of homeopathic treatment . 2020 . Available online at : https :// www . hriresearch . org / resources / homeopathy-faqs / there-is-no-scientific-evidence-homeopathyworks / placebo-controlled-trials-ofhomeopathic-treatment /
ATMS Update Like many members across Australia , ATMS itself is directly affected by the continuing lockdown restrictions , in our case those applying in Sydney . The ATMS office has been closed since late June and ATMS staff are subject to stay-at-home and work-from-home restrictions .
Our priority remains assisting members to fully understand the law of the land as it applies to COVID lockdown restrictions across the 8 State and Territory jurisdictions . This is a task that can be riddled with uncertainty and sometimes confusing changes made at short notice .
At the time of writing , NSW , Victoria and ACT are all subject to stay-at-home and work-from-home restrictions . It is expected that restrictions of various kinds will continue at least through September .
ATMS has released more than 50 COVID Updates since late June 2021 when the current outbreak began in Sydney . That outbreak has since affected other States and Territories . Our focus on behalf of members has been to provide as much information as possible about the right to practise ( which at various times is and has been removed from members ) along with as much information as possible for members to make sound judgements about the decision to be open to practise .
Each State and Territory makes its own decisions , and while there is similarity across borders , in some cases there remain fundamental differences . There are no easy decisions in this environment .
Contact us for support ATMS has issued further reminders for membership fees for the year 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022 . We offer our sincere thanks for those members who have renewed membership in overwhelming numbers . We also understand the great difficulty many members have experienced yet again in recent months , and the range and variety of decisions that have been made about continuing to practise . For some the ability to practise has been severely curtailed for extended periods .
For any aspect of ATMS membership and health fund administration , the ATMS team is available to contact on 1800 456 855 or info @ atms . com . au . Documents supporting membership and CPE may also be submitted online through the membership portal on www . atms . com . au . We would welcome your contact on any aspect of your membership given the unprecedented and ongoing challenges of 2020 and 2021 .
Extensions for First Aid certification The ongoing lockdowns in different States and Territories , at different times and of different durations , have created periods where it becomes impossible to book and complete first aid training .
In such circumstances there has been clear understanding by ATMS and health funds that short term extensions must apply . We have applied such extensions to members directly affected . This is not a general extension , it applies for limited duration and only to individuals directly affected , and only in geographic areas
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