President ’ s Report
Peter Berryman | ATMS President
The irony has not escaped me , that here I am writing this President ’ s Report from my sick bed while acutely ill with COVID , and here we are introducing a special themed edition of this Journal on the topic of post-viral syndromes .
May I begin by congratulating the ATMS Board , and our staff and contractors , on their stewardship of Society ’ s funds . These are sourced from membership fees , Continuing Professional Education ( CPE ) events , and royalties . In these difficult financial times , it is significant that we have achieved a surplus in the financial year 2021-2022 , as in fact we have in five of the last eight years . Our annual budgeting target , as a not-for-profit organisation , has always been to just break even . Once the auditors have carried out a comprehensive analysis these financial statements will be made available for members to review at our Annual General Meeting ( AGM ), which this year is to be held in Sydney on Sunday , 13 November 2022 . We intend to use the usual AGM format of introducing speakers on either side of the meeting itself , which this year is on the topic of “ Optimise Your Practice ”. Attending in person or live online streaming will both be options for you . On the day before the AGM , Saturday 12 November , ATMS is hosting a Chronic Pain Symposium in Sydney , covering the many roles that natural medicine can play in supporting people suffering from chronic pain , as people are turning in increasing numbers to natural medicine to help manage and reduce their pain . So there are several good reasons to be engaged with ATMS for the whole weekend of the AGM .
Another reason to participate in the AGM and seminar day is to meet with the 10 hard-working and talented Society directors who will be in attendance I also gratefully acknowledge , on behalf of all members , the work of the four non-directors who have accepted invitations this year to work on ATMS committees – Dr Airdre Grant ( Academic ), Dr Henry Ko ( Complaints ), Dr Sean Walsh ( Research ), and Dr Roger Engel ( Research ).
ATMS has been supporting research into natural medicine practice for many years , mostly with $ 5,000 and $ 10,000 annual seed grants . We are now proud to announce that we have launched something new and even more significant this year . One financial accredited ATMS member will be awarded a merit-based scholarship of $ 32,000 per year , for two years fulltime , or four years part-time , study . This scholarship will support their Higher Degree by Research ( HDR ) program at an Australian university and will most likely suit a Masters or a Doctoral candidate . ATMS has always supported all levels of tertiary education for natural medicine , including Higher Education at university level , a recent example being representation on the Torrens University Course Advisory Committee for Nutrition programs , and participating in its Industry Connect Day . This year , ATMS is also contributing to innovations that are happening in the Vocational Educational and Training ( VET ) sector as it transitions to the model of Industry Clusters , replacing the Industry Review Committee for Complementary Health and SkillsIQ .
This is the tenth year that Chinese medicine practitioners have been registered . The Chinese Medical Board of Australia ( CMBA ) and AHPRA have again invited ATMS to their next annual Associations Meeting , where updates to the registered profession of Chinese Medicine are discussed . This follows on from a recent exclusive meeting between ATMS representatives and the new Chair of CMBA , Adjunct Professor Danforn Lim . This meeting was another opportunity for ATMS to continue to campaign on behalf of Chinese medicine practitioners regarding their incomplete Allied Health status , private health insurance issues , access to the Medicare Benefits Scheme , restricted registration status of members , and licence to perform needling .
We have recently launched our annual Natural Medicine Awards for 2022 , for the Student , Practitioner and Clinic of the Year , so get your nominations in by 23 September 2022 .
ATMS enjoys the excellent services of the Sydney marketing company Zadro , and at their recent fifteenth birthday celebrations , Felicity Zadro released her top 15 lessons learnt . Here ’ s her # 1 lesson – “ Business is people and people is the business . We can call it a million things , but it always comes back to this .”
JATMS | Spring 2022 | 125