ATMS UPDATE
Review of the ATMS Member Survey 2024
Christine Pope and Brad McEwen
The Australian Traditional Medicine Society ( ATMS ) Member Survey 2024 took place over a 19-day period from 20 June to 8 July 2024 . The purpose of the survey was to provide valuable information for the development of the ATMS Strategic Plan for 2024-2027 .
The overall response rate to the ATMS Member survey was 7.7 % ( 562 ) of members with a representational sample across the major modalities . The top five modalities , listed by major modality in descending order were Remedial Massage ( 60.5 %), Naturopathy ( 29.9 %), Nutrition ( 22.8 %), Western Herbal Medicine ( 16.7 %) and Acupuncture ( 10.1 %).
ATMS Member Services The top member services utilised closely reflect the key benefits of membership , which is positive and shows that we are largely focussed on the major issues that attract and retain members . Member services as rated in descending order , highest to lowest , were :
1 . Offer Varied CPE options |
( 84.7 %) |
2 . PI Insurance via GSA |
( 71.0 %) |
3 . ATMS Journal |
( 68.1 %) |
4 . ATMS Website |
( 66.9 %) |
5 . Health Fund accreditation |
( 55.3 %) |
6 . Find a Practitioner |
( 25.6 %) |
7 . Natural Medicine Week |
( 20.8 %) |
8 . EBSCO |
( 20.5 %) |
9 . ATMS Social Media |
( 19.6 %) |
10 . ATMS member accredited practitioner collateral ( 19.6 %) |
11 . ATMS marketing resources |
( 17.8 %) |
12 . Grants for research and study |
( 15.1 %) |
13 . ATMS Closed Facebook group |
( 9.3 %) |
14 . Natural medicine awards |
( 5.7 %) |
CPE Regarding continuing professional education ( CPE ), a majority of members ( 84 %) agreed that CPE keeps them up to date in clinical practice , with 79 % of members agreeing that it was important to maintain professional standards with ongoing education . A total of 76 % of members agreed that it was necessary for health fund accreditation . Only 49 % felt it was easy to meet the 20 CPE points , with 21 % disagreeing .
A total of 87 % of members appreciate the access of CPE through webinars , with only 57 % wanting the opportunity to attend in-person events ; 64 % believe it is important to have business education as part of the CPE program .
ATMS Journal In terms of the ATMS journal ( JATMS ), 68 % of members still want to receive a hard copy of the journal . A total of 82 % of members agreed that it was important to receive clinically up to date information to support their decision making .
Natural Medicine Week
A total of 46 % of members believe that Natural Medicine Week website has improved the recognition of natural medicine by the public , with 40 % considering it has improved recognition by government . Only 15 % acknowledge a contribution to their business , however 87 % of members did not participate directly in Natural Medicine Week . It appears that it is meeting the objective of achieving recognition of natural medicine , although the use of the week to promote member ’ s businesses is still limited .
The survey found that 21.7 % of members were interested in participating in Natural Medicine Week , although they were unaware of how to do so .
100.00 % 90.00 % 80.00 % 70.00 % 60.00 % 50.00 % 40.00 % 30.00 % 20.00 % 10.00 % 0.00 %
PI Insurance via GSA
Offer Varied CPE options
ATMS Journal ATMS Website
ATMS Member Services
Health Fund accreditation Find a Practitioner Natural Medicine Week
EBSCO
ATMS marketing resources
ATMS Social Media ATMS member accredited practitioner …
Grants for research and study
Natural medicine awards
ATMS Closed Facebook group
230 | vol30 | no4 | JATMS