President ’ s Report
Christine Pope | ATMS President
Welcome to the December edition of the ATMS journal for 2024 and my final report as president . At the AGM in November I stepped down after serving three terms on the board . I ' m pleased to advise that the new board will be well supported by the recent addition of Geraldine Headley and Sandra Grace , as well as the re-election of Brad McEwan and Chantel Ryan . Brad McEwen has already made significant contributions to the board as chair of the Academic and Research Committee , as has Chantel Ryan as chair of the Regulatory committee .
At the AGM in November I presented an overview of our progress as measured against our current strategic plan , which I ' d also like to share with you in this report . Our current strategic plan for 2021 to 2024 was developed after a comprehensive member survey providing detailed feedback on the organisation ’ s performance , areas of focus and advocacy .
Our strategic plan is underpinned by a focus on both CPE and Research as well as on the following three areas :
1 ) Member Support and Success 2 ) Growth Strategy 3 ) Advocacy with Key Stakeholders
The recent member survey , undertaken in 2024 , confirms that members agree that these are the appropriate areas for future attention . A review of the member survey is contained later in this edition , where you can see the critical data .
CPE has been an area of critical importance for ATMS and our resources offer members a wide selection of both face-to-face and online training . In 2023 / 2024 over 60 events were offered and 12,730 bookings were made . Upgrading skills as a practitioner is critical to our work of supporting clients , as well as being a requirement of health funds and the various Codes of Conduct . This year the team has put together a full 12-month calendar , making it easier to plan your CPE .
In 2025 ATMS will be offering two Symposiums for members , utilising the same format we have run historically for the ingestive Symposiums . In March 2025 , the Lipoedema symposium will be run in Sydney . While this is designed primarily for bodyworkers the information will be relevant to all practitioners , as this condition is poorly understood . In late August we will be running the Healthy Brain Symposium . Both events will offer a streaming option to enable members to access it easily . I would still encourage members to attend in person if possible as it is one of the few networking opportunities we get each year .
ATMS continues to support members to build research skills , with webinars on relevant topics , funding two research grants annually and providing funding for a part time PhD student . The journal also provides members with access to research with 4 or 5 peer reviewed articles in each edition .
This year has seen some significant changes in the office team supporting members , and overall the results have been very positive , with a significant improvement in the net promoter score for ATMS in the member survey . The team is headed up by the CEO , Annie Gibbins , and she is supported by Natalie Hume ( Education and Partnerships Manager ) and Vinitha Verma ( Operations Manager ).
Importantly , to support members to run successful practices , the CEO announced a new program , known as the ATMS Biz Club . This will run in 2025 and will give members the opportunity to join a group program focussed on building and running successful practices . Members can join the program on a quarterly basis , and it will cover Practice Building , Marketing , Client / Lead Generation and Sales and Systems , Service and Scaling . This is planned as a natural follow-on from Transition to Practice , and will be guided by experts in each area .
Reflecting the ATMS growth strategy over the past few years we have seen a steady increase in student numbers , and this group is supported by individual newsletters , programs like Transition to Practice , as well as having access to the journal and well- priced CPE offers . It ’ s important for associations to foster the next generation of practitioners and ensure that they understand the value of being part of an association .
ATMS has also been working on developing partnerships with key industry stakeholders with a new prospectus that provides opportunities to support events , and the resources of the
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