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Free CPE seminars / webinars focussed strongly on varied aspects of running a natural medicine business : marketing ; best use of social media and increasing social media following , identifying target markets and setting fees accordingly .
Counselling , Mental Health and Personal Development Courses A large number of responses indicated that counselling courses would be very useful , particularly those that focussed on grief , suicide and mental health . Other members said they would like to participate in personal development courses designed to improve their own empowerment and reduce overall burnout .
More and more people use treatment time to unload emotional stress . I have seen too many practitioners leave due to emotional burnout . I would love to see educational seminars on how to protect oneself from emotional burnout .
Mainstream Healthcare and Research Many members mentioned they would like to further their knowledge to help them bridge the gap between mainstream healthcare and the natural therapies world . Being able to communicate with GPs and to navigate other aspects of the health care systems such as public health , the NDIS system , health funds and how to promote cross-referral programs . Quite a few members mentioned they would like to learn how to interpret pathology results . Talking to patients about vaccinations was another topic raised by some members . Other members mentioned they would like courses in drug interactions . Reviewing research and case studies was also mentioned as a relevant course that members would be interested in . Other members revealed they did not see the importance of research or promoting it .
It would be great if an in-depth course on understanding pathology results ( reading them and looking at the possible causes of certain results ) was offered . Not just a brief look at pathology results . RN Labs offer in depth training , looking into their specific testing as do other providers but a one stop webinar that dissects pathology results with session notes ( maybe looking at a variety of cases ) that can be recalled would be great .
Changes to private health insurance rebates – effects on ATMS members
Members were asked to indicate their agreement or disagreement with two statements relating to changes to private health insurance rebates using five-point Likert scales ( strongly disagree = 1 , disagree = 2 , neither agree nor disagree = 3 , agree = 4 , strongly agree = 5 ). Very strong agreement was shown for the statement , ATMS should continue to advocate for ongoing support for natural medicine by private health insurance companies , with 91 % of the sample agreeing or strongly agreeing . Regarding the statement , The recent changes to rebates for natural medicine from private health insurance has negatively affected my business just over a third ( 38.1 %)
Figure 5 . ATMS and responding to media stories about natural medicine
Strongly agree
Agree
Neither agree nor disagree
Disagree
Strongly disagree n = 9,0.8 %
n = 8 , 0.7 % n = 111 , 10.2 % of respondents neither agreed nor disagreed , and just over a third ( 37.2 %) agreed or strongly agreed .
The importance of being registered with the National Disability Incentive Scheme ( NDIS ) as suppliers
Respondents were asked to indicate their agreement or disagreement on a five-point Likert scale ( strongly disagree = 1 , disagree = 2 , neither agree nor disagree = 3 , agree = 4 , strongly agree = 5 ) to the statement , It is important to me that my business becomes a registered NDIS supplier . The majority of respondents ( 45.3 %) neither agreed nor disagreed with the statement , while 40.7 % agreed or strongly agreed , and 13.9 % disagreed to strongly disagreed .
The portrayal of natural medicine in the media
Respondents were asked to indicate their agreement or disagreement with the statement , It is important to me that the ATMS responds quickly to media stories about natural medicine ( e . g . through social media and press releases ). Agreement was indicated on a five-point Likert scale ( strongly disagree = 1 , disagree = 2 , neither agree nor disagree = 3 , agree = 4 , strongly agree = 5 . The majority ( n = 965 , 88.4 %) agreed to strongly agreed with this statement ( Figure 5 ).
It is important to me that the ATMS responds quickly to media stories about natural medicine n = 430 , 39.4 % n = 535 , 49 %
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 Number of respondents / 1093 total
JATMS | Winter 2021 | 71