of over $ 120,000 . In our survey , gross incomes for discipline categories may be distorted by the small number of respondents in some disciplines . For example , only 19 Energetic Medicine practitioners and 13 Mind-Body Medicine practitioners answered the question about gross income .
These incomes are directly related to the number of consultations and the fees charged for these consultations . For all natural medicine respondents combined , 0-5 initial and follow-up consultations was the most frequently reported number of clients per week ( 75.2 % and 41.7 % respectively ). A small number of natural medicine practitioners , mainly Registered Practitioners , reported seeing more than 40 clients per week . However , numbers of reported consultations need to be seen in the context of the reported ideal number of consultations per week . A total of 40.4 % of Ingestive Medicine practitioners reported ideally wanting to see 0-10 clients per week . Higher numbers were reported by Registered Practitioners : 36.2 % of practitioners ( the most frequent category ) wanted to see 20-40 clients per week ; 17.8 % of Registered Practitioners said their ideal number of clients was over 40 clients per week . There was relative consistency in fees charged for consultations across discipline categories . The most commonly reported initial consultation fee for all natural therapists combined was $ 101- $ 150 . However , 62.8 % of Physical Medicine practitioners reported charging less ($ 51- $ 100 ) for an initial consultation . Follow-up consultation fees across all natural medicine disciplines were most commonly reported as $ 51- $ 100 .
were reported by 44.1 % as between 41-60 minutes . It has long been observed that complementary medicine practitioners spend more time with their clients than many other health care practitioners . In a 2010 Dutch study , complementary medicine practitioners were found to spend at least twice as much time with their clients as GPs ( Heiligers et al ., 2010 ). Publications describing clients ’ attitudes towards the use of complementary and alternative medicine consistency refer to clients ’ appreciation of the time spent with them compared to conventional health practitioners ( de Valois et al ., 2016 ; Tangkiatkumjai et al ., 2020 ).
ii ) Years in practice and work setting Almost 30 % of respondents had been in clinical practice for over 20 years ; 22.7 % had been in practice less than 5 years . For the long-term sustainability of natural medicine professions , sufficient intake of new students into natural therapies education institutions is required to sustain and increase the number of natural medicine practitioners in clinical practice . Demand for natural medicine remains high in Australia , with estimates of approximately 70 % of Australians using complementary medicine ( Complementary Medicines Australia , 2022 ; Steel et al ., 2018 ). This demand may encourage new students to the profession . Natural medicine students , and indeed all health students , need support during their training and during their transition to practice ( Grace & Streckfuss , 2018 ). Moreover , almost 60 % of respondents in our survey reported working in solo private practices . This can be an isolating experience for some . Professional associations have established mentorship programs ( e . g . Osteopathy Australia ’ s Research Mentorship Program ( Osteopathy Australia , 2024 )) and continuing professional education specifically designed to support graduating students to establish viable and fulfilling practices and professional networks so that they can feel welcomed and supported ( e . g . ATMS ’ Transition to Practice seminar series ).
Practice viability is also influenced by the duration of consultations and consequently the number of consultations that could reasonably be conducted in a working week . Natural medicine practitioners reported long initial consultation times , with 41.3 % reporting spending more than 60 minutes with their clients in initial consultations . Follow-up consultations
A TOTAL OF 43.2 % OF RESPONDENTS REPORTED PRACTISING ONLINE , A TREND THAT WAS BOLSTERED DURING THE COVID-19 LOCKDOWNS ... MORE THAN HALF OF RESPONDENTS ( 57.1 %) USED DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES TO OPERATE OR MANAGE THEIR PRACTICES .
78 | vol30 | no2 | JATMS