AUSTRALIAN NATUROPATHIC NETWORK
 Serving the community since 1998

On Registration

The practice of Naturopathy in Australia is rapidly gaining acceptance by the general public - it is an exciting time for all involved in the field of natural health. Educational standards are rapidly evolving to cater for this growth, and there is little doubt that as Naturopathy is more widely understood, a greater number of universities will begin to offer courses leading to Bachelor level qualifications in Naturopathy. Southern Cross University has been offering a degree program in Naturopathy since 1996 and is pursuing other exciting initiatives such as the cutely named Cellulose Valley.

Another sign of a maturing profession is the move towards registration of Naturopaths by some of our associations. Victoria is considering registration for practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The path to registration is likely to be a difficult, and require deep professional and philosophical consideration.

Many would argue that Naturopathy has nothing to do with degree courses at university, or registration. Indeed, such things assault the core philosophies held by many Naturopaths; degrees and registers create a 'club' that dissociates the Naturopath from the patient.

Despite these realities - what is the alternative? Many students today are concerned about educational standards, they are concerned whether there will be a profession for them to enter when they graduate. There is an urgency and a desire to be able to provide a recognised standard of health care. Recognised, so that they can not be snuffed out by a threatened medical establishment, and standardised so that there is even more reason for the public to feel confident about Naturopathic medicine.

Naturopathy in Australia has out grown its detractors poorly researched arguments of 'it's not science'. Naturopathy offers a legitimate alternative to the 'six minute drug pushing' consultation forced upon the public health system, and as the public becomes increasingly aware that Naturopathic therapy is effective, its uptake will certainly increase. This will continue to threaten the mainstream medicos and the age-old turf war between practitioners with different approaches to health care will reignite in earnest.

Registration and established standards of education are a positive way of ensuring that Naturopathy will remain available as a choice of health care. Despite the impact registration has on our core philosophy, can real world forces be ignored?

Is it better to be in a position to practice with the demon of government controlled registration or to have a legitimate avenue of health care removed forever from the Australian public?

What do you think?