TIME WARP QUALIFICATIONS by MAGGIE SANDS
ATMS Newspaper story for December 2011 edition
It is with a little trepidation that I write this article and share some of the qualification history of our profession spaning three decades. I write this in the hope that it will spark the interest of those many ATMS members like myself who qualified in Natural Medicine or previously more often referred to as Natural Therapies prior to the establishment of the Government Health Training packages from 2002.
An informal definition of Time Warp is 'An illusion in which time appears to have stood still ' . Personally qualifying as a Massage Therapist prior to the inception of ATMS in 1982 and then as a Naturopath in 1985 the year after ATMS was established and owning a massage college that has spanned three decades I have witnessed the changes first hand from what are often called Industry Qualifications those prior to 2002 to the current Government Training Package qualifications.
Many ATMS accredited colleges nation wide became Registered Training Organisations (RTO's) from around the turn of the century at which time the more industry based qualifications slowly ceased to exist and RTO's offered qualifications that were then Australian Qualification Framework( AQF) based .With this Natural Medicine entered another dimension of its evolution , that of competency based training. With the inception of the Health Training Packages ATMS has retained its own standard which endorsed the need for nominal course hour duration, face to face training in practical skills and student clinical practicum experience all of which are not specifically included in the Health Training Packages. ATMS choose to retain and develop its own standards unlike other associations with a strong believe that the ATMS standards including those mentioned here were a fundamental consideration in the training of effective Natural Medicine Practitioners.
There are many many practitioners and ATMS members who are still in active practice today who have had a similar qualification journey to myself, many of which have not upgraded their industry qualifications . Numerous Practitioners completed their training well over ten plus years ago some over 20 years ago and have not upgraded to the current Health Training Package Qualification for their modality.
On a weekly basis I become aware of amazing practitioners who have assisted to build our profession , the majority of which have been practicing Massage some for decades , many have been confused and do not have a clear understanding of what has occurred with what some might call the qualification creep over a 30 year time span and especially over the last nine years since the initial inception of the Health Training packages for Natural Medicine modalities. Could this be 'An illusion where time appears to have stood still'.
What has happened is more than 'Just a jump to the left and then a step to the right ' our profession has navigated though numerous changes including increased educational vigour reflected by the majority of Health Funds requiring practitioners entering the profession to have Government Health Training Package Qualifications for eligibility for their clients to receive rebates for services .
' With a bit of a mind flip you could be there in a time slip ' and be happily going about your daily clinic duties unaware of the qualification changes what have occurred . ' Well I was walking down the street just a-having a think ' that the reason many practitioners holding pre Government Health Training package qualification have succeeded is based on growing information that many offer effective client centred treatments and have built solid clinical practices with this intent over an extended period of time. Many practitioners working quietly in the suburbs of every regional town and city in Australia supporting health care nation wide .Many not needing to invest in excessive advertising but relying on the effectiveness of their treatments to attract a constant stream of referrals from happy clients who have had results and make return visits .
If this story is sounding somewhat familiar to you its essential to understand that the qualification upgrade process may be easier than you think, so I encourage those who may not have a Health Training package qualification to contact one of the many ATMS accredited colleges to make an enquiry. On the ATMS website there is a section for accredited colleges that meet the ATMS standard and also offer Health training packages . Initially you would need to apply for recognition of prior leaning (RPL) at which time your years in clinical practice can be noted . RPL processes can vary from college to college and would start with completion of a RPL application form clearly stating your previous training and work experience. Each applicant is assessed on their own merit. Currently at my college we have many massage practitioners upgrading ,most have lengthy experience ,amongst them previous graduates that we have not seen for decades returning for this purpose . It is wonderful to see so many previous graduates return after years of successfully practicing massage. Returning to your original training organisation if convenient may assist you in the RPL process as the college will have records of your training history.
Upgrading practitioners who I have spoken to at my college recently say they have learnt many many new things including new techniques, how to better assess conditions and more effectively treat their clients .Most say they have personally grown from the experience. Its not uncommon for those upgrading to also quickly realise that much has changed in our profession since their original training and that the RPL process provides an opportunity to re focus and up skill.
If you need assistance to more fully understand the upgrade process contact your college of choice or I can be emailed on the address below. Best wishes to all , there is support for you to take this next part of the journey as the qualification time warp may really not be an illusion after all.
Maggie Sands N.D
Principal School of Integrated Body Therapy N.S.W
ATMS Director/Life Member
