Exploring the current working profiles of nutritional therapists to inform curriculum and professional development

Transitioning to practice: a qualitative investigation of Australian graduate naturopath’s experiences of being in practice

“…Indeed, participants in this study expressed difficulties in trying to establish interprofessional collaborations, particularly with medical practitioners. A phenomenon, unfortunately, also reported by other allied health and complementary medicine practitioners [ 37 – 40 ], suggesting that this experience is not unique to Australian naturopaths. Nevertheless, if recommendations for improving interprofessional communication and care between medical doctors and naturopaths were followed [ 40 ], this may address some of these challenges to being in naturopathic practice – particularly those related to ‘perceptions’ and ‘professional collaboration’.…”

“…Participants were not prepared for the level of uncertainty and misperception among patients regarding the definition and role of naturopathy, and the tools of the trade. Of concern is the negative public perceptions of the profession, as this can contribute to practitioner work dissatisfaction, potentially impacting workforce performance and retention [ 37 – 39 ]. This raises questions regarding who is responsible for promoting and advocating the naturopathic profession, and what can be done to enact these responsibilities.…”

“…Public perceptions of a profession can be compounded when medical doctors question the role of a profession in patient care [ 37 – 39 ]. Indeed, participants in this study expressed difficulties in trying to establish interprofessional collaborations, particularly with medical practitioners.…”

“…This finding is not exclusive to naturopathic graduates, with nutritionists and herbal medicine practitioners in New Zealand reporting a comparable distribution of clinical and non-clinical tasks [ 38 ]. Additionally, study participants expressed concern about being insufficiently prepared to manage a business – a sentiment shared by Australian complementary medicine practitioners more broadly [ 51 ] as well as nutrition therapists in the United Kingdom [ 37 ]. Based on the experiences of participants in this study, it is possible that the development of adequate and authentic business administration skills within naturopathic medicine programs may better prepare graduates for clinical practice, and in turn, help mitigate the disquietude associated with graduate naturopathic transition to practice.…”

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Nutritional Therapy in the McClelland Teaching Clinic at the University of Worcester

“…NT efficacy may depend on establishing a quality relationship between the therapist and client based on mutual respect, communication and understanding of roles and responsibilities [6]. A recent evidenced-based update [7] of the Core Curriculum for NT [8], suggested the profession may benefit further from improved educational provision to develop the therapist-client relationship, which includes behaviour change theory and strategy.…”