Today my Bachelor of Applied Science (Naturopathic Studies) and Graduate Diploma of Naturopathy students became Graduates. It is always rewarding to see these people, who have put in years of hard work, receive the official recognition they deserve. It is great to meet families as well, and just see everybody in their academic robes.
For those of you who don’t know, the University of Western Sydney has delivered a Naturopathy program for a few years now, involving a 3 year full-time Bachelor degree, followed by a 1 year full-time Graduate Diploma for professional accreditation. Unfortunately the University has chosen to discontinue the course and 2011 looks to be the last year we will be teaching. For those of us – like myself – employed full-time in the program, we have yet to find out what the University has planned for us, but at this stage it looks as if we won’t have a herbal medicine or naturopathy clinical program in the foreseeable future.
Still, it is great to have been part of a pioneering program and to have been involved in the training of these new professionals over the last few years.