New role: Senior Learning Facilitator at Torrens University – a change for the better

Since the closure of Endeavour College’s Office of Research, Endeavour’s path and mine have slowly been diverging, and I am pleased to announce that today I started as Senior Learning Facilitator – Naturopathy & Western Herbal Medicine, at Torrens University Australia (TUA).

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Herbs, Glass Bottles & Poisons – April NHAA Sydney Chapter

Old medicine bottles in the Childers Pharmaceutical Museum

April is the first NHAA Sydney Chapter Meeting for the year, and they have asked me to speak again. But this time it will be a bit different – a pictorial conversation of herbal history, entitled “Herbs, Glass Bottles & Poisons in Childers – A Snapshot of Late 19th and Early 20th Century Herbal Medicine”.

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Continuing Professional Education – an essential component of a real profession

Ian Breakspear speaking at the 5th International Conference on Phytotherapeutics

I recently received the alert emails from the NHAA reminding members that their CPE Diary for 2014 is due by the end of December. I know many respond with “yawn, not again?!”, but for me I see compulsory continuing professional education (CPE) as a sign of a real health profession, and I am happy to participate.

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Dosage calculations & extract equivalency in herbal medicine

Old herbal bottles from Childers Pharmaceutical Museum

Over a number of years of teaching, one of the common issues I’ve noticed is that students often find calculating dosage equivalents rather challenging. It is important to be able to convert between liquid extract quantities and dry herb amounts, and vice versa. So I thought this would be a good place to discuss the issues and provide some techniques to help.

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ATMS Seeks to Maintain the Lowest Standards

Australian Qualifications Framework

As you may have seen in my recent posts (here and here), the CS&HISC recently made a decision to remove the Advanced Diplomas of Naturopathy, Western Herbal Medicine, Nutritional Medicine, and Homoeopathy from the Health Training Package in December 2015. This came after almost 18 months of discussion and consultation, and majority support amongst stakeholders.

Yet the Australian Traditional Medicine Society (ATMS) refuses to accept the majority decision, is actively opposing it and is seeking to have the CS&HISC decision overturned.

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