13 minute read
Osteopathy Australia news
OSTEOPATHY AUSTRALIA AIMS TO SUPPORT, ENHANCE AND PROMOTE THE PROFESSION. HERE’S A QUICK RECAP OF EVERYTHING OSTEO FROM THE PAST FEW MONTHS.
The Low Back Pain Clinical Care Standard was launched on 1 September 2022 by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC). This was produced following a consultation in March/April 2021, for which Osteopathy Australia entered a submission.
Osteopathy Australia welcomes the introduction of the Low Back Pain Clinical Care Standard and the Commission has agreed to add Osteopathy Australia’s endorsement to the Standard. The Commission said that omission of our endorsement from the original document was an oversight for which they have apologised. The document will be updated shortly and the website amended accordingly.
Listen to the webcast of the launch at bit.ly/3UNI64k ACSQHC resources on the national standard at bit.ly/3dOV8h5 Read Osteopathy Australia’s original submission to the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare at www.osteopathy.org.au
Osteopath of the Year 2022
Congratulations to Brett Wiener, awarded Osteopath of the Year 2022 at the national Allied Health Awards this year. One of an esteemed group of finalists flying the osteo flag: Amanda Hannaford, Heath Williams, Michael Mannix, Paul Hermann and Tina Maio.
On winning the award, Brett, who is an Osteopathy Australia Board director and chairs our Early Career Advisory Group, had some sound advice for all allied health professionals: let’s work together and don’t forget to look after yourself!
The Awards bring together all allied health professions to recognise their hard work, dedication and leadership, with the winners chosen based on five specific categories:
Promotion and contribution to their profession or setting
Collaboration and effective communication within allied health community
Outstanding client-centred, evidence-based service delivery or health outcome
Outstanding leadership and/or integrity
Impact and innovation – focused over the last 12 months
Notes from the Association
ANTONY NICHOLAS, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, OSTEOPATHY AUSTRALIA
Just as everyone starts to recover from the economic, emotional and health impacts of the COVID pandemic, we see increasing economic grey clouds. A key role and an important duty for the association is to be here for you during stormy weather.
In the coming weeks, we will be sharing the outcomes from the recent membership survey. This too captured the impact of the past two years on osteopaths around the country. It showed that 41% of respondents only classified their mental health as fair, with a further 9% as poor, compared with good or excellent. These results were slightly worse for those under 30 years of age or those over 46 years old; and, maybe not surprisingly, particularly for those in Victoria, who were impacted by the longest lockdowns and ongoing restrictions.
To help and support our members, we introduced a free counselling service (see the box below for more details). In partnership with Converge International, this will allow you to get the confidential help you need. Converge International is known as being a market leader in providing professional counselling services for employees or members.
Seventy per cent of our members also reported a decrease in income compared with ‘normal’ years. This decrease in income was most significant in Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales.
Pandemic impact or not, Osteopathy Australia has always strived to minimise our costs and provide as many services, included as part of your membership, as possible. That’s why we provide so much free CPD, advice and accessible resources online or by contacting us. Likewise, that’s why we provide free access to an employer and employee help line (it’s not just for businesses) – the HR hotline, and now the counselling service.
Our aim is to meet a lot of your professional, information, support, regulatory or policy needs, as an osteopath, within your membership fee rather than adding additional fees or forcing you to go to multiple different places, websites or companies.
I look forward to sharing more about the survey and our exciting new projects in the coming weeks. As always thank you for your support and being members.
New counselling service trial for Osteopathy Australia members
We know it has been a tough few years. Get the help you need with Osteopathy Australia’s new, confidential counselling service provided by Converge International, a market-leading provider of professional counselling services for employees and association members.
The service is:
Offered on a trial basis while
Osteopathy Australia monitors uptake, quality of service and appropriateness;
Free for all non-student members;
Includes access to up to six consultations for your issue;
Professional – counselling is provided by qualified counsellors, online or in person;
Confidential – we don’t know who uses the service.
When using the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), you can speak with a qualified counsellor specifically selected to best support your issue. The Converge International counsellors are experienced across a range of issues including:
Employee assist is for personal or work stress, grief management, addiction, career issues, mental health concerns, and more.
Family assist helps you build stronger personal relationships, manage work/life balance, and cope with the demands of parenting.
Manager assist helps you lead and support people and teams, address workplace conflict, and manage change.
Legal assist can offer advice about family law, wills, tenancy, consumer disputes and more.
Specialist advice lines are also available to support LGBTQI+ and first nations. You can also access advice about domestic and family violence, aged care or disability support. Career assist helps you with career planning and re-evaluating your work and life goals. Money assist helps you work through financial difficulty and manage financial stress. Learn new financial skills and habits that will help you avoid problems in the future.
Call 1300 OUR EAP (1300 687 327) to arrange an appointment, or visit bit.ly/3RwdCRx to find out more and to book online.
Students can access free counselling services at their campus by calling or texting the following numbers:
• Victoria University: 03 9919 5400 • RMIT University: 03 9925 5000 • Southern Cross University: 02 6626 9300 or 1300 782 676 (after hours), text 0488 884 143
MEMBER 2022/2023
Promote your membership of Osteopathy Australia
A reminder for all Osteopathy Australia members, we have a new member lockup for you to use to promote your membership of Osteopathy Australia for 2022/23. You will need your member login to access this page. The use of this logo is restricted to members only. It should not be forwarded to any non-member. Note the logo should only be displayed next to the member’s name. You must not imply that your practice is a member as membership is individual.
Also, don’t forget to download your membership certificate – you can use this to get discounts and tax deductions on professional membership.
You can download the member lockup and membership certificate from your member dashboard. Visit www.osteopathy.org.au.
Find an Osteo
Members are urged to update their Find an Osteo member profiles and clinic details to ensure you make the most of your entry in our online directory of osteopaths.
This is an important member benefit designed to help members to market themselves and promote their practice.
Go to your member dashboard at www.osteopathy.org.au to update your details.
FREE Graduate membership for final-year student members
A reminder that all final-year student members can apply for FREE Graduate membership before 31 December 2022. Visit www.osteopathy.org.au to find out more.
Congratulations to Anita Biddle who has become the first recognised Extended Practice Osteopath in Australia. She has been recognised in the focus area of paediatrics.
Anita graduated from Victoria University in 2001 and is a director at Brunswick Family Osteopathy in Melbourne’s inner north.
Anita has always enjoyed working with children and babies, undertaking a postgraduate paediatrics course in her first year of practice.
On receiving Extended Practice Recognition, Anita said, “I am excited that Osteopathy Australia is offering opportunities for extended qualifications. It is a great way for practitioners, including fellow osteopaths and other healthcare providers, to identify osteopaths with practice focus areas. Osteopathy is a very diverse profession, which is wonderful, but skills and knowledge in different areas vary a lot. Extended Practice Recognition helps clarify this. It encourages and rewards quality professional development in healthcare. The process was really straightforward, and I enjoyed focusing professional development on my favourite topic.”
See page 10 for more information about Extended and Advanced Practice Recognition and how to apply.
Osteopathy Australia ran a media campaign during National Pain Week at the end of July to highlight the disease burden of chronic pain in Australia and the role of allied health, such as osteopaths, in helping to manage chronic musculoskeletal conditions, such as arthritis, by busting the myths around chronic pain and pain management.
Overall, 10 items of coverage were secured, with an audience reach of more than 11.3 million Australians and an Advertising Value Equivalent (AVE) of over $157,000. This included a segment on Sunrise morning TV.
Read the full media release at www.osteopathy.org.au, or:
Find out more at bit.ly/3zxZIsk (or scan the first QR code)
Sunrise TV segment at bit.ly/3fCetTm (or scan the second QR code)
Hope for Health volunteering in remote and rural Australia
Three Osteopathy Australia members, Declan Knights, Dina Culcasi and Rhonda Chen, all took the opportunity to share their osteopathy skills by volunteering for Hope for Health (hopeforhealth.com.au), a Yolngu-led preventative health program on Elcho Island in NT. During their time, they helped local artisans who were experiencing varying health concerns and pain, often due to long hours sitting on the ground bent over carrying out repetitive tasks as part of their work, such as painting, carving or weaving.
Much of their time was spent treating people for low back pain, neck/shoulder tension as well as providing exercise advice and working with other healthcare professionals to educate locals about healthy living and nutrition.
Declan, Dina and Rhonda all agree it was a special experience that provided them with a real appreciation for the challenges faced by those living in remote areas. It was, they say, a privilege to be able to give back to the community and make a difference, even if it was for just a short sojourn.
Congratulations to Drew Blatchford who has become the latest Advanced Practice Osteopath in Australia. He has been recognised in the focus area of sports management.
Drew studied osteopathy at RMIT University, having previously studied sports science in the UK. He works at Wantirna Osteopathy in Victoria.
He has a long-standing interest in sports injury management and prevention, and has supported a number of elite athletes over the years, including those competing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the recent Commonwealth Games 2022.
He says applying for Advanced Practice Recognition in sports management was therefore a natural progression, and he hopes this will help him to inspire others to do the same and hence achieve a greater recognition for osteopathy outside the profession.
He added, “I’m very proud to be part of such an esteemed group of osteopaths and to have had my skillsets recognised.”
Help spread the word about FREE Osteopathy Australia Student membership
Encourage your ‘non-member’ friends studying osteopathy with you to join Osteopathy Australia as a Student member for FREE.
For further membership enquiries, contact us on 02 9410 0099 or email membership@ osteopathy.org.au
Graduating soon? Early AHPRA registration now open
Osteopathy graduates due to finish their studies in the next three months are encouraged to apply for AHPRA registration early to ensure a smooth transition from study to work.
Applying before you finish study means the Board can start assessing your application while you wait for your graduate results. Remember, registration with the Board is required before you can start working as an osteopath – and means you can work anywhere in Australia.
Find out more at bit.ly/3SjA7KF and apply at bit.ly/earlyAHPRAreg
Updated Graduate Guide 2022
If you’re a final year student or graduate member, you have free access to the Osteopathy Australia Graduate Guide, updated for 2022, to help you transition into practice. It has a step-bystep guide on what you need to do and where to get more information, support and help.
It also has everything you need to know from the scope of practice to the business of osteopathy to working as a locum vs an employee, understanding private health funds and your CPD obligations.
Access the full guide at www.osteopathy.org.au
Osteos supporting Aussie athletes to success at the Commonwealth Games 2022
The Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham saw a great result for Team Australia. Amazing athletes achieving great things, including osteopath and member, Jess Gallagher, who won two golds with her pilot, Caitlin Ward, in para-cycling.
This year’s Games highlighted the increasing role of osteopathy in preparing athletes for competition and keeping them injury free. Craig Russell, osteopath and member, working in Prahran in Melbourne, was privileged to be asked by Athletics Australia to join a training camp in St Moritz, Switzerland to help longdistance runners and race walkers before they headed off to compete in Birmingham.
Using his experience working with track and marathon runners, Craig worked five to 10 athletes each day, including marathon runners Sinead Diver and Jess Stenson, to provide manual therapy using a structural/ biomechanical approach to management. This involved a combination of soft tissue massage, stretching, fascial release, counterstrain, articulation and spinal and peripheral manipulation to address a variety of issues including (but not limited to) acute muscular strains, ligamentous strain/sprains, spinal and pelvic somatic dysfunctions resulting in both local and compensatory issues.
Commenting on his experience, Craig said, “It was a pleasure to work with such talented and committed athletes and to be part of a broader multidisciplinary team of health professionals to achieve the best results for the athletes. In addition, it was a great opportunity for me to promote osteopathy and, hopefully, open more doors for the profession within elite sport.”
Vale Stephen Porter and Karen Barton
Osteopathy Australia was sad to hear about the passing of two members in the past few months. Our sincere and heartfelt condolences to the families of Stephen Porter and Karen Barton.
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