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NEWS
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.
New Board Director for Osteopathy Australia Osteopathy Australia is delighted to welcome Don Hunter as an Osteopathic Board Director. Don brings a passion for research and an understanding of the challenges faced by practitioners and clients in regional and rural Australia, experience he hopes will be invaluable in developing the profession not just in core metropolitan hubs, but in the regions as well. Here, Don explains why he believes that research is vital to the future of osteopathy, the need to find more pathways for osteopaths to get involved in research, and tells us about his personal mission to investigate sustainable strategies to lure more osteopaths to regional Australia!
“I
originally trained and worked as a teacher before studying osteopathy, graduating in 2003 from the University of Western Sydney. Initially, I worked in Newcastle for over 16 years, including running my own practice in New Lambton for 10 years. I then moved to Tamworth, regional NSW, where I have been practising for over two years. I recently submitted my PhD, which investigates the relationship between thoracic posture and shoulder impingement syndrome. As a passionate osteopathic clinician, I understand the value of research performed by osteopaths. More osteopaths doing research will enable better clinical outcomes for clients and will give osteopathy as a profession a louder voice in the healthcare landscape. Tamworth is the largest regional town in North West NSW. However, I am the first osteopath in more than a decade to work in the region and there is only one other osteopath for the next 200km in any direction. It is common
for patients to travel more than an hour for treatment. During my time in this regional area, it has been very rewarding to find a greater collaboration between allied health professionals and the medical profession in the name of better patient outcomes. In my view, the two issues of research and workforce distribution are, in fact, interrelated. More osteopaths in rural and regional areas can only occur with the availability of more university courses for osteopathy. However, universities are attracted to professions with great research cultures. While osteopaths are producing some research, the amount of published research is small and, as such, it has been difficult to get universities interested in osteopathy.
The more research a profession adds to the healthcare environment, the more credibility it has in the government’s eyes and the more input osteopathy can have in the allied healthcare space. This would allow Osteopathy Australia to better lobby government and have a greater say (as a profession) in conversations regarding, for example, Medicare, third-party insurance, private health and the NDIS. At an individual level, doing research, no matter how small, will improve the clinical outcome for patients, improve the individual as an osteopathic clinician, and give that practitioner greater standing within their immediate healthcare community. Osteopaths have a unique approach to healthcare and, as such, have much to offer research.”
“More osteopaths in rural and regional areas can only occur with the availability of more university courses for osteopathy”
