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Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open Access
Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open
Journal article
Transitioning to practice: a qualitative investigation of Australian graduate naturopath's experiences of being in practice
BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, Vol.21(1), pp.1-10
15/12/2021
PMCID: PMC8672567
PMID: 34911510
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Abstract
Background: The transition from student to practitioner can be challenging, resulting in stress, burnout and attrition. While there has been ample research examining graduate medical and allied health practitioner experiences of transitioning to practice, there is a paucity of research exploring such experiences in newly qualified naturopathic medicine practitioners. In light of this knowledge gap, the objective of this study was to ascertain the experiences of practicing as a naturopath in Australia within the first 5 years post-graduation.
Methods: Using a qualitative descriptive approach, recent graduates of an Australian Bachelor of Naturopathy (or equivalent) program were invited to participate in a semi-structured telephone interview to address the study objective. Data were analysed utilising a framework approach.
Results: A total of 19 new graduates (94.7% female; 57.9% aged 40–59 years) undertook an interview. Five inter-related themes emerged from the data: practitioner, practice, proprietorship, professions, and perceptions. Connected with these themes were contrasting feelings, multiplicity of duties, small business challenges, professional collaboration, and professional identity, respectively.
Conclusions: Participants were generally content with their decision to become a naturopath. However, most were confronted by a range of challenges as they transitioned from graduate to practitioner, for which many felt ill-prepared. In light of the complexity of the issue, and the potential impact on the sustainability of the profession, it is evident that a multi-pronged, multi-stakeholder approach would be needed to better support graduate naturopath transition to practice.
Details
- Title
- Transitioning to practice: a qualitative investigation of Australian graduate naturopath's experiences of being in practice
- Creators
- Matthew J Leach - Southern Cross UniversityLarisa A J Barnes - University of SydneyAndy McLintock - University of Technology SydneyHelene M Diezel - University of QueenslandKimberley Ryan - Endeavour College of Natural HealthAmie E Steel - University of Technology Sydney
- Publication Details
- BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, Vol.21(1), pp.1-10
- Publisher
- BioMed Central Ltd.
- Identifiers
- 991012987891702368
- Copyright
- © The Author(s) 2021. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine; Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article