Whether you're a natural health practitioner or curious about complementary medicine and want to dig deeper into this field, taking an online course will expand not only your knowledge but also your professional network.
The internet offers a variety of diploma courses, certification programs and degree courses that you can take online. Natural therapy courses, such as Ayurveda, Counselling, Psychotherapy, Weight Management, Life Coaching, Mind-Body Medicine and Clinical Nutrition, among many others, are in high demand because mastery of these natural medicine modalities guarantees a lucrative career. In fact, the total number of health professionals working in the natural therapies industry is projected to grow to 8,700 by 2024, according to Job Outlook.
Studying online offers many benefits, so much more than studying on-campus. First off, natural health online courses give students more flexibility to choose where, where and how to study. As long as you submit your homework and projects on the date your professor has set, you will not have any problem. Secondly, people with busy lifestyles don't have to juggle career, or family commitments, with their studies. Schools offering online health and complementary therapies courses present students with a wide range of remote learning options to suit their preferred study methods and ensure that they land a rewarding career in health someday, particularly in natural therapies.
What's more, distance education is a fresh approach to learning as it allows you to interact with other people taking the same course as you, whether Australian students or international students. The chance to meet seasoned complementary healthcare practitioners online is also huge. It's also worth noting that your virtual classmates might just turn out to be your future colleagues or partners in your own private practice. So, while it's good to concentrate on lectures, exams and hands-on skills, you also need to see your online learning journey as an opportunity to build strong connections. Here are 5 ways to succeed in it.
Pick the Right Course
Do you want to deliver physical therapies, concoct your own herbal formulas and be proficient at writing a herbal prescription, or be an expert in a wide range of beauty treatments? Do you want a coursework that combines online lectures, laboratory tests and hands-on experience in a clinical setting? Think long and hard as the perfect course for you is one that covers topics and activities close to your heart. Aside from having fun while learning, meeting like-minded people is going to come easy to you.
To find out which course is right for you, draw a table and divide it into three columns for bachelor degrees, diploma courses and certification programs. Under each column, come up with a list of modalities that you fancy to learn; it's much better if you know the course title. For example, an Advanced Diploma of Clinical Western Herbal Medicine must be listed under diploma courses. Opposite it, jot down the duration or length of time it would take you to complete the program. If you aspire to be a clinical myotherapist, you also need to complete an advanced diploma program. Depending on your financial standing, you may check out the diploma courses at a private learning institution or opt for the diplomas at TAFEs.
An acupuncture study program should go into the bachelor degrees column, and it will take you four years to complete it. A clinical nutrition practice is also a four-year degree, so is Traditional Chinese Medicine.
If you're not sure what course to take, contact your prospective school and discuss your interests with the course adviser. Do you want to focus on pain management, provide lifestyle advice or put your effective communication style to good use? There are courses that pay special attention to human physiology, herbal dispensing, energy therapy, wellness coaching or an ancient practice like Ayurveda. Some courses come with a range of electives and study options, so you want to enquire about these as well, along with the class sizes and other additional course requirements.
Listen to Others
Online schools provide a learning management system where students can complete the coursework, watch live or recorded lectures, see their scores and access other information relevant to their course. It's also where teachers and students can communicate. Rather than use it to study alone, create an active learning environment where you exchange ideas with your classmates regarding complex issues such as male and female reproductive systems or the cardiovascular systems of other organisms. That, or use it to share study tips with each other. Listening to other people and their take on a broad range of subjects is a great way to absorb new knowledge. Moreover, this collaborative experience can lead to strong ties and reciprocal benefits.
Create a Seamless Learning Environment
Unlike in a classroom setup, your study journey as an online student is not limited to what the school's instructors can provide. Online health courses allow you to literally handpick the most qualified, if not the best, teachers in Australia to equip you with invaluable knowledge and skills on complementary medicine and public health. Talking to a qualified holistic health practitioner, or finding a mentor, who works in your target niche market will open your eyes to the key concepts of the modality that you're studying, as well as the best practices in different clinical situations. Look at them as your future self, ask how their practical experience differs from what they learnt at school and listen to their career advice. All of these will not only shape your future but also lead to potential industry partners.
Flex Your Social Skills
School is not just about learning the basic concepts of health science and natural therapies, honing your practical skills in clinical assessment and exploring career opportunities. Balance is the key to achieving a great online learning journey. Whether you're taking a naturopathy degree, studying nutritional medicine, analysing the application process of homoeopathy or mastering different therapeutic strategies for treating blood diseases, find time to pause, relax and nurture your social circle. Set up a group chat or an online community board where you and your classmates can get to know each other more and foster camaraderie. Show interest in their choice of complementary treatments, discuss updates on job trends in the healthcare sector and everything else under the sun.
Build Future Collaborations
Industry practitioners were once students like you. They, too, had to burn the midnight oil trying to process their anatomical knowledge, especially the connection between the biological function of the human body to its energy field and the mind. Clinical nutritionists had to read a lot of books before they understood the principles of nutrition science and what clinical decision-making entails. Herbalists had to master different herbal medicine concepts and their application process as regards various client health issues. Even the acupuncture experience of health professionals practising this discipline didn't come easy. Because needles are involved in this natural approach to health care, they were initially wary of its adverse effects until they saw its massive benefits.
In addition to honing their clinical skills, whether they're studying physical therapies, nutritional management or Chinese medicine foundations, to improve the quality of life of other people, today's natural therapists had to know by heart the ideal business strategies for their clinical practice, the best patient-centred approach to guarantee optimum health outcomes and healthier lives, and a list of safety issues to avoid putting their professional practice on the line.
Despite the daily demands of their academic studies, they found time to join relevant peak professional bodies where they managed to not only polish their professional skills and explore potential career paths but establish a network with certified holistic health practitioners. They met, conversed and learned from clinical practitioners of different types of modalities grounded in various branches of science, including social science, life science, applied science and microbiology among others. This initiative opened them up to a wide range of career opportunities after graduation.
Technology makes everything possible nowadays, even what seems impossible when people are physically apart, such as building an active learning environment and a dynamic community of natural health enthusiasts. Building meaningful relationships while you're at school will pave the way to a variety of wonderful careers in health, so take the time to say hello to someone in the middle of a busy online school day.
Whether you're looking to gain foundational knowledge about a specific modality through a short course, or a comprehensive grounding in nutritional medicine therapeutics, acupuncture, naturopathy or TCM, among others, you'll find complementary therapies online courses worth investing time and money into. Not only do natural therapies complement common medications and expedite healing, but they will also lead you to a career like no other.
Natural therapy courses in Australia are drawing the attention of not only domestic students but international students as well, thanks to several scholarly publications that have shed scientific evidence on the efficacy of holistic health practices as an adjunct treatment option for many a chronic disease. If you're ready to explore the field, check out the complete listing of affordable courses on the Natural Therapy Pages. Feel free to contact the course provider of your choice, or advise them of your available contact hours, so you can discuss their entry requirements, available loan scheme and delivery methods.
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