Naturopathic Medicine – Inherent Requirements

Behavioural stability is required to function and adapt effectively and sensitively in a demanding role.

Student demonstrates behavioural stability to work constructively in a diverse and changing academic and clinical environment.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Behavioural stability is required to work individually and in teams in changing and unpredictable environments. Naturopathy students will be exposed to human suffering in the clinical setting and will be required to have behavioural stability to manage situations objectively and professionally. Students also will be required to adapt their behaviour appropriately during times of additional stressors in their own lives, whether this adaptation involves ways of continuing to engage with their role or withdrawing for self-care for a period.

Adjustments must support stable, effective and professional behaviour in both academic and clinical settings.

Exemplars:

• Being receptive and responding appropriately to constructive feedback
• Managing own emotions and behaviour effectively when dealing with individuals in the clinical setting
• Maintaining respectful communication practices in times of increased stressors or workloads
• Adjusting to changing circumstances in a way that allows self-care while maintaining a professional-level focus on the patient, family, caregivers and work colleagues.

Consistent and effective knowledge and cognitive skills must be demonstrated to provide safe and competent care.

Student demonstrates:

• Capacity to locate appropriate and relevant information
• Ability to process information relevant to practice
• Ability to integrate and implement knowledge in practice

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Safe and effective delivery of naturopathic care is based on comprehensive knowledge that must be judiciously sourced, appraised, understood and applied appropriately.

Adjustments must ensure that a clear demonstration of knowledge and cognitive skills is not compromised or impeded.

Exemplars:

• Conceptualising and using appropriate knowledge in response to academic assessment items
• Applying knowledge of policy and procedures in the academic and clinical setting
• Utilising clinical reasoning and evidence-based practice frameworks to make sound decisions regarding clinical management options
• Knowing and correctly interpreting a wide range of clinical findings to provide safe and effective patient care
• Continuously seeking opportunities to update and extend knowledge and cognitive skills

Foundational literacy skills are essential to provide safe and effective delivery of care.

Student demonstrates the ability to:

• acquire information and to accurately convey messages
• comprehend a range of literature and information
• construct clear written communication appropriate to the circumstances

Justification of inherent requirement:

• The ability to acquire, appraise and comprehend information from multiple sources, and to accurately convey messages is fundamental to ensure safe and effective assessment, diagnosis, planning, application and review of naturopathic healthcare

Adjustments to address literacy issues must demonstrate a capacity to effectively acquire, comprehend, apply and communicate accurate information.

Exemplars:

• Conveying a spoken message accurately and effectively in a clinical setting
• Paraphrasing, summarising and referencing in accordance with appropriate academic conventions in written assignments and published works
• Producing accurate, concise and clear naturopathy documentation that meets professional and legal requirements.

Foundational numeracy skills are essential for safe and effective care.

Student interprets and correctly applies data, measurements and numerical criteria.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Competent application of numeracy skills is essential to facilitate the safe and effective delivery of naturopathic care

Adjustments must demonstrate a capacity to interpret and apply concepts and processes appropriately in a timely, accurate and effective manner.

Exemplars:

• Performing accurate calculations (e.g. prescribing and compounding complementary medicines)
• Critically analysing relevant literature, including statistics

Adequate visual acuity is required to provide safe and effective naturopathic care.

Student demonstrates sufficient visual acuity to perform the required range of skills.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Sufficient visual acuity is necessary to demonstrate the required range of skills, tasks and assessments to maintain consistent, accurate and safe care to self and others
• Visual observations, examinations and assessments are fundamental to safe and effective naturopathic practice

Adjustments must address the need to perform the full range of tasks involved in clinical practice. Any strategies to address the effects of the vision impairment must be effective, consistent and not compromise treatment or safety.

Exemplars:

• Accurately observing patient appearance/behaviour, signs of disease, and other clinical indicators (e.g. range of motion, patient colour, eye contact)
• Monitoring the broader environment for own and other’s health and safety
• Interpreting information from visual media (e.g. laboratory results).

Adequate auditory ability is required to provide safe and effective naturopathic care.

Student demonstrates sufficient aural function to undertake the required range of skills.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Sufficient auditory ability is necessary to monitor, assess and manage individual health needs consistently and accurately
• Auditory assessments and observations are fundamental to safe and effective naturopathic practice

Adjustments must address the need to perform the full range of tasks involved in clinical practice. Any strategies to address the effects of the hearing impairment must be effective, consistent and not compromise treatment or safety.

Exemplars:

• Accurately interpreting verbal cues from patients
• Accurately interpreting auscultation data (e.g. breath sounds, bowel sounds)
• Collecting verbal information from the patient, family, caregivers and work colleagues

Sufficient tactile ability is required to perform competent and safe naturopathic care.

Student demonstrates sufficient tactile function to undertake the required range of skills and assessments.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Sufficient tactile ability is necessary to monitor, assess and detect patients’ physical characteristics and act on any abnormalities detected to provide thorough naturopathic care
• Tactile assessments and observations are fundamental to safe and effective naturopathic practice

Adjustments must must have the capacity to make effective assessments of physical characteristics and abnormalities within safe time frames.

Exemplars:

• Detecting changes in integumentary (e.g. skin texture), circulatory (e.g. pulse) and metabolic (e.g. temperature) observations
• Conducting a physical examination and detecting anatomical/physiological abnormalities
• Applying manual therapy techniques with appropriate pressure (e.g. kneading).

Naturopathy involves physical demands and requires gross motor function.

Student demonstrates the ability to perform gross motor skills to function within scope of practice.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Sufficient gross motor skills are necessary to perform, coordinate and prioritise care. Tasks that involve gross motor skills include lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, standing, twisting and bending. Students must be able to demonstrate and perform these tasks consistently and safely to reduce the risk of harm to self and others.

Adjustments must facilitate functional effectiveness, safety of self and others and a capacity to provide appropriate care.

Exemplars:

• Responding to patient safety emergency situations (e.g. administering CPR)
• Safely handling patients on an examination table
• Maintaining balance while safely mobilising and transferring individuals or equipment

Naturopathy is a profession that requires manual dexterity and fine motor skills.

Student demonstrates the ability to use fine motor skills to provide safe effective care.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Sufficient fine motor skills are necessary to perform, coordinate and prioritise care. Tasks that involve fine motor skills include being able to grasp, press, push, turn, squeeze and manipulate various objects. Students must be able to demonstrate and perform these tasks consistently and safely to reduce the risk of harm to self and others.

Adjustments must facilitate functional effectiveness, safety to self and others and a capacity to provide appropriate care.

Exemplars:

• Performing physical diagnostic techniques (e.g. palpation)
• Performing manual therapeutic techniques (e.g. kneading)
• Completing handwritten and electronic medical records.

Naturopathy practice requires both physical and mental performance at a consistent and sustained level to meet individual needs over time.

Student demonstrates:

• Consistent and sustained level of physical energy to complete a specific task in a timely manner and over time
• The ability to perform repetitive activities with a level of concentration that ensures a capacity to focus on the activity until it is completed appropriately
• The capacity to maintain consistency and quality of performance throughout the designated period of duty

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Sufficient physical and mental endurance is an essential requirement for performing multiple, often complex patient tasks in an assigned period, and to providing safe and effective care

Adjustments must ensure that performance is consistent and sustained over a given period.

Exemplars:

• Sustaining study practices and clinical performance to sufficiently engage with the learning workload for a study period, and for the degree, including participating in tutorials, lectures, and practical classes
• Sustaining a working posture, associated manual tasks, cognitive engagement, performance level and emotional control for the full duration of a patient care process
• Providing consistent, quality care over a negotiated time frame

Effective, efficient, respectful and inclusive verbal communication, in English, is an essential requirement to provide safe delivery of care.

Student demonstrates the ability to:

• understand and respond to verbal communication accurately, appropriately and in a timely manner
• provide clear instructions in the context of the situation
• provide clear and timely feedback and reporting

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Communication may be restricted to verbal because of physical limitations of the individual (e.g. injury, disease or congenital conditions)
• Speed and interactivity of communication may be critical for individual safety or treatment
• Timely, accurate and effective delivery of instructions is critical to individual safety, treatment and management

Adjustments for impaired verbal communication must address effectiveness, timeliness, clarity and accuracy issues to ensure safety.

Exemplars:

• Building rapport with a patient to encourage optimal treatment outcomes
• Presenting information formally to, and engaging in discussions with, a diverse audience, via tutorials, simulations, clinical consultations, case conferences and handovers/referrals
• Understanding and responding to verbal communication accurately and appropriately in a time-constrained environment.

Effective non-verbal communication is fundamental to naturopathy and needs to be respectful, clear, attentive, empathetic, honest and non-judgmental.

Student demonstrates:

• The capacity to recognise, interpret and respond appropriately to behavioural cues
• Consistent and appropriate awareness of own behaviours
• Sensitivity to individual differences

Justification of inherent requirement:

• The ability to observe and understand non-verbal cues assists with building rapport with people and gaining their trust and respect in academic, work and professional relationships
• Displaying consistent and appropriate facial expressions and eye contact, and being mindful of space, time boundaries, body movements and gestures, promotes trust in academic, work and professional relationships
• Being sensitive to individual differences displays respect and empathy to others and develops trusting relationships
• The ability to observe and understand non-verbal cues is essential for safe and effective observation of patient symptoms and reactions to facilitate the assessment and treatment of patients

Adjustments must enable the recognition, initiation of, or appropriate response to effective non-verbal communication in a timely and appropriate manner.

Exemplars:

• Recognising and responding appropriately to non-verbal cues in academic, clinical and professional situations
• Identifying and appropriately managing one’s own behaviours in academic, clinical and professional situations

Effective, respectful and inclusive written communication is a fundamental naturopathic responsibility with professional and legal ramifications.

Student demonstrates capacity to construct coherent written communication appropriate to the circumstances.

Justification of inherent requirement:

• Construction of essays/assignments/manuscripts to academic standards is required in order to convey knowledge and understanding of relevant subject matter, procedures and professional practice
• Accurate written communication, including record-keeping and patient notes, is vital to provide consistent and safe patient care

Adjustments must meet necessary standards of clarity, accuracy and accessibility to ensure effective recording and transmission of information in both academic and clinical settings.

Exemplars:

• Constructing academic works (e.g. essays, journal manuscripts) to academic standards
• Generating a report or letter in a timely manner that meets professional standards
• Producing accurate, concise, clear, and contemporaneous naturopathic documentation that meets legal and professional requirements
• Producing clear and concise patient information and/or instructions to support clinical care