New Grad Mentoring with The MA

Live | Online + In-person | Education

3 x Monthly Zoom Mentoring Groups

3 x Monthly Breakfast Meetups with Industry

February to April 2023 Mentoring Open Now

New Grad Launch Pad

Transition to Practice with Liza Oates (Feb - April) POSTPONED

Navigating Pregnancy with Gina Fox (Feb - April)

Feel confident in practice with the best support from mentors, peers, industry partners & The MA

Do you want to feel confident with case taking, prescribing and follow up with your patients?

We are constantly hearing from our student placement volunteers and new graduate naturopathic staff that many new grads are slipping through the cracks. Far too many new graduates stop practice before they really begin. They are often feeling overwhelmed when faced with the challenge of affording mentoring packages at the same time as setting up their businesses. It can be a vicious cycle of loneliness, isolation and burnout - before you even really begin.

Our mission is to make a big change in this space by creating affordable new grad launch pad programs that leave you feeling supported, inspired and confident as practitioners. We want to help you and your business grow, to launch you out into the community and nourish your strong roots as you begin to sculpt your practice as a flourishing naturopathic practitioner.

Alongside signing up with your choice of some of the best mentors in clinical practice right now, you will also have a chance to connect, over breakfast meetings with your group, with some of the most important companies that supply quality practitioner-only products for our clinical use. Knowing how to prescribe the best high quality supplements and products is at the crux of what we do. Without them, our lifestyle and diet recommendations would only do half the job! Breakfast will offer an in-person meet-up, taste testing, education and an opportunity to hear about the enormous access to resources you don't yet know are available to you as a practitioner.

Is a New Grad Launch Pad Program for you?

The programs in our New Grad Launch Pad are designed for:

All new graduate naturopaths
Anyone returning to practice after a hiatus
Final year students who are currently practicing in student clinic.

If you answer YES to any of the following, then the mentoring programs offered here are for you:

Do you want to feel confident with every patient who walks through your door?
Do you want to learn practical clinical gems from leading naturopaths in their field?
Are you struggling with interpreting test results or wondering what the best testing to recommend is?
Do you want to write clear and achievable scripts that patients will feel inspired to commit to?
Do you feel nervous communicating with GPs and other practitioners on your patient’s collaborative care team about your treatment approach?
Are you missing the support from your fabulous clinic supervisors and peers at university?
Do you know how to connect with our industry partners to get the most out of their services?
Do you love the sound of a good free brunch in a beautiful Melbourne cafe with peers and an intimate conference-style presentation by industry leaders designed just for you?

This is the support and community you have been craving. Explore the above and more, in these wonderfully nourishing, clinically enhancing programs. By joining together with us you will be contributing not only to better standards of care for our patient community, but also to the success and growth of your profession and as our profession as a whole.

You can enrol for one program, or enroll in them all! It's up to you.

Navigating Pregnancy

with Gina Fox

Gain confidence in managing your pregnant patients with an in-depth look at naturopathic care for trimester 1, 2 and 3. Learn how you can best support the physical and mental health of mum and baby.

View Details

Transition to Practice

with Liza Oates

This program is for new graduates or those about to set up their first business. It has everything you need to know to get started to build your own thriving and healthy practice and set your patients up to succeed.

SORRY - POSTPONED

What you get in each program

3 x 90 minute live Zoom group sessions, recorded for playback convenience, with your chosen mentor.
3 x 90 minute in-person group education meeting, and free breakfast at a lovely Fitzroy cafe (!!) with industry partners like Biomedica, Metagenics, Integria/Mediherb, Designs for Health and other interested partners.
Ongoing connection and support with a private Facebook group with your mentors and peers.

Mentoring Program - Live Sessions

Over three months, you will receive 3 x 90 minute live sessions (monthly sessions) with your chosen mentor in a group zoom call, discussing the theme topic, clinical insights from experience, testing and test interpretation, real life case studies and effective case management with time for Q+A.

All sessions will be recorded on Zoom and be made available for you to access for 3 months after the live event completes, to give you time to catch up on anything you missed. Your mentor will email you after each session with access to discussed resources and replays of the live event. However, we highly recommend that you sign up with the intention of attending sessions.

Industry Partner Breakfasts - Live Sessions

You will also meet with your group for breakfast/brunch for 3 x 90 minute sessions with a new Industry partner each month. The Industry partners are different for each mentoring program. They will discuss their best products and clinical resources for that program, taste tests and samples. A la carte breakfast and coffee/drinks are provided to you for free as part of the program.

What if you are not in Melbourne?

You can still join us! You’ll miss breakfast, but we will organise to send you the resources and product samples from the Industry partners so you wont miss out. Don't worry! It will still be worth it.

Ongoing Connection & Support

We have set up a private Facebook group where you can access ongoing support between sessions. This is a safe space for you to ask any clinical questions, moderated by our mentors. Participants are encouraged to actively support and learn from each other here and your mentor will pop into this group from time to time to answer questions throughout the live mentoring months.

You will also have continued access to this group after you complete the program. This means you’ll have the ongoing benefit of engaging with the new practitioners and building your professional network, as well as access to refreshers on the content you learned in your live group.

Access CPD Points

You will be eligible for CPD by attending this mentoring program. Please check with your registration body for specifics of your situation. For a 3 month mentoring program you will receive:

4.5 mentoring hours = 4.5points
4.5 non-independent/corporate hours = 4.5points

Price Details

Mentoring Programs in Detail

Transition to Practice

February - April 2023 - POSTPONED

With Naturopath, PhD and Mentor Liza Oates

Monthly mentoring sessions

Tuesdays 7.30pm

7th February
7th March
4th April

This series is for new graduates or those about to set up their first practice following a post-study hiatus.

After the exhaustion of completing your final study period lifts, many emerging practitioners find it difficult to get started, not knowing what to do first or who to ask for advice. We will explore the first steps in establishing your practice and setting yourself, and your patients, up to succeed.

Your time is valuable, and you can spend a lot of it going in circles. This series will take you step by step through what you need to know to get started and will provide an opportunity to connect, reflect and share ideas with other emerging practitioners. By the end you should have a clearer vision of how you are going to work in the ‘real world’ and be ready to start attracting your first paying patients.

Month 1: We will cover the very first steps after receiving your academic transcript: deciding on and joining a professional association, organising insurance, determining the type of practice you want to be in and establishing your support networks.

Month 2: We will focus on clinical documentation, practice software, and dispensary options. How will you structure your consultations? What will you need? What is the most efficient way of organising your documentation and processes?

Month 3: Putting together an effective prescription is one thing, getting the patient to adhere to it is another. In this final session we will explore how we can set patients up to succeed. This will include models and tools that can be used to understand and drive behavioural change, with a focus on motivational interviewing strategies.

You will also receive links and details to an array of clinical resources, handouts and recommendations throughout the course.

Monthly Industry Partner breakfasts for Transition to Practice

Breakfast Location: STREAT, 66 Cromwell Street , Collingwood

Tuesday Mornings 9.30am

21st February - Angela from Integria
21st March - Luisa from Orthoplex
18th April - Chantal from Activated Probiotics

Rhea Dempsey, Fertile Ground Health Group

Navigating Pregnancy

February - April 2023

With Fertile Ground Fertility Naturopath Gina Fox

Monthly mentoring sessions

Thursdays 6.30pm

2nd February
2nd March
30th March

Do you want to gain confidence in managing naturopathic care for pregnant patients? This is such an area of importance in helping people navigate their health during this crucial time for them and their babies. It's so rewarding to have such a noticeable positive impact on the physical and mental health of mum and baby.

This is for you if you plan to treat pregnant women in your practice. In all likelihood you will have patients who become pregnant while seeing you or who book in for assistance to maintain health during their pregnancy. This life stage is one where women often seek guidance and are highly compliant in dietary changes and safe supplementation.

Month 1: 1st Trimester

Understanding case taking in pregnancy, assessing high risk complications, pathology and referrals, nutritional needs and dietary advice for 1st trimester (and what to avoid), essential supplementation, herb and supplement safety in the 1st trimester.

Month 2: 2nd Trimester

Discussing results of blood tests and ultrasounds, nutritional needs and dietary advice for 2nd trimester, common clinical presentations in this trimester, resources for birth planning, herb and supplement safety in the 2nd trimester.

Month 3: 3rd Trimester

Assessing blood tests, discussing Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) results, pathology and referrals, nutritional needs and diet for 3rd trimester, common clinical presentations, herb and supplement safety in 3rd trimester. Gina will also cover the essentials of naturopathic birth preparation.

You will also receive links and details to an array of clinical resources, handouts and reccomendations throughout the course.

Monthly Industry partner breakfasts for Navigating Pregnancy

Breakfast location: Bentwood, 237 Napier Street, Fitzroy

Thursday mornings 7.30am

16th February - Angela from Integria
16th March - Diana from Metagenics
13th April - Jasmin from Oborne Health Supplies

Price Details

Your Mentors

We have gathered some of Australia's best clinical mentors alongside our own senior team at Fertile Ground Health Group to support you at this early phase of your career. We have invited them to mentor you on their favourite topic, sharing their clinical gems, experience and many years of practice wisdom as well as relevant current research, diagnostic insight and practical application, or clinical business development. They will support you to practice with more confidence!

Liza Oates PhD is a highly experienced naturopathic practitioner, wellness consultant and mentor. She began practice in 2000 and has been involved in the clinical education of hundreds of naturopaths, nutritionists and medical students. Her doctoral research investigated ‘the health and wellness effects of organic diets’ and she also holds Graduate Certificates in Learning and Teaching, and Evidence Based Complementary Medicine; and a Bachelor of Health Science (Naturopathy).

Liza has written extensively about evidence-based complementary medicine and has appeared as an expert guest on The Project, Insight and over 200 radio programs. She is an Adjunct Fellow at the National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine at SCU, and a Fellow of the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine.

She has also supervised student clinics and mentored emerging practitioners for over 15 years.

Liza Oates Transition to Practice Fertile Ground Health Group

Gina Fox is a highly experienced naturopathic practitioner with over 20 years of experience working within the fertility space at Fertile Ground Health Group. She offers continuity of care, helping individuals and couples to conceive naturally and navigate the complexities of IVF, then supporting those patients throughout their pregnancy, birthing, new parenthood and beyond.

As well as a Bachelor of Health Science (Naturopathy) she has a Masters in Reproductive Medicine from UNSW and trained with Francesca Naish who was the founder of pre-conception care in Australia.

Gina was a much-loved student clinic supervisor at Endeavour College for more than 15 years and continues to offer education for naturopaths and medical professionals with masterclasses and webinars, as well as presenting at conferences alongside her busy private practice.

Meet your Industry

Partner Representatives

We are so fortunate to be supported by some of the best in the industry. This is such a great opportunity to learn about all of the available support, resources and high quality products available to support our practice aims and get the best results for our patients.

And did we mention breakfast? 😋

Integria/

Mediherb

Angela Calli is a Naturopath with 15+ yrs in clinical practice and a passion for educating the community on scientific based herbal and nutritional medicine.

Metagenics

Diana McIntyre is the Territory Manager for Metagenics and is also a qualified Nutritionist.

Oborne Health Supplies

Jasmin Watts is a qualified Clinical Nutritionist working with Oborne Health Supplies, our largest national distributor of Practitioner only and Complementary healthcare products.

Activated Probiotics

Rebecca Edwards is Director of Education at Activated Probiotics. She is a passionate speaker, writer, educator, and qualified naturopath with 20 years experience.

Orthoplex

Luisa has been a territory manager and practitioner consultant at Orthoplex for 10 years. She is a qualified naturopath and has a special interest in mental health.

Enjoy the opportunity to learn from our passionate Industry Partners, test and trial products and connect with your peers while you brunch at a trendy Melbourne Cafe.

Your Learning Outcomes

Feel equipped

Feel better equipped and more confident in your day to day practice
Understand

How you can get the most out of your connection to our industry partners, utelise their resources, and trial their products for yourself
Connect

Connect with other new graduate practitioners for peer support and potentially life-long friendships as you embark on your new vocation together
Learn

Gather gems that will serve you for your career in this field from some of the most experienced naturopaths sharing insights into their most loved specialities
Grow

Launch yourself into this incredibly rewarding career feeling supported and nourished with some of Australia’s best mentors, most respected industry partner reps and a wonderful group of peers (new friends) to walk beside you

If you're considering joining us in The New Grad Launch Pad and have questions you'd like to ask before registering your place, please email reception@fertileground.com.au

We are happy to answer queries, as well as to discuss if the Mentoring Programs are right for you.

Pricing

Transition to Practice -

Liza Oates
(7 Feb - 4 Apr)

$295

per person + GST

Monthly Mentoring x 3

Tuesdays 7.30pm AEDT starting 7th February

Session length 90 mins

Monthly Breakfast x 3 meetings

Mondays 9.30am AEDT

starting 21st of February

Hear from Integria, Orthoplex and Activated Probiotics at STREAT, Cromwell St Collingwood

POSTPONED - sign up for next round

Navigating Pregnancy -

Gina Fox
(2 Feb - 6 Apr)

$295

per person + GST

Monthly Mentoring x 3 Thursdays 6.30pm AEDT starting 2nd February

Session length 90 mins

Monthly Breakfast x 3 meetings

Thursdays 7.30am AEDT starting 16th of February.

Hear from Integria, Metagenics and Oborne at Bentwood, Napier St Fitzroy

Buy Now

More To Come in 2023!

We're lining up some of Australia's best Naturopathic clinical and business mentors to create more programs to support your practice growth and development. Programs will open up for enrolment 3 times every year. Sign up to stay in the loop for when the next program opens.

Interested in exploring other options from Fertile Ground Health Group?

We are creating ever more collaborative, educational, and event opportunities for you with practitioners from a range of modalities at Fertile Ground Health Group and The Melbourne Apothecary. Stay up to date with the latest - join to be kept in the loop about upcoming mentoring, masterclasses and seminars.

Keep me in the loop

‘I highly recommend this program to any naturopathy new grads out there looking to hit the ground running as they transition from classroom to clinic. The program has been invaluable in; maintaining the intellectual and emotional support network of my fellow graduating peers; establishing new professional relationships; and building my knowledge in clinical case analysis, testing, treatment planning and application moving into private practice.’

- Shaun French - SSNT 2021 graduate naturopath

Liza Oates is an incredible mentor. She is a highly knowledgeable and experienced clinician and lecturer. Her mentoring style reflects these aspects, along with a genuine interest in wanting to assist you in growing as a practitioner. She is meticulous and dedicated to her craft. Her underlying ethos of food first, and in therapeutic doses has always resonated with me and I have seen my patients reap the benefits of her wisdom as she has mentored me over the years.

- Lauren Burns - PhD, BHSc (Naturopathy), Olympic gold medallist

As a practitioner, I highly value naturopathic care during preconception and pregnancy, but while I understood the basics of preparing for a healthy pregnancy, I sought Gina's expertise when my partner and I were hoping to conceive. Gina's phenomenal experience made decision making around the direction of our treatment plan much clearer, as she was able to pinpoint specifics of my case history and prioritise accordingly. Gina's support certainly optimised my health for conception, pregnancy and ultimately the arrival of our gorgeous little boy.

- Karla Rawles, Naturopath

This mentoring program was perfect for those wanting to develop some solid foundational knowledge in the incredibly complex topic reproductive health and fertility. So great to attend a session which is followed up by a breakfast with reps trying potential products, a great way to cement the knowledge!

Liza is knowledgeable and generous with her information. Her calm nature and ability to explain complex information makes her a fantastic teacher and mentor.

- Alice Plant SSNT 2020 graduate naturopath
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email: reception@fertileground.com.au

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