17 May 2014 BANT Student Member Benefits
BANT has developed a fantastic package of benefits for its student members, but being a BANT member in 2014 as the Nutritional Therapy landscape undergoes dramatic changes is not just about tangible benefits.
BANT has cut through the detail and developed an at a glance guide to why Nutritional Therapy students should be BANT student members and continue on to become full members once they have qualified.
Core Tangible Student Benefits
- Access to the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Databases and the Natural Standard Database – worth $299 per person
- Discounted membership to the Royal Society of Medicine, where you have access to meeting rooms and research journal library
- Monthly FREE student webinars with industry leading nutritional therapists discussing student led topics
- Discounts for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) magazine and CAM Conferences
- Access to a special student section on the new-look BANT website
- Access to the BANT student LinkedIn group, where you can share learnings, issues and concerns about your studies
- Access to the BANT LinkedIn group, where students can follow and learn from qualified nutritional therapist about a myriad of topics relevant for practice
- Access to online PR, Marketing and Business toolkits to capture leads and help grow your practice
- Monthly online newsletter that highlights industry developments, Continued Professional Development (CPD) events, CPD articles and job opportunities
- Monthly CPD email support
As a full member you also have access to the following:
- Discounted insurance
- Extra discounts with Regenerus Laboratories
- Discounted tests with York Laboratories
- Consumer style leaflets on the benefits of Nutritional Therapy that can be personalised for your clinics
- Opportunity to take part in money earning projects negotiated by BANT for its members
- Access to consumer style banner stands that can be used at events, shows and in clinic
- Opportunity to raise your profile in the Nutritional Therapy world by supplying stories of your work to be featured on the BANT website news section
- Access to FREE BANT webinars from peers regarding the latest nutritional therapy research and knowledge
- Opportunity to seek advice and support from more than 1,000 fellow members on BANT’s LinkedIn group
- Access to contact details for your local media
- Regional member support meetings
- Opportunity to take part in the Clinical Supervision Programme
- Sign up to become a Nutrigenetic Counsellor on BANT’s Register of Nutrigenetic Counsellors
- Chance to be a part of the new BANT supported nutritional therapy in high street pharmacies scheme
BANT has taken bold steps to create an environment whereby its members are identified as the Gold Standard for Nutritional Therapy and this will continue to evolve as our profession grows in stature. Registration with the CNHC and mandatory CPD are just two measures that are helping to develop a reputation of quality among its practitioners. This will add value to the service we provide, as well as reassuring our clients and key players in the NHS.
Here are answers to a few burning questions, particularly related to BANT’s alignment with the CNHC:
CNHC – why is it so important to our profession moving forward?
The CNHC is the only Government recognised regulator for Nutritional Therapy. In the future, non-CNHC registered Nutritional Therapists may not be recognised by the public and the NHS as credible practitioners. The CNHC now has status as an AVR (Accredited Voluntary Register), which is overseen by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA). The PSA is the government body which oversees statutory regulators including the General Medical Council (GMC) and the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
Why should I join BANT and the CNHC?
They are two different organisations. Simply, the CNHC looks after the wellbeing of the general public and BANT is the professional association representing the needs of Nutritional Therapists. It’s a bit like a Dietician would be a member of the British Dietetic Association (BDA), but also regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) or a GP would be a member of the Royal College of GPs, but regulated by the General Medical Council (GMC).
Do you have to be CNHC registered to practise as a Nutritional Therapist?
No, you don’t have to be CNHC registered to practise as a Nutritional Therapist. But, from January 2014 you do have to be registered with the CNHC to be a BANT member. Registration with the CNHC offers our profession credibility as we fight to get Nutritional Therapy recognised as a credible healthcare option in the NHS. The NHS currently encourages patients to source CNHC registered practitioners. It is also worth bearing in mind that earning opportunities in Nutritional Therapy are also starting to request CNHC registration from applicants and this is going to continue, for example, the recent opportunity for Nutritional Therapists to work with Nuffield Health. There are many more of these opportunities on their way that BANT is negotiating for its members.
