Dear Former, Current, and Future NASH Member:

Why would anybody want to join NASH?

Because there has never been a greater need for NASH! In the 16 years of its existence, NASH has put the professional homeopath on the map in Canada and the United States. The idea of self-regulation, standards of education and practice, third party certification, a code of ethics, a grievance process, political representation, a legal defense fund, professional membership and a yearly journal were essential and successful first steps in the building of our profession. As a result of these provisions, NASH registered professional homeopaths have practiced with a remarkable record of safety. Your contributions to NASH have made this possible.

The homeopathic profession still faces important challenges, proving that the NASH mission is as timely as ever. While some may see the pending statutory regulation of homeopaths in Ontario as progress, regulatory oversight of homeopaths in a College together with naturopathic physicians is not welcome by all Ontario homeopaths, who can now practice their occupation freely and legally. We are certain that authorities would not show the same urgency for regulation if homeopaths voluntarily took steps towards certification and self-regulation as Registered NASH members. NASH has presented a solution to the Ontario Ministry of Health that would allow for a two-tiered system, combining statutory regulation for those wishing to perform certain controlled acts with the NASH model of voluntary self-regulation for the professional homeopaths.

Legislatures and government bodies pass laws to protect the consumer. The NASH answer to consumer protection is regulation of the profession by homeopaths who voluntarily adopt the standards, codes, and procedures of NASH. Common standards of education and certification of homeopaths guarantee that practitioners have adequate training to practice safely. Codes of ethics and a grievance procedure provide guidelines for practitioners and avenues for the consumer to file a complaint. Voluntary practitioner registration, corporate by-laws, and charters or articles of incorporation of a professional society are legally binding and guarantee that the consumer, the society, and the member practitioner have recourse under existing laws in case of an ethics violation by a member practitioner against the consumer, or by a false complaint by a consumer against a member. Practitioner membership in a professional society provides for consumer protection and obviates statutory regulation.

In the US, the legal status of the professional homeopath is still precarious. In many states homeopaths can come under attack from the regulatory agencies of established healthcare professions. If you were a target, how would you prove in your legal defense that you are practicing within the scope of your profession? By your previous voluntary commitment to the standards and scope of practice of your profession- as a registered member of NASH! What defines your profession? The very existence of your professional trade organization, and the standards and scope of practice it has established. The existence of independent certification organizations such as the Council for Homeopathic Certification and accrediting organizations such as the Council on Homeopathic Education assure quality standards and protect the consumer. NASH works with these organizations to enhance the homeopathic profession in both Canada and the United States. The responsibility to build the homeopathic profession rests with you, the practitioner, and you can accomplish that with your membership in NASH.

NASH has undoubtedly strengthened the legal position and political clout of those homeopaths who are its registered members compared to that of the solitary practitioner. However, while self-regulation may help our members and give adequate protection for the consumer, it may not be enough to legitimize our practice in the eyes of some jurisdictions. As part of its legislative strategy, NASH supports legislative initiatives aimed at protecting the practice of self-regulated professional homeopaths, such as health freedom laws. NASH also supports initiatives, if and where appropriate, creating statutory regulation of homeopaths who have completed additional training as primary care health professionals (with provisions, of course, for those choosing to practice as self-regulated professional homeopaths in that jurisdiction), as such laws affirm our legitimacy while enhancing the scope of our practice.

There are other good reasons to join NASH. Following up on a member's suggestion, we have recently found a group liability insurance policy we can now offer our members. We are also working on group health insurance. We have seen steady growth in our membership amounting already to a 10% increase this year. We were proud to continue the tradition of NASH's journal, The American Homeopath, with the successful publication of AH11 last year, and our next journal AH12 is already in the works. We have participated for the first time in NASH history in a Joint Homeopathic Conference in San Jose, CA this spring, together the National Center for Homeopathy and other homeopathic organizations, and we are helping them plan an even better one for 2007.

We are active in the Homeopathic Action Alliance to plan and coordinate strategies and activities on behalf of the homeopathic community. We have restored confidence in financial management of NASH, balanced the NASH budget, are paying back a loan from our legal defense fund, and we project continued growth of our revenues as more members join. We have approved institutional membership as an additional membership category. We have initiated an outreach program to educational institutions to recruit student members who can bring new energy and enthusiasm to our cause. As you can see, we have been busy.

In the past there have been personal differences between strong personalities inevitably found in our profession. Some cynics have concluded that homeopaths will never be able to agree on anything. You guessed right. We disagree! As professional homeopaths, we are proud of the rugged members of our profession who have dared to take a stand for our cause when very few people knew what homeopaths were. Naturally, such stubborn individualism can lead to conflict. We homeopaths would never succeed as practitioners or as a profession if we did not have what its takes to stand our ground. However, there is a time to put our personal differences aside and join together for our common cause. Now is that time.

Our message to our current members is: thank you for your support. Please consider donating to NASH or volunteering. Our message to all homeopaths in Canada and the United States, who are not yet certified, is: join us now and encourage your friends and colleagues to join. You can first join as associate members and you will qualify for our new mentorship program and help with preparing for the CHC certification exam. Our message to all of our former members is: we are grateful for your past contributions, and we want you back!

Thank you so much for your affiliation with NASH, we look forward to serving you in the future.

Sincerely,

Manfred Mueller, President