Draft Traditional Chinese Medicine Educational Standards

Raymond Khoury April 1999

The draft Australian Guidelines for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Education have been released by the National Academic Standards Committee for Traditional Chinese Medicine (the Committee).

The Committee's composition is made of the following professional associations and educational institutions:

Academy of Natural Therapies, Gold Coast Institute of TAFE

Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine Australia

Acupuncture Association of South Australia

Acupuncture Association of Victoria

Acupuncture College of Melbourne

Acupuncture Ethics and Standards Organisation

Aust-China Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Association

Aust-China Alumni Association of TCM

Australian Institute of Applied Sciences

Australian Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Association

Australian College of Acupuncturists

Australian College of Natural Medicine

Australian Natural Therapists Association

Australian Nurses Acupuncture Association

Australian Traditional Chinese Medicine Association

Australian Traditional-Medicine Society

College of Traditional Medicine

Hepburn's College of Natural Medicine

International Acupuncture Association

Melbourne College of Natural Medicine

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology

South Australian College of Natural and Traditional Medicine

Southern Cross University

Sydney Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine

The Register of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine

The University of Sydney

Traditional Medicine of China Society Australia

University of Technology, Sydney

University of Western Sydney, Macarthur

Victoria University of Technology

The draft Guidelines outline the broad principles and minimum requirements for Australian primary qualifying courses in TCM. The need for the Guidelines arose from a number of factors:

a) the proliferation of courses in TCM with varying duration, standards and qualification levels

b) moves towards occupational regulation of TCM practitioners by Victoria

c) the need to reach national agreement on the principles and standards for TCM education prior to registration of TCM practitioners

d) the desire for State accrediting authorities and universities to have nationally consistent standards.

The Guidelines are not intended to be a curriculum document for courses or as competency standards for TCM. The Guidelines outlines the standards for future courses, as existing practitioners will be dealt with under graduate and transitional arrangements. It will be the responsibility of course providers to develop their course philosophy and rationale, course aims and objectives, course structure, sequencing of learning outcomes etc and to demonstrate how these meet the goal of TCM education.

The brief Guidelines recommend that acupuncturists and Chinese herbalists be taught at a bachelors degree level in a program of study delivered in face-to-face mode and conducted by or closely audited by a degree-granting educational institution. For a student undertaking a program in either acupuncture or Chinese herbal medicine, the nominal duration of the program is four academic years (eight semesters) and approximately 2,500 hours.

For a student undertaking a double modality course ie acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine, the recommended nominal duration is between four and five academic years (eight to ten semesters) and approximately 3,300 hours.

The Guidelines recommend that the essential components of the qualifying course are:

a) study of at least either acupuncture-moxibustion or Chinese herbal medicine, or both, which will include the principles and philosophy of the modality, an exploration of its place in health care, a study of its limitations and when referral to other forms of treatment is required

b) a component of clinical education and supervised clinical practice

c) study of biomedical sciences at a standard comparable with a bachelor's degree leading to professional practice in other primary health care and to the level required to ensure safe and competent practice

d) a component in areas related to professional ethics, practitioner/patient relations etc.

The Guidelines recommend that 30-35% be allocated to TCM principles and philosophy, 25-35% to practical studies and clinical practicum, 25-35% to biomedical sciences and 7.5-10% to ethics and professional issues.