Training for Traditional Chinese Medicine

In China, the training for traditional Chinese medicine is five years of full-time study, two years of which are devoted to herbal medicine. Serious schools of acupuncture in the West have three-year full-time courses.

This is a particularly important point for members of the public to understand, because they may be disappointed if they seek advice from someone with less thorough training.

Although to some extent this benefits public and medical awareness of what acupuncture can offer, the inevitable limitations of these courses can have an unhelpful effect if they prevent an appreciation of acupuncture in its complete and integrated form.

Commonly such pseudo-acupuncture concentrates on using acupuncture or acupressure techniques for local pain relief, and has little understanding of the central role of holistic diagnosis in traditional acupuncture.