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Accreditation of Chinese Medicine Apprenticeship in China
The Ministry of Health recently announced the “Examination and Assessment Program for Traditional Chinese Medicine Apprentices and Specialists” (The Program). The program allows Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) / folk medicine apprentices who are trained by master practitioners instead of being educated in medical schools, or those non-certified TCM specialists to enter residency or fellowship programs in medical institutions and sit for the professional examination of Chinese medicine. The Program is administered by the State Agency for Traditional Chinese Medicine (SATCM).
The program is a great encouragement to the non-mainstream TCM apprentices and caters for the unique way of training adopted by the TCM sector. By preserving the traditional mode of education, the program provides an alternative path for TCM apprentices to be recognized and accredited professionally as students graduated from medical schools. Details of the program have been published in the relevant SATCM notice on the SATCM website (in Chinese only).
Apprentice applicants for the program must be at least high-school educated or equivalent. Their masters/trainers must be TCM/Folk Medicine registered practitioners, and have at least 15 years of clinical experience, or in the position of Deputy Director or above. Trainers and apprentices must enter into training contracts which have to be certified by official authorities. The minimum training period is three years, after which, candidates may apply to provincial TCM authorities to sit for the term-end examination. The administration of the term-end examinations is the responsibility of provincial TCM authorities which include the setting of question papers and all necessary arrangements. The primary focus of the examination is to test candidates’ preliminary TCM professional knowledge, basic clinical techniques and any specialties inherited from their masters. Western medicine will be excluded form the syllabus in principle. Candidates who pass the term-end examination will continue their internship at recognized medical institutes for one year before they are eligible for the national assistant TCM practitioner qualification examination.
Specialist applicants for the program must have 5-years clinical experience and be equipped with special TCM diagnostic / treatment techniques of proven safety and efficacy. Question papers of the specialty examination are to be provided by provincial TCM authorities while the examination will be conducted by local prefecture/city health/TCM administrative bureaus. The test focuses on basic TCM professional knowledge and the unique techniques acquired. No western medicine will be tested. Candidates who pass the specialty examination exam will continue their internship at recognized medical institutes for one year before they are eligible for the national assistant TCM practitioner qualification examination. In addition, interviews with patients treated will also be conducted to assess the efficacy of their specialty, and the evaluation will be included as part of the examination result.
Source:
State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine Website www.satcm.gov.cn
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