Traditional/Complementary Medicine education in China is well established especially in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The integration of T/CM education into health practice is officially promoted. Every allopathic medical school has a T/CM department and every T/CM school has an allopathic department. While secondary schools are used to teach Traditional Chinese Medicine for rural and basic units, there are also a number of institutions offering professional undergraduate and postgraduate program. Training centers for other forms of T/CM are also being established. In China, to apply for a course in Traditional Chinese Medicine, candidates must usually finish middle school of seven grades. To qualify as a physician, candidates would usually have to complete 5 years of study. There are also many overseas students studying T/CM in China (1).
In addition to college graduates, qualified doctors, nurses and pharmacists can obtain a practicing license provided they apply to and pass a Traditional Chinese Medicine Examination administered by the Ministry of Health (2).
Institutions offering T/CM in China are mainly accredited by the Ministry of Education, governmental bodies specific to Traditional Chinese Medicine, or other governmental bodies.
Organizations involved in this country’s accreditation of courses currently in our database:
- State Administration of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) – http://www.satcm.gov.cn
- People’s Government of Guangdong Province – http://www.gd.gov.cn/
- Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China – http://en.moe.gov.cn
References
- Legal Status of Traditional Medicine and Complementary/Alternative Medicine: A Worldwide Review. World Health Organization, 2001, (http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/42452/1/WHO_EDM_TRM_2001.2_eng.pdf, accessed June 2007)
- WHO Global Atlas of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine (Edited by G. Bodeker, C.K. Ong, C. Grundy, G. Burford, and K. Shein). Japan, World Health Organization 2005 (9241562862), 2005, 189
