In the United Kingdom many medical schools offer short courses in T/CM and the Faculty of Homoeopathy has accredited training centers for registered health-care professionals (2). The integration of T/CM training in contemporary medical schools is recommended by The British Medical Association (1) but The United Kingdom Government House of Lords wants clearer guidelines (2).
Although much of the training in T/CM is regarded as good, the quality of programs is inconsistent. The Institute of Complementary / Alternative Medicines is still working to establish a better standard of training. Most of the courses are full-time and last for a minimum of 3 years (1).
While generally, most of the institutions in the United Kingdom are accredited by governmental bodies, there have been several associations working on accrediting T/CM courses and assessing training standards such as European Herbal Practitioners Association and Society of Homoeopaths (2).
Organizations involved in this country’s accreditation of courses currently in our database:
- European Herbal & Traditional Medicine Practitioners Association – http://ehtpa.eu/
- National Institute of Medical Herbalists (NIMH) – http://www.nimh.org.uk/
- British Council – http://www.britishcouncil.org/
- General Chiropractic Council (GCC) – http://www.gcc-uk.org/
- European Council on Chiropractic Education (ECCE) – http://www.cce-europe.com/
- International Therapy Examination Council (ITEC) – http://www.itecworld.co.uk/
- Association of Reflexologists (AoR) – http://www.aor.org.uk/
- The Complementary Medical Association – http://www.the-cma.org.uk/
- British Acupuncture Council – https://www.acupuncture.org.uk/
- General Council and Register of Naturopaths (GCRN) – http://www.naturopathy.org.uk/
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, 144-145
