Natural Medicine Training

All Chinese traditional medicine is based on chi, or life force. The ultimate goal for the practitioner and the patient is to regulate internal balance and harmony through the patient's energy channels.

There are many accredited traditional Chinese medicine schools located throughout the United States. Five Branches Institute in San Jose and Santa Cruz California, and the Yo San University of traditional Chinese medicine in Los Angeles are two examples of schools and are considered the most renowned. The mission for practitioners of this alternative medicine is to use the Asian art of compassionate healing to bring health and ease into the world.

The Mission

A traditional Chinese medicine educational program offers quality academic and clinical training and ethics to enter into the traditional Chinese medicine arena. Students are challenged with providing the public with quality, affordable clinical care.

The goal of traditional Chinese medicine is not to be the only choice for healing. It is to promote and integrate Asian medicine with other systems of healing, including traditional medicine.

When students embark on the study of traditional Chinese medicine, they soon realize that the biggest difference between this ancient Asian healing program and a traditional medical program is that the focus is on consciousness, and how it can influence the approach that is taken toward healing. It focuses on more than just treating patients. The idea is to heal ourselves, our community, and the world.

Selecting a Specialty

Students can select a specific program of study. For example, a master's degree in acupuncture and oriental medicine is one option. The programs are designed to help students gain a complete understanding of Asian medicine. They will learn all about human energy systems, diagnosis, problem solving, and treatment techniques. Students learn to seamlessly fuse Eastern medicine with Western medicine.

Master's Program

Most programs of traditional Chinese medicine are master's degree programs.

Many traditional Chinese master's programs take full-time students around four years to complete. Part-time students will take around six years to complete the rigorous traditional Chinese medicine training. Typical courses cover:

• Theoretical constructs of Oriental medicine
• Meridian system basics
• Point location
• Herbs used in Chinese pharmacopeia
• Western medicine and science

By the second year of many master's programs, students begin learning to combine herbal studies with acupuncture techniques, along with Western medicine. Eventually students move on to gain practical knowledge through observation of advanced students working in clinical settings. During the third and fourth year as a traditional Chinese medicine student, Chinese internal medicine and an internship are usually highlighted.

Students with a Western medicine background will move through the program easily. A well-rounded study program, which includes the opportunity to apply the skills being learned, will adequately prepare students to become a certified traditional Chinese medicine practitioner.