Acupuncture courses - ACNM or SITCM?

[Nicole]

Hi,
I am looking to study acupuncture at either the ACNM (Australian Colege of Natural Medicine) in Brisbane or at SITCM (Sydney Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine). I am finding it very difficult to make a decision. At SITCM I would look at studying the Advanced Diploma of Tradional Chinese Medicine and then complete a bridging course to bring it up to a Bachelor degree. At the ACNM I would study the Bachelor of Health Science (Acupuncture). Is there any one who has undergone studies at either of these institutions that could offer any feedback or advice.

Many thanks
Nicole

[BunnyRabbit]

Dear Nicole,
Given a choice between those two institutions, I would go for the one that is closest to your home and/or suits your lifestyle. It isn't so important where you study as to making sure you get the piece of paper in the end. I have studied at Brisbane and can point out postive and negative experiences. Sydney sounds slightly more interesting to me, but I haven't experienced their program. Keep in mind ACNM makes you take 7 courses per semester, which given the fees, can seem excessive at times. What remains most important is the study you do after your degree. A four year program is just an introduction to the topic -and if you want to be good at acupuncture you will study independantly for the rest of your life. Choose somewhere you are happy being (not just to study).

Good Luck,
Michael, B.Sc. (Physics), Dip Acu (working on BHSc. at ACNM)
_________________
Is that one hand clapping, or tinnitus?

[stiev]

Why would you pay upfront fees to study when you could study at a university and get HECSed? The difference in fees is quite substantial.

[Newbie23]

Go to university, because acupuncture and chinese medicine is regulated to university qualification in Victoria and will be nationally before long. Therefore you will have to have a degree to practice and include acupuncture in your treatments.

[Meaghan]

University degree or not is irrelevant when talking about registration, as it depends on what the Board mandates. My UTS BHSc (Acup) degree is not recognised by the Victorian Chinese Medicine Registration Board, and I have to sit the lengthy exam (for $1000) in order to qualify for registration.

I agree with the previous comment that you should go for something that's closer to where you live (rather than relocating interstate), as the cost saving there is considerable, and it sounds like you'll attain the Bachelor degree anyway.

Are either of the 2 university courses? I didn't think they were. The more important question may be whether they're HECS based.

Cheers
Meaghan

[PeterG]

This may be of use..

A list of current Acupuncture/TCM courses throughout Australia can be found here.

ACNM currently have the option for Fee-Help (Same thing as HECS).

[Newbie23]

Meaghan,

Wow, I thought the UTS course would be immediately recognised in any regulated state...so does the victorian board only immediately recognise Victorian tertiary courses?

[Meaghan]

Hi Newbie

I thought that would have been the case as well, and it came as a shock to find out that it wasn't amongst the list of approved courses.

My understanding of this (don't quote me, I could be wrong) is that teaching institutions (Victorian or other) approach the Vic Board in order to get their course approved. This isn't an automatic process, and involves considerable cost as well as time and effort preparing the submission. The list of approved courses is available on the CMRB web site, here's the link:

http://www.cmrb.vic.gov.au/registration/approvedcourses.html

So while Victorian courses don't automatically get approved just because they are Victorian, it's in the best interests of Victorian teaching institutions to get their courses approved in order to facilitate registration for their graduates.

As Victoria is the only state which currently has registration, there is really no incentive or interest for teaching institutions in other states to get their courses approved, as people who study in NSW for example will most likely practice in NSW.

It will be interesting to see what happens when the other states introduce registration. I suspect the same thing will happen, and without a national registration system I think a lot of people who end up moving interstate will be required to demonstrate competency in their new state.

It's very frustrating to me personally, as I have done the Bachelor degree, have done a PhD in acupuncture research as well, have been involved in acupuncture clinical trials for 6 years and in practice for 8 years, yet I still have to sit this exam. Hopefully I'll pass, (it includes all the western medical science subjects as well, so I have a lot of revision to do in the next 3 weeks!) and can back to treating patients.

Meaghan

[stiev]

I wouldn't hold my breath for national registration. The AMA pretty much runs federal health policy, and it is NOT in the interests of doctors to have acupuncture registered.

Acupuncture must be a nice little earner for a handful of GPs. Why interfere with this? Do a 3 month course on the internet and you get to bulk-bill patients for an hour consultation. The AMA plays hard ball when it comes to the doctors' incomes. Look how hard they faught to name their own price for consultations. It's now almost impossible to see a specialist - if not a GP - unless you pay for it.

I doubt very much that we'll see national registration in our lifetimes.

[sparrow]

This is a thread that interests me as I, too, am currently looking around for a course that suits my direction.

However, I query the link provided here with regard to courses as not only does it not reflect the one put forward by ACCMA but there are many more places in Queensland (as well as other states although I know Qld better) that provide government accredited courses in acupuncture and related studies. Forgive me for what might seem naiivete but does it really matter what ACCMA think in relation to what courses they will and won't recognise? They don't stipulate their criteria as to what passes for accreditation by them or not other than four years. Quite frankly, there's more to a course than the timeframe.

I ask this because I studied at both AIAS and ACNM in Brisbane and found the course I took at the former to be a much better experience for me than the latter in terms of relvance, applicability and delivery.

I have a massage background (shiatsu, massage) and I'm looking to develop my skills further but have arrived at a crossroads with regards to choosing a course. I am prepared to undertake studies in China if need be. But again, it all depends on what is truly relevant here.

[benngearthquake]

I think people should remember that Acupuncture is not only practised in China. Japan has a very strong Acupuncture tradition as well. In China most of the practitioners are government funded, where as Japanese practitioners are private like we are here in Aus, where we have to make the patients happy or they won't come back. So actually I think the Japanese way of practising is more applicable to us.

[sparrow]

Having lived and worked in China I can assure you that not every practitioner is funded (did you mean to imply they were lazy?) by the Chinese government and many work under extreme financial hardship to ensure the wellbeing of their community. I do not know Japan so I cannot comment but I'm sure their philosophy would be the same regardless of social status - that the patient's wellbeing is paramount.

If you want to compare the institutions with Australian systems, do remember that not many people can actually afford to attend private practice in this country and are, therefore, missing out on a vital resource. So you can make a person happy all you want but if they haven't got cash then..they simply can't avail themselves of your service (unless you decide to work for free).

I agree, there are differences between Japanese and Chinese acupuncture but I am more familiar with the Chinese technique hence my decision to follow this discipline.