Tianjun Wang

Abstract: Abstract: This article reviews the history of the development of acupuncture higher education in the UK and analyzes an overview of undergraduate acupuncture courses once offered by some universities in the UK and the reasons why they were all closed. The focus is on analyzing the current situation of acupuncture higher education in the UK, including a focus on the fact that the curriculum is currently predominantly three- year undergraduate courses, with some two- year and one-year short-term courses; looking at the founders and main teaching staff of most acupuncture colleges being Westerners, and that the students are mainly Westerners; the main teaching materials currently used in higher acupuncture education in the UK are all written by Westerners; acupuncture teaching clinics are all student-centered and mainly meet the needs of acupuncture students. This status quo will not change significantly in the short term. There is also a trend of Chinese TCM teachers in the UK establishing higher education acupuncture colleges and taking the lead in compiling acupuncture textbooks.

Keywords: British acupuncture education, acupuncture academic system, acupuncture textbooks, acupuncture practice, review, and prospects

Acupuncture education in the UK started in the 1970s. It was initially conducted as a small, informal private school without certification or supervision. It gradually developed into more than 20 private schools in the early 1990s. Since the early 1990s, some public universities have also begun programs for traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture, offering bachelor’s (BA) degrees in acupuncture. Unfortunately, they have since closed. This article will conduct a preliminary exploration and analysis of the current situation of acupuncture higher education in the UK and possible development trends.

Academic acupuncture education started in the 1990s

Before the 1990s, acupuncture education in the UK was limited to private schools. There are over 20 acupuncture colleges and schools of various sizes, some of which have a history spanning over 20 years. Since the 1990s, due to the increasing popularity of complementary medicine in the UK, some public universities began to turn their attention to complementary medicine, such as traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture. Regular universities have also begun establishing acupuncture majors and improving their academic systems to attract students. British university education is based on market regulation. The universities themselves determine the majors offered by universities. The government pays subsidies based on the number of students enrolled in the university. The university is not responsible for the employment of graduates. Some universities have successfully opened degree programs focusing on acupuncture, most of which are undergraduate, and a few offer postgraduate education. At its hight, more than ten universities offered undergraduate acupuncture education courses.

At that time, there were two main ways to offer acupuncture majors in British universities. One was to cooperate with an existing private acupuncture school or Chinese college of traditional Chinese medicine. For example, in 1995, the University of Westminster absorbed The London School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine allowing the university to offer the acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine major directly, thus pioneering an acupuncture and moxibustion major at a regular British university. The other example is Middlesex University which organized an undergraduate education in traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture with Beijing University of Chinese Medicine in 1997, based on the Chinese five-year traditional Chinese medicine education system, later changing it to a three-year undergraduate education that is more in line with British standards for CM education. Another model is to establish the acupuncture major from scratch. For example, the University of East London recruited acupuncture lecturers in 2007, provided relevant teaching venues and facilities, and established an undergraduate acupuncture degree program entirely by itself.

The United Kingdom offers academic education in traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture at regular national universities, which is relatively rare in Western countries. It has greatly increased the influence of traditional Chinese medicine, especially acupuncture, in Western society. Most of these acupuncture majors are established in health or public health-related departments and do not fall within the scope of medical education. These Chinese medicine and acupuncture majors offered at universities have received course accreditation from the British Acupuncture Accreditation Board (BAAB), and graduates can directly join the British Acupuncture Council (BAcC). The general list of acupuncture majors offered by some universities in the UK is as follows.

After 2010, due to the impact of the financial crisis, the government’s subsidies for higher education at universities were significantly reduced. Due to the failure of efforts to pass national-level acupuncture legislation, there is an ongoing debate about whether acupuncture is scientific. Due to the reduction of social demand, etc., the UK Universities have all eliminated their majors in traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture. Currently, there are no universities that provide higher education in TCM and acupuncture.

Table 1: Overview of the Original Acupuncture (TCM) Majors in Some British Universities

Basic status of the academic system of acupuncture higher education in the UK

There is no national-level acupuncture legislation in the UK, therefore, the legal status of acupuncture in the UK is unregulated, and the title of acupuncturist is not protected. In other words, anyone can claim to be an acupuncturist without formal education, training, or examination. This is a great danger for the quality and safety of acupuncture industry services and also affects the credibility and development of acupuncture in the UK. To protect the professionalism of acupuncture and the interests of the public, as well as the interests of practicing acupuncturists, some acupuncture industry associations and related organizations have successively formulated standards and specifications for acupuncture, as well as some specifications for acupuncture education and training courses. At present, all of these standards are voluntary.

The academic system of higher acupuncture education in the UK can be divided into three categories: three-year undergraduate, two-year junior college, and short-term training courses of one year or less.

Three-year undergraduate or similar level acupuncture education

Currently, all acupuncture higher education in the UK is private, with a three-year undergraduate course or similar levels of acupuncture education. Bachelor’s diplomas cannot be issued. Some of the three-year private colleges are affiliated with public universities and, through certification, can also issue undergraduate and bachelor’s degree diplomas.

Several private acupuncture colleges in the UK have been around for decades. Most of their founders and principle lecturers are Westerners. The International College of Oriental Medicine (ICOM). led by the famous Western acupuncturist Dr van Buren, it was the earliest, founded in 1972, and is still in operation^［1］. Some private acupuncture colleges were established very early and later closed down. Some Chinese TCM teachers were involved in acupuncture education at Western universities or colleges in the early days. In recent years, they have also begun to establish three-year undergraduate-level TCM schools with mainly Chinese lecturers, such as the London School of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture^［2］and Manchester College of Traditional Chinese Medicine^［3］.

The scale and influence of these newer Chinese-founded traditional Chinese medicine schools are not as substantial as those of the older Western Chinese medicine and acupuncture schools, and they need a gradual development process.

The courses in these traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture schools are similar to simplified versions of professional Chinese national acupuncture courses. They generally do not provide Western medicine courses, or only provide basic anatomy, physiology, and pathology courses. However, acupuncture-related courses are more detailed and specific and pay more attention to clinical education and internships. Different colleges also have characteristics differences in terms of curriculum and other aspects.

Based on the situation of the existing three-year acupuncture education courses, consulting the websites of the relevant colleges, and other information, a brief overview of the three-year acupuncture courses in the UK is listed below (Table 2).

Table 2: Brief list of Three-year Acupuncture Courses in the UK college

Two-year college education

In addition to the three-year undergraduate-level acupuncture higher education, some British acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine colleges have shorter two-year academic programs to meet the needs of students who want to complete their studies more quickly.

Some of these two-year colleges of traditional Chinese medicine have been established for decades and have trained many traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture practitioners, such as the British Lan College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Manchester^［4］.

One-year and other short-term training

There are some one-year and short-term acupuncture training courses in the UK, or modular teaching models, where a single technique is taught separately, and a single technique certificate is issued upon completion, such as the Comprehensive Treatment Training Center TTT^［5］.

Some colleges offer special acupuncture courses lasting one year or less. For example, the London School of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture in addition to the regular three-year acupuncture diploma course also offers a one-year medical acupuncture class for medical professionals such as doctors and nurses. For practitioners who have studied short-term TCM courses in different countries or regions, or have been working in the TCM industry for more than three years but have not yet completed a complete and systematic TCM course, and wish to systematically learn or provide professional skills in a certain area, a one-year TCM acupuncture apprenticeship course has been established to meet the needs of these people^［3］.

Main textbooks for higher acupuncture education in the UK

There are almost no state-designated or unified set of teaching materials in British higher education, including acupuncture studies. Most institutions select their teaching resources based on their individual course designs within relevant professional certification committee syllabi or guidelines. Course leaders often recommend multiple texts rather than just one or two.

PPresently, the most commonly used acupuncture textbooks are authored by local experts, with few edited by professionals from China. Notable textbooks include:

The Foundations of Chinese Medicine and The Practice of Chinese Medicine by Giovani Maciocia, A Manual of Acupuncture by Peter Deadman et al., and Huang Di Nei Jing-Su Wen by Paul Unschuld et al.

Compiling acupuncture textbooks in China has remained largely unchanged for decades. Recent English versions of these textbooks often cater to something other than Western students’ learning preferences and standards, as they are primarily designed for individuals with a medical background and contain numerous medical terms. Some issues also arise from subpar English translations and printing quality. Students frequently need help comprehending the content of English textbooks published in China despite their being written in English. To maintain a competitive edge in the global acupuncture market, there is a need for improved teaching materials. Chinese acupuncture teachers have started contributing to textbook compilations, such as Professors Wang Tianjun and Wang Weixiang from Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine. Together with other experts in TCM acupuncture treatment and teaching, they have collaborated on the first English version of Acupuncture Techniques – A Practical Manual， set to be published by Springer Nature. This publication is expected to address the shortage of acupuncture and moxibustion textbooks in international acupuncture education.

Characteristics of clinical practice in higher acupuncture education in the UK

The three-year acupuncture higher education course in the UK mandates 300 to 400 hours of clinical practice for students, with requirements evenly distributed^［6］. In contrast to the common five-year programs in China that initiate internships in the third year, UK acupuncture students typically begin clinical internships in the latter half of the first year. This phase primarily involves observing diagnostic practices and becoming accustomed to positioning and procedures. Internships for UK acupuncture majors are commonly held in college-run acupuncture clinics, although some partnerships with external clinics are established for student placements. While rare, internships at specialized teaching hospitals are also possible.

Characteristics of these clinic internships include

1.A clear focus on student practice, a student-centered approach, and patient cooperation with student observations and procedures, such as taking medical histories, examining tongues and pulses, and administering acupuncture treatments.

2. Each student’s internship activities are meticulously documented, signed, and archived.

3.Clinic fees are typically modest, ranging from ￡10 to ￡20 per session, significantly lower than community acupuncture charges of ￡40-￡80. Some clinics offer free or reduced-cost services to maintain patient volume and diversity.

4.Each student sees one patient per hour or hour-and-a-half, with 4 to 8 students practicing simultaneously to allow ample time for explanations, procedures, and questions.

5.Detailed medical records are kept, and students must maintain comprehensive records of their internship experiences.

6.Safety guidelines include room sanitation, hand hygiene, emergency preparedness, waste disposal, personal grooming standards, and adherence to safety protocols during acupuncture.

7.Safety training is mandatory for students beginning their clinic internships before each semester.

Preliminary prospects for higher acupuncture education in the UK

In the foreseeable future, private colleges will continue to offer acupuncture higher education in the UK, featuring a three-year academic system. Teaching and management will be predominantly led by Westerners, and textbooks will mainly be authored by Westerners. However, in recent years, there has been a rise in Chinese-founded acupuncture higher education programs as well as English-language acupuncture textbooks authored by Chinese writers.

As the demand for natural therapies grows globally, the quality of acupuncture practitioners improves, and high-quality acupuncture research is continually being published, there is also a potential for reintroducing acupuncture legislation in the UK. If acupuncture becomes regulated, it could create the necessary conditions for acupuncture higher education to re-emerge within the public university academic system.

Summary

British acupuncture higher education has evolved from private education to public university degree programs and back to private education. Typically, the education is at an undergraduate level, lasting three years, although shorter two-year and one-year courses are also available. The management and primary instructors in acupuncture education are predominantly Westerners, with some Chinese instructors beginning to offer Chinese-focused acupuncture education. Like overseas countries and regions, the UK lacks a nationally standardized acupuncture education textbook, with recommended texts typically authored by Westerners. Clinical training in acupuncture education is centered around students and aims to facilitate a smooth transition to acupuncture practice upon graduation.

Author information:

Professor Wang Tianjun graduated from Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine with a bachelor’s and a doctorate degree. He was once a full-time senior lecturer and director of the acupuncture clinic at the University of East London in the UK and the director and senior lecturer of the TCM acupuncture program at the British College of Natural Medicine. Currently, he holds the position of President at the London School of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture. He is also a visiting professor at Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the director of Dr. Wang’s Traditional Chinese Medicine Acupuncture Clinic and Encephalopathy Center in the UK, the honorary president of the British Federation of Chinese Medicine Association, the chairman of the British Traditional Chinese Medicine Forum, and the deputy director of the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Head Acupuncture Professional Committee. Additionally, he is a member of the President of the British Scalp Acupuncture Research Society. In collaboration with the world-renowned scientific and medical publisher Springer, he published the English monograph “Acupuncture for Brain, Treatment for Neurological and Psychologic Diseases (Acupuncture for Brain Diseases)” in 2021.

References:

1.Sandra Hill (1988). “Interview with Dr. Van Buren”.

https://orientalmed.ac.uk/interview-with-dr-van-buren/ (Accessed on February 24, 2024)

2.Diploma in Acupuncture Course at London College of Traditional Acupuncture.

https://chineseacupuncture.org.uk/courses/diploma-certificate-courses/diploma-chinese-acupuncture/ (Accessed on February 24, 2024)

3.Three-Year Diploma in Acupuncture Course at Manchester Acupuncture College.

https://matcm.co.uk/diploma-in-acupuncture-3-years-with-foundation-year/ (Accessed on February 24, 2024)

4.upuncture Course at Shulan College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the UK.

https://www.shulan-college.co.uk/about-3-1 (Accessed on February 24, 2024)

5.upuncture Course at Total Therapy Training Center.

https://www.totaltherapytraining.org/product/tcm-acupuncture-diploma/ (Accessed on February 24, 2024)

6.y Accreditation Documents from the British Acupuncture Accreditation Board (BAAB). Retrieved from https://baab.org.uk/downloads/key-accreditation-documents.html (Accessed on February 24, 2024)