What certificates can I take for traditional Chinese medicine health care?

Currently, there are three core types of traditional Chinese medicine health care certificates that can be used by practitioners and recognized by supervision. If you want to take the clinical route, you can choose a practicing (assistant) physician certificate, a certificate of traditional Chinese medicine preventive health care and conditioning technology for general health care, and a health manager for health science popularization and program customization. The rest of the various association and private institution certificates on the market are basically IQ taxes.

In the past two months, I was doing a compliance check for a friend's health care center. I met a massage therapist who had been doing massage for three years. He was holding "senior Chinese medicine health practitioner" certificates issued by three different institutions. When the local health department came to inspect, they didn't recognize any of them. If he hadn't just applied for the Chinese medicine preventive health care conditioning technology exam, and the results were already out and he was waiting to get the certificate, then he would have to be rectified as practicing without a license. The fines are trivial, but the losses from suspension of business and rectification would be huge.

In fact, it is not just this master. Many friends who have just entered the industry have failed in choosing certificates at the first level. They always think that the more certificates, the better, and the louder the name, the better. In fact, this is not the case at all. If you have graduated from a TCM-related major and want to engage in acupuncture, prescribe conditioning prescriptions, or even open your own TCM clinic in the future, then don’t hesitate to get a TCM practitioner certificate. This is the only certificate with statutory medical qualifications and is equivalent to your “ID card” in the TCM industry. The threshold is indeed high. You must have a full-time related professional degree and enough clinical internship hours. You can only apply for the exam. If you don’t have a relevant full-time degree and follow the formal route of practicing Chinese medicine, you can first take the assistant physician exam after enough years, and then gradually take the practicing certificate. The cycle will be longer, and it is suitable for those who really want to delve into the Chinese medicine industry. The value of passing the exam is also high. Whether you go to the treatment department of a public institution or open your own studio, there are no restrictions.

If you are not from a professional background and just like Chinese medicine, and want to open an ordinary moxibustion parlor or massage parlor, or go to a health parlor to work as a conditioning therapist, and usually do non-invasive projects such as scraping, cupping, moxibustion, and pediatric massage, then you can take the TCM preventive health conditioning technology certificate A book is enough. This one is issued by the Talent Exchange Center of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The application threshold is relatively loose. What you learn are all practical content and are skills that can be used in daily work. It will be recognized during regulatory inspections, and at least you will not be considered to be practicing without a license.

As for whether health managers, which many people debate, are useful, I think it depends on what scenario you use them in. If you plan to go to the community to do health science popularization, go to a physical examination center or a nursing home to make customized TCM health plans for people, or become an online health blogger to endorse science, then a health manager with a traditional Chinese medicine orientation is enough, and its attributes are more healthy. Evaluation and program guidance are not practical. If you expect to use this certificate to open a massage parlor for conditioning, it is really not enough. Don't listen to the institutions' nonsense about "you can earn hundreds of thousands a year after passing the exam." Certificates are always a stepping stone. Whether you can make money depends on your skills. No matter how strong the certificate is, if your shoulders and necks still hurt after massaging, you will not be able to retain customers.

To be honest, choosing a certificate is like buying shoes. You don’t need to look at the fancy packaging. The most important thing is that they fit your feet and can walk. Those who don’t need to take an exam and pay for half a month to get the certificate, and whose names are so ridiculous, such as “International Traditional Chinese Medicine Health Master” and “Senior Acupuncture Practitioner”, are 100% a scam. If you really use this kind of certificate to practice, it will be too late to cry when you encounter an inspection, let alone if you really have a dispute with a customer, without a formal certificate you will not even have the confidence to reason.