Program overview
Integrated Chinese-Western Clinical Medicine is a unique specialty. Unlike pure TCM, which focuses solely on traditional theories, or pure Western medicine, which concentrates only on modern medicine, it combines the two. Simply put, it allows you to master both TCM techniques like observation, auscultation, inquiry, pulse-taking, acupuncture, and tuina, as well as Western medical skills such as lab tests, imaging, surgery, and medication. Core courses include Basic Theory of TCM, Chinese Materia Medica, Formulas, TCM Diagnostics, Acupuncture, and Western Internal Medicine, Surgery, Diagnostics, Pharmacology, etc. You'll also learn how to apply both ways of thinking to the same patient—for example, using Western medicine for diagnosis and TCM for recuperation. This specialty suits students who are interested in both traditional medicine and modern science and are willing to invest time in understanding different logical systems. Chinese universities have unique advantages here, such as Beijing University of Chinese Medicine and Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, which have affiliated hospitals and clinical bases where you can directly encounter real cases and even participate in integrated Chinese-Western medicine research projects.