Academy Foundations

The International Academy is dedicated to graduating highly skilled Acupuncture or Chinese Herbal Medicine practitioners, who have the ability to assess, establish a treatment plan and effectively treat the client to create a positive change in the person’s well-being. The objective is for graduates to exemplify excellence in professional conduct and ethics, standards of practice and community service.

The overall philosophy of the TCM Academy is to present career ready certificate/diploma programming in the following Oriental/Eastern Health Disciplines:
Certificate:

Complementary Acupuncture for the Healthcare Practitioner ( 384 hours/16 units)
Designed for the use of acupuncture within the scope of practice of a regulated healthcare professional. Program content meets the standards established by the College of Massage Therapists of Ontario (www.cmto.com)
Diplomas:

• Acupuncture Practitioner  (2112 hours/88 units) Full-time & Part-time          
• Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner (3072 hours/128 units) Part-time

The design of each program is to integrate the knowledge and practices of the East with their application in a Western cultural and working environment.

Each program is presented in units and each unit represents 24 hours of training. Each unit builds onto the previous level. In this manner the student develops a strong foundation of information and skill as he/she elevates through the various diploma levels.

The goal of each program is to help the student develop a career ‘entry level competency’ as currently assessed for the industry for the area of specialty, throughacademic/practical lab study units comprised of: theory, practical application, supervised clinical and outreach sessions. (The student will receive assignments and self-study project work to complement the classroom and on-site clinical experience.)

 What is competency based education?  
Competency Based Education wherein learning is structured around the practical, day-to-day requirements of an acupuncturist or Chinese Herbal Medicine practitioner. The training, facilitates graduates to become a success in this health care field.  IATCM programs are presently exempt from the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005.

The International Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine’s programming integrates the health philosophies of the East into the culture and health care environment of the West. Students will gain an understanding of the human body from both an allopathic and TCM perspective.

Students will be skilled to communicate with other healthcare practitioners and their patients. The program is also designed to provide acupuncture training for other health disciplines to use within their scope of practice, due to the recognition of related prior educational studies through its credit transfer initiative.

The IATCM Acupuncture program is designed to meet or exceed existing standards for the practice of acupuncture in British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec and Newfoundland. This program philosophy will enable the graduate to be ‘well positioned’ for the competencies to be established in Ontario by the Transitional Council of the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, as well as, the future establishment of National standards for acupuncture.

Step by Step Approach to your Education
 Each part of a program has been carefully integrated to build both the student’s knowledge and skill on a continuous ascending level of capability. A student may attend full-time, as part of a defined program or part-time, on a subject by subject basis, taking as many or, as few subjects as he/she wishes in each semester, based upon their time availability.

There are 4 semesters conducted each year offering a selection of subjects ranging from introduction to the enhanced skill level and clinical experiences.

Due to the personal tailoring of programming to acknowledge the prior knowledge and skill of an individual, the Academy’s educational credit review and challenge examination practices, allow graduates of other health disciplines to accelerate their acupuncture programming.

The following is a comparison of the International Academy's programming hours and the established training hours for the Provinces of British Columbia and Alberta.

The above chart reflects the requirements set out in Alberta and B.C. and by the US National Commission for the Certification of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) and the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM) in the United States.

Looking to the Future…

The Traditional Chinese Medicine Act was passed by the Ontario Provincial Government in 2006 and the transitional council of the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of Ontario (www.ctcmpao.on.ca) has been appointed. The transitional council has moved forward in an organized and planned manner, in its role to evolve its mandate to form the regulatory college.

The regulations are a “work in progress” and their completion may be accomplished within the next 2 years. The provincial government estimates there are about 3,500 acupuncture and Chinese medicine practitioners in the province at this time.

Until such time as the Regulatory Board is formed and the requirements for licensing within Ontario are determined, the practice of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine continues to be outside of the Regulated Health Professions Act. As such, since the Health Professions Act only permits the use of the term 'Doctor' in five specific areas and the practice of Acupuncture and TCM are currently not regulated, practicing professionals may not use the title of Doctor until it is granted by the future licensing regulatory board. In respect for this issue, the International Academy of TCM will not offer a Doctor of TCM program, until such time as the competencies, approvals and guidelines are defined by the regulatory college.

The International Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine programs are taught by industry professionals and specialists in their respective areas of knowledge.

Prepare yourself to enter a career with strong growth potential.