BC School Applies to Become First Canadian School to Offer TCM Degree

The PCU College of Holistic Medicine in Burnaby has applied to the province to become the first school in Canada with the ability to grant a university degree in traditional Chinese medicine.

The proposal to the degree quality assessment board, which the school expects to submit within weeks, has been in the works since 2006, said dean John Yang.

Yang has no idea whether his was the school Premier Christy Clark had in mind when she mentioned the creation of a school of traditional Chinese medicine at a B.C. post-secondary institution during her throne speech Tuesday. Now, only diplomas are available through private colleges.

An increase in acceptance and demand has made a university degree possible for the first time, Yang said.

When PCU College opened in 2002, there were 25 students. This year, the school has 200 full- and part-time students.

“There’s steady growth as more and more people are willing to study and get into this profession. Our school began with a very small class and now, it’s a reasonable size according to our population,” he said.

Yang believes it’s time for a university degree, such as a bachelor of traditional Chinese medicine with a major in acupuncture. Most students spend at least five years and many international students desire a degree comparable to ones available in China, Japan or Korea.

The education ministry said Wednesday no decisions have been made what institution would house the new school.

Kwantlen University has also started to incorporate alternative health practices such as acupuncture in its pending bachelor of science in health science program, but spokeswoman Joanne Saunders said the school has no plans to start granting degrees. The courses could be used as a springboard for entry into one of the province’s private colleges.

All B.C. students are required to have two years of university education as a prerequisite of admission, and colleges are governed by the regulatory body College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of B.C., which also administers certification exams. To become a registered practitioner, a student needs 2,600 hours of study including 650 hours of clinical work.

In 1999, 68 registered acupuncturists were recognized and granted licenses by the regulatory body. In 2003, there were 872, and in 2008 there were 1,350, according to the college’s registrar Mary Watterson.

“The number of British Columbians seeking TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) treatment continues to grow. The profession, albeit a couple of thousand years old, is relatively new in Canada,” she wrote in an email, adding the industry has had an interest in expanding into university studies “for some time.”

Other health care professionals have also adopted acupuncture, making it more mainstream, said Poppi Sabhaney, president of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Association of B.C.

“A lot of other professions have used acupuncture as a kind of fishing hook that everyone seems to love, and that’s why there’s a renewed interest,“ he said. “Others have seen how effective acupuncturists and Chinese medicine practitioners are. They take our best techniques and incorporate it into their practices. … It’s growing rapidly, and we welcome it.”