Clinical Training in Australia

Clinical training is on-the-job training. It provides students with first hand experience in the management of a professional practice.

Over the four-year program, students undertake a supervised clinical practicum of 490 hours in which they are trained in the practice of TCM in graded steps.

Minimum Hours in institute Clinic are:

SITCM clinic External clinic
Maximum credit

Grade	Year	SITCM	External
Grade 1	1st Year Students	30 hrs	-
Grade 2	2nd Year Students	189hrs	94.5hrs
Grade 3	3rd Year Students	189 hrs	94.5hrs
Grade 4	4th Year Students	82 hrs	41 hrs
Total Hours:		490hrs	230hrs

 

GRADE I: Student Observer
1ST YEAR STUDENTS (2nd Semester)

• Preparation of clinic rooms, e.g. setting up equipment, cleaning up etc.
  
  
• Familiarisation with 'Tools of the Trade', e.g. needles, swabs, cups, moxa etc., and their proper handling. The introduction of infection control policies.
  
  
• Familiarisation with dispensing stock e.g. raw herbs, patent herbs, acupuncture needles, etc.
  
  
• Storeroom work and stock maintenance
  
  
• Basic skills in client management, e.g. taking and making appointments, welcoming clients and making them comfortable, offering tea/coffee, etc.
  
  
• Personal presentations e.g. appropriate dress and grooming, etc.(white dust coat, name badge, covered leather shoes)
  
  
• Closing of clinic rooms. (refer to closing procedures for clinic - Appendix B)

GRADE II: Clinic Assistant
2nd YEAR STUDENTS

• Preparation of clinic rooms, e.g. setting up equipment, maintaining stocks of needles and swabs, etc., cleaning up etc.
  
  
• Start clinical practice of various TCM skills, e.g. moxibustion, cupping, removal of needles, plum-blossom, selection and placement of ear seeds, etc.
  
  
• Familiarisation with dispensary stock.
  
  
• Storeroom work and stock management.
  
  
• Client management skills, e.g. Reception duties including arrival and departure of clients, appointments, follow up of missed appointments, etc.
  
  
• Administrative procedures, e.g. preparation of client records for clinic, re-filing of client records, assisting with the collection of monies from clients for consultations and herbal prescriptions, proper and secure storage of said monies, proper writing of receipts and financial records.
  
  
• Supervised dispensing of herbal prescriptions.
  
  
• Observation of case history taking.
  
  
• Where necessary the performance of Tui Na techniques under supervision of clinic supervisor or of a senior student.
  
  
• Where deemed appropriate, needling of some basic acupuncture points, under strict supervision by clinic supervisor.

GRADE III: Assistant Practitioner
3rd YEAR STUDENTS

• Administrative procedures, e.g. to carry out and supervise junior students in all aspects of the day to day running of the clinic and dispensary. (Reception, records and stock maintenance, etc)
  
  
• Dispensing of herbal prescriptions and supervise junior students in the performance of this skill.
  
  
• Assist senior 'Student Practitioners' with examination of the clients and case history taking. Where appropriate, take and complete a case history, analyze the information and formulate a diagnosis. Then develop a treatment principle.
  
  
• Perform various TCM skills, under strict supervision of clinic supervisor, e.g.
  
  
• Basic procedures in needling common acupuncture points.
  
  
• Specific needling of scalp, sacral forearm, etc,
  
  
• Deep and difficult needling (E.N.T. and eye points)
  
  
• Bleeding points
  
  
• Needle retention
  
  
• Cupping and moxibustion
  
  
• Tui Na treatments
  
  
• Management of accidents within the clinic (fainting, moxa burns, broken needles, etc)

GRADE IV: Student Practitioner
4th YEAR STUDENTS

Final year students are required to run the student clinic under the direction of the Clinic Supervisor. They will be responsible for all areas of the clinic and dispensary. This includes:

• Maintaining adequate administrative procedures e.g.
  
  
• Record keeping (client, financial and dispensary)
  
  
• Presentation of the clinic and dispensary
  
  
• Stock control
  
  
• Reception procedures
  
  
• Management and supervision of junior students 'Grades 1-3' and demonstrate where needed proper clinic procedures and TCM skills within the clinic and dispensary.
  
  
• Examination, case history taking, diagnosis, formation of treatment principles and treatments, which should include acupuncture and moxibustion, herbal prescriptions and Tui Na where appropriate.
  
  
• Final year students will be required to take personal responsibility for a particular client or clients, and endeavour to build (within the student clinic) a client base.