TCM Practitioners Enhancement course

UTAR hosted the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Practitioners Enhancement course at Sungai Long Campus on 19 September 2015. This course was organised by the Ministry of Health (MoH) jointly with the TCM Competency Enhancement Module Committee. The committee, of which UTAR chairs, is made up of the six local universities that offer TCM courses, including Management and Science University (MSU), Lincoln University College, Southern University College, INTI International University, and International Medical University.

The purpose of the course is to update TCM practitioners without formal degrees in TCM on the regulations they are bound to by the Traditional and Complementary Medicine Act 2013. Here to deliver the opening speech was the Deputy Director General of Health (Medical), MoH, Datuk Dr Jeyaindran Tan Sri Sinnadurai. He was accompanied by MSU Medical Director Dato' Dr Hj Lailanor Bin Ibrahim, Malaysian Chinese Medical Association representative Heng Aik Teng, Federation of Chinese Physicians and Acupuncturists Association of Malaysia representatives Chang Boon Loong and Lee Gaik Hong, and Federation of Chinese Physicians and Medicine Dealers Associations of Malaysia representatives Kerk Ee Chan and Steven Kow Chong Cheih.

Welcoming the guests were UTAR Vice President (Internationalisation and Academic Development) Prof Dr Ewe Hong Tat, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) Dean Emeritus Prof Dr Cheong Soon Keng, FMHS Department of Chinese Medicine Head Dr Te Kian Keong, and FMHS Clinical TCM Programme Head Prof Dr Si Xiaochen.

Datuk Jeyaindran welcoming the participants

“Traditional medicine practitioners are heroes and heroines who provide medical services where Western medicine is out of reach. There are many who doubt its efficacy in mainstream Western medicine, but the knowledge honed over thousands of years makes the practitioners experts in their own right. I believe a great strength of traditional medicine is that a large part of its philosophy is preemptive medicine centred on wellness, in contrast to Western medicine which focuses on curing illnesses,” said Datuk Jeyaindran.

He stressed that mainstream medicine must become more accepting of traditional medicine as they are complementary, like brothers and sisters. And that a stronger alliance between the two philosophies would lead to more comprehensive care for patients. He also pointed out that 14 hospitals in Malaysia already have traditional medicine wings. When quizzed whether he would employ the services of TCM practitioners himself, he replied that he would without hesitation.

Explaining the Ministry’s intentions, Datuk Jeyaindran said, “The reason we are carrying out the enhancement course is to elevate the second-class standing of traditional medicine to a legitimate, government-sanctioned practice. Registration of practitioners will increase public trust and grant practitioners due respect so that they may practise their vocation with pride and dignity.”

The course began in earnest with an introductory speech by Dr Goh Cheng Soon, Director of the Traditional and Complementary Medicine (T&CM) Division, MoH. She outlined an overview on TCM’s situation in Malaysia and what the course would entail. Later on Dr Chai Koh Meow took the floor to deliver a lecture on the regulations concerning TCM practitioners in Malaysia. Dr Chai explained the penalties faced by practitioners not registered with the MoH, who cannot practise TCM legally. He also highlighted the importance of patient consent and consent forms.

The next to speak was Wong Wei Chyi, who spoke on proper practices when promoting and advertising TCM services, taking special care to warn them against making false claims. “The purpose of MoH regulation is not to penalise practitioners, but to professionalise the profession, safeguard their livelihoods, and protect members of the public,” said Wong. She elaborated that standardising TCM practices enables the MoH to weed out fraudsters and amateurs who may pose as TCM professionals, but have little experience or training.  Dr Chai and Wong both hail from the MoH’s T&CM Division.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Wong giving her talk

The second day of the course took place on 20 September 2015 and the final day will occur on 3 October 2015. This was the pilot project of the course. The feedback received and lessons learnt will be used to improve future courses that will be expanded to cover the remaining TCM practitioners nationwide, as well traditional Indian and Malay, medicine practitioners. The course was conducted in English. However, explanations and subtitles in Chinese were included for clarification. All TCM practitioners without degrees in TCM will be required to undergo the course if the course is endorsed by the T&CM Council as a requirement for registration. 

From left: Dr Te, Dr Chai, Emeritus Prof Cheong, Dato’ Lailanor, Datuk Jeyaindran, Kerk, Prof Ewe, Dr Goh, Heng, Kow, Prof Si

Dr Goh (far left) and Datuk Jeyaindran (third from left) with the oldest participants (from left): Fam Chong Poon, Tan Poh Choon, Tan Yong Sim@Tan Liong Sin, and Hoong Leong Kok 



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