Tel: (01) 855 9000
Email: college@chinesemedicine.ie
Web: www.chinesemedicine.ie

Prof Shanahan in the Teaching Clinic

• First, in Acupuncture (Licentiate in Traditional Chinese Medicine).
• Then, in Chinese Herbal Medicine.
• Now, since 2006, in Medical Qigong (The Licentiate in Medical Qigong).

We cater to two distinct groups – Undergraduates and Post-graduates. For details of our courses see below and visit our website.

Recognition and Affilitations
Since 2002, we have had a formal affiliation with Guangzhou University of TCM in China, one of the four leading TCM Universities in China, who recognise our Licentiate programmes as Batchelor level equivalent qualifications for entry to their Post-graduate programmes.

In December 2005 The ICTCM signed an historic agreement with Guangzhou University of TCM (GZUTCM) in China to run a joint Masters Degree Programme, (mainly in Ireland) leading to a Master of Medicine Degree conferred by GZUTCM. (see below).

The Lic. TCM and Lic.MQG qualifications awarded by our College (the main Undergraduate level qualifications) ) are recognised by the Professional Register of Traditional Chinese Medicine (PRTCM) – a professional body set up in 1983 to provide voluntary self-regulation of the Acupuncture and TCM profession in Ireland. This organisation’s members are recognised by VHI Healthcare VIVAS and BUPA (Ireland) and it ensures that all its members are bound by a Code of Practice and Code of Ethics and that they are fully covered by Medical Malpractice and Public Liability Insurance. The PRTCM is, under the auspices of the Department of Health and Children, currently cooperating, as a founding member of the Steering Group on Acupuncture, with other self-regulatory bodies of Acupuncture and TCM in Ireland.

The Irish College of TCM – ICTCM House
All our programmes are conducted in our purpose-designed College and Teaching clinic, ICTCM House, which is centrally located in Dublin a short distance from the Point Depot in Dublin’s developing Port area. There is
easy access to the Dublin Port Tunnel,which provides swift access to Dublin Airport for students coming in from other parts of Ireland and Europe, and to the infra-structure of roads leading to all parts of Ireland. The East-Link Bridge is only a few minutes drive away.

Free on-street parking is also available.

The Undergraduate Students
People who study Chinese Medicine come from all walks of life ranging from farmers to pharmacists, electricians to musicians, nurses to housewives, teachers to therapists, those already in an established professions to those with no structured career.
Some students who come to the College are already retired and wish to start up a new and exciting second career; some are tired of working for other people and want to enter a profession that offers self-employment. Others are looking for a satisfying and fulfilling career after raising a family.

They all share in common the desire to enter a caring profession that will allow them independence, interest, and job security. There is no upper age limit but applicants must be at least 21 years old. No specific formal academic qualifications are required though all applicants will need to be able to satisfy the College that they are capable of following an intensive and challenging course of study and Clinical practice. It is the policy of the College to accept applicants who will thrive on the academic and practical aspects of the course and who seem suited and committed to following a profession within TCM when they graduate.

The College specializes in turning out fully-rounded professional practitioners, not mere theoreticians. Applicants who already have significant commitments in terms of work or family will need to be able to show that they have the resources and support to sustain them through the course.

Graduate level students
These are adults who are already trained as practitioners of Acupuncture, TCM or Chinese Herbal Medicine who wish to update their qualifications, add a new branch of TCM therapeutics to their repertoire or undertake Continuing Professional Development. They come from a variety of different countries, mainly to study on a part-time basis, on modular courses designed to meet the needs of adult professionals running a busy TCM practice.

TCM IN IRELAND - What is TCM?
Acupuncture and TCM is the principle form of medical care available to a large portion of the world's population.
Traditional Chinese Medicine, through the use of Acupuncture and other classical medical therapies such as Chinese Herbal Medicine and Medical Qigong, aims to establish energetic harmony in the whole person and thereby not only treat illness but also promote active health and vitality and thereby increase resistance to disease. From its very ancient origins such medicine has been at once both preventative and curative, the ideal being to so strengthen the person's overall health and well-being that they do not get sick in the first place, or if they do fall ill to speed their recovery.
One of the most attractive and distinctive features of TCM is that, from its earliest days, it has emphasised the promotion of positive health and has not restricted itself merely to the treatment of disease.

The scope and range of ailments amenable to TCM care is enormous. An indication of their type and variety can best be gleaned from looking at the booklet “Acupuncture” and the leaflet “Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine”, both published by and available from the ICTCM. All ages of client can be catered to, from the tiny infant to the very old. Pregnant women are prime candidates for TCM and much can be done to promote both ante-natal and post-natal care of mother and baby. Those properly qualified can treat animals with TCM therapy.

TCM in general, including Acupuncture, Chinese Herbal Medicine and Medical Qigong can be combined with or used alongside other medical therapies and disciplines, such as western medicine.
People in Ireland are now quite familiar with Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine but are less acquainted with Medical Qigong, so a brief introduction is given here.

What is Medical Qigong?
Traditional Chinese Medicine is made up of a number of different specialisms, such as Acupuncture-Moxibustion, Chinese Herbology, Medical dietetics, Therapeutic exercise, and Medical Qigong. Of these various branches of TCM, Medical Qigong is at once the most ancient and most sophisticated. Unlike all of the others, it dispenses with the “middle man” – for example acupuncture needles, herbals prescriptions, different food types, various exercises, and the like – and, instead, immediately and directly connects the Qi of the practitioner with therapeutic intent to that of the person being treated. The focused, refined and potentised Qi of the practitioner is transmitted, without intermediary, to the diseased aspect of the client to initiate cure. The practitioner sends out his or her Qi, without touching the patient, to perform the treatment.

While Medical Qigong is undoubtedly one of the most effective forms of medical intervention known to man, it is also, not surprisingly, one of the most intriguing and challenging to embark upon. It also the most demanding in terms of the time and effort needed to master it. Such seemingly “miraculous” potency could not be otherwise.

Under-graduate level training:

• Acupuncture Training - The Licentiate in TCM (Lic.TCM) Course
• Medical Qigong Training – The Licentiate in Medical Qigong (Lic.MQG) Course

These courses, which closely follow the syllabus currently in use both in China and in the best established Colleges of Acupuncture and

TCM in the UK and Europe. They are:

• very intensive part-time courses.
• run for three years.
• There are twelve teaching weekends per year.
• Teaching sessions in the first two years are approximately monthly, in the third, Clinical, year fortnightly.
• Unlike other institutes, the ICTCM ensures that all teaching sessions are held only on Saturdays and Sundays.

The Licentiate courses are structured to enable students who are currently working full-time, or are otherwise occupied, to attain full professional training.

Post-graduate level training and Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
We also provide a wide range of Post-graduate programmes, designed for practising Acupuncturists and TCM professionals, living in Ireland and other parts of Europe.
These include:

1. Post-graduate Professional Certificate in Chinese Herbal Medicine – Cert.CHM (Modular, 1 year Programme)
2. Post-graduate Professional Diploma in Chinese Herbal Medicine - Dip.CHM (Modular, 2 year Programme)
3. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in Chinese Herbal Medicine
4. Master of Medicine Degree (specialising in Medical Qigong) the details of which are currently being organised in conjunction with GZUTCM, China
5. Postgraduate Professional Certificate in Medical Qigong - Cert.MQG (Modular, 1 year Programme)
6. Postgraduate Professional Diploma in Medical Qigong - Dip.MQG (Modular, 2 year Programme)
7. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in Medical Qigong
   

For a Prospectus and College information pack click here.