Study On The Development Characteristics And Current Situation Of TCM In Malaysia

The main purpose of this study is to investigate and analyze the historical development and current situation of TCM in Malaysia,including education,association,regulation and clinical situation.In the hope to help the Chinese medicinal society in China to understand the development of Chinese medicine in Southeast Asia,promote the prosperity of China's own Chinese medicinal development,at the same time this can also serve as a reference for the development of traditional Chinese medicine in the world.Other countries around the world can also learn from Malaysia's education system on TCM in particular,and also collaborate with Chinese universities to help improve students' clinical experience.From the regulation aspect,at present,many overseas countries has yet to have legislation for the practice of acupuncture,whereas,in Malaysia,the ministry of health in Malaysia's subordinates has unified the management of traditional and complementary medicine department.This can become a point of reference for all western medicine as the mainstream medicine of overseas countries.It can also serve as a mean to help better understand the benefits of traditional Chinese medicine by various ethnic groups in Malaysia.The Chinese medicine community can thus serve the people of all ethnic groups in Malaysia with other traditional and complementary medicine better.This can promote the mutual learning and communication between Chinese medical communities around the world.The twenty copies of designated questionnaire of acupuncturists looks into the acupuncture clinical situations of the acupuncturists,especially their working hours,number of patients a day,type of diseases treated,acupuncture techniques and other modes of treatment,fees,so on and so forth.Results from research:Traditional Chinese Medicine was introduced into Malaysia from the 14th century through Zheng He's voyage to the west.However,only until the nineteenth and twentieth century when the increase in the number of overseas Chinese migration into Malaysia started to accelerate the development ofChinese medicine.Chinese medicine groups associations and education institutions were then established and the specialized management by the Traditional and Complementary Medicine Department(T&CMD)was set up in 2004.From the education of traditional Chinese medicine prospect,there is a total of nine universities that provide higher education of Chinese medicine courses,mostly using English and Chinese bilingual teaching.The curriculum contains some western medicine and also of the local cultural practices.Many schools in Chinese medicine have paid more attention to traditional Chinese medicine classics such as HuangDiNeiJing,JinGuiYaoLue,Doctrine of Epidemic Febrile Disease,Treatise on Febrile Diseases,and ZiWuLiuZhu.All the universities have their own clinical practice bases,and they also work in collaboration with some universities in China to send students to China for more clinical experience.To register as a Chinese doctor or acupuncturist in Malaysia requires a five-year bachelor's degree in traditional Chinese medicine or a three-year diploma in acupuncture and moxibustion.According to the ministry of health,the registration of foreign Chinese medicine practitioners has the age limit of over 30 years or more must have more than five years of work experience,and also requires teaching and offering gratuitous treatment in Malaysia at the same time.This ensures that foreign practitioners working in Malaysia have enough experience and can help to promote academic exchanges and progress in traditional Chinese medicine.T&CMD has set up Acupuncture and moxibustion rooms in 14 hospitals around the country to treat chronic pain and stroke.Chinese herbal medicine department was also established in 4 hospitals,mainly as an adjuvant therapy for cancer.The introduction of acupuncture and herbal medicine into public hospitals has enabled more local people to learn about the advantages and benefits of TCM,which has greatly promoted the development of TCM.Within the local communities,the practice of traditional Chinese medicine,acupuncture,massage,cupping,GuaSha has flourished.The diseases treated varies,from ordinary muscle aches and joint pains to internal medicine such as stroke,gynaecological disorders such as dysmenorrhea.In order to maintain an effective curative effect,besides the traditional body acupuncture that is taught at school,other acupuncture technique such as abdominal needling and MasterTung's acupuncture technique were also used by varies practitioners.Many practitioners in Malaysia are regularly visiting remote areas or indigenous groups for gratuitous treatments as well as promote traditional Chinese medicine.This is something worth learning for practitioners from all around the world.The research of traditional Chinese medicine in Malaysia is mainly funded and promoted by T&CMD,and some clinical studies on acupuncture and herbal medicine have been carried out successively,and there is no fundamental research carried out yet.