Aromatherapist to traditional chinese medicine therapist
An aromatherapist already meets 63% of what the traditional chinese medicine therapist role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.
44.4/ 100
1 How much of what a traditional chinese medicine therapist is expected to do is already part of an aromatherapist’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the traditional chinese medicine therapist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A traditional chinese medicine therapist role treats 15 of its required skills as things an aromatherapist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply context specific clinical competences
- apply massage therapy
- develop therapeutic relationships
- empathise with the healthcare user
- ensure safety of healthcare users
- follow-up on healthcare users' treatment
What stands in the way is 8 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 23 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A traditional chinese medicine therapist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an aromatherapist background worth leading with.
- already held complementary and alternative medicine health and welfare
- already held observe healthcare users information skills
- already held acupuncture methods health and welfare
- already held follow-up on healthcare users' treatment communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held carry out preventative internal medicine interventions communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held apply massage therapy assisting and caring
All 23 carried skills, including the 15 the traditional chinese medicine therapist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 15 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn pathologies treated by acupuncture required
- still to learn traditional Chinese medicine required
- optional, not held auriculotherapy optional
- optional, not held composition of diets optional
- optional, not held sterilization techniques optional
- still to learn counsel healthcare users on medicines required
- still to learn advise on healthy lifestyles required
- optional, not held educate on the prevention of illness optional
- still to learn monitor patient's health condition required
- still to learn monitor patients' progress related to treatment required
- still to learn refer healthcare users required
- optional, not held develop long-term treatment course for disorders in the glandular system optional
- optional, not held select acupuncture points optional
- still to learn biomedicine required
- optional, not held pharmacology optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a traditional chinese medicine therapist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 biomedicine study this
- 02 counsel healthcare users on medicines practise this
- 03 monitor patient's health condition practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 23 skills that carry over
- already held apply context specific clinical competences skill
- already held apply massage therapy skill
- already held develop therapeutic relationships skill
- already held empathise with the healthcare user skill
- already held ensure safety of healthcare users skill
- already held follow-up on healthcare users' treatment skill
- already held human anatomy knowledge
- already held human physiology knowledge
- already held identify customer's needs skill
- already held listen actively skill
- already held maintain work area cleanliness skill
- already held observe healthcare users skill
- already held pathology knowledge
- already held phytotherapy knowledge
- already held promote mental health skill
- already held acupuncture methods knowledge
- already held address side effects of menopause skill
- already held apply acupuncture skill
- already held carry out preventative internal medicine interventions skill
- already held complementary and alternative medicine knowledge
- already held general medicine knowledge
- already held provide health education skill
- already held relaxation techniques knowledge
7 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held auriculotherapy optional
- optional, not held develop long-term treatment course for disorders in the glandular system optional
- optional, not held select acupuncture points optional
- optional, not held composition of diets optional
- optional, not held educate on the prevention of illness optional
- optional, not held pharmacology optional
- optional, not held sterilization techniques optional
40 held skills the traditional chinese medicine therapist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on mental health skill
- not needed by the target role apply a holistic approach in care skill
- not needed by the target role apply aromatherapy skill
- not needed by the target role apply business acumen skill
- not needed by the target role apply massage oil skill
- not needed by the target role clinical psychological treatment knowledge
- not needed by the target role communicate professionally with colleagues in other fields skill
- not needed by the target role comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice skill
- not needed by the target role consultation knowledge
- not needed by the target role develop personalised massage plan skill
- not needed by the target role discuss the medical history of the healthcare user skill
- not needed by the target role energy therapy knowledge
- not needed by the target role etiopathy knowledge
- not needed by the target role fasciatherapy knowledge
- not needed by the target role follow clinical guidelines skill
- not needed by the target role homeopathy knowledge
- not needed by the target role homeopathy remedies knowledge
- not needed by the target role keep up to date with spa products skill
- not needed by the target role manage supplies skill
- not needed by the target role massage theory knowledge
- not needed by the target role monitor stock level skill
- not needed by the target role oversee spa maintenance skill
- not needed by the target role prepare oils skill
- not needed by the target role prescribe topical therapy skill
- not needed by the target role provide health psychological advice skill
- not needed by the target role psychology knowledge
- not needed by the target role record healthcare users' billing information skill
- not needed by the target role record healthcare users' progress related to treatment skill
- not needed by the target role reflexology knowledge
- not needed by the target role sell products skill
- not needed by the target role sell services skill
- not needed by the target role shiatsu knowledge
- not needed by the target role tai chi knowledge
- not needed by the target role therapeutic massage knowledge
- not needed by the target role train employees skill
- not needed by the target role types of aromatherapy treatments knowledge
- not needed by the target role types of essential oils knowledge
- not needed by the target role types of spa knowledge
- not needed by the target role undertake clinical audit skill
- not needed by the target role work with chemicals skill
7 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn biomedicine required
- still to learn pathologies treated by acupuncture required
- still to learn traditional Chinese medicine required
- optional, not held auriculotherapy optional
- optional, not held composition of diets optional
- optional, not held pharmacology optional
- optional, not held sterilization techniques optional
Common questions about this move
Can an aromatherapist become a traditional chinese medicine therapist?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An aromatherapist already covers 63% of what a traditional chinese medicine therapist is expected to do: 23 skills carry over, 15 of which the traditional chinese medicine therapist role treats as required.
What skills does an aromatherapist need to become a traditional chinese medicine therapist?
8 required skills are missing, plus 7 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by health and welfare. The single most important is biomedicine.
How hard is the move from aromatherapist to traditional chinese medicine therapist?
Its learning distance is 44.4 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.