Herbal therapist to traditional chinese medicine therapist
A herbal therapist already meets 59% of what the traditional chinese medicine therapist role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
47/ 100
1 How much of what a traditional chinese medicine therapist is expected to do is already part of a herbal therapist’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 14 of its required skills as things a herbal therapist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply context specific clinical competences
- develop therapeutic relationships
- empathise with the healthcare user
- ensure safety of healthcare users
- follow-up on healthcare users' treatment
- human anatomy
What stands in the way is 9 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 22 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 a herbal therapist background worth leading with.
- already held develop long-term treatment course for disorders in the glandular system assisting and caring
- 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
All 22 carried skills, including the 14 the traditional chinese medicine therapist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 16 missing skills fall into 6 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
- still to learn pathology 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 apply massage therapy required
- optional, not held select acupuncture points optional
- still to learn biomedicine required
- optional, not held pharmacology optional
- optional, not held relaxation techniques 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 22 skills that carry over
- already held apply context specific clinical competences 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 phytotherapy knowledge
- already held promote mental health skill
- already held refer healthcare users 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 develop long-term treatment course for disorders in the glandular system skill
- already held general medicine knowledge
- already held provide health education skill
7 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held auriculotherapy 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 relaxation techniques optional
- optional, not held sterilization techniques optional
30 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 organisational techniques skill
- not needed by the target role biology knowledge
- not needed by the target role characteristics of plants knowledge
- not needed by the target role chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role collect healthcare user's general data skill
- not needed by the target role communicate in healthcare skill
- not needed by the target role conduct physical examinations skill
- not needed by the target role develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship 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 homeopathy knowledge
- not needed by the target role homeopathy remedies knowledge
- not needed by the target role interact with healthcare users skill
- not needed by the target role iridology knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain healthcare user data confidentiality skill
- not needed by the target role marketing principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role monitor stock level skill
- not needed by the target role pedagogy knowledge
- not needed by the target role reiki knowledge
- not needed by the target role shiatsu knowledge
- not needed by the target role study topics skill
- not needed by the target role tai chi knowledge
- not needed by the target role types of aromatherapy treatments knowledge
- not needed by the target role use communication techniques skill
- not needed by the target role use foreign languages for health-related research skill
- not needed by the target role use foreign languages in patient care skill
9 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
- still to learn pathology required
- optional, not held auriculotherapy optional
- optional, not held composition of diets optional
- optional, not held pharmacology optional
- optional, not held relaxation techniques optional
- optional, not held sterilization techniques optional
Common questions about this move
Can a herbal therapist become a traditional chinese medicine therapist?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A herbal therapist already covers 59% of what a traditional chinese medicine therapist is expected to do: 22 skills carry over, 14 of which the traditional chinese medicine therapist role treats as required.
What skills does a herbal therapist need to become a traditional chinese medicine therapist?
9 required skills are missing, plus 7 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by health and welfare. The single most important is biomedicine.
How hard is the move from herbal therapist to traditional chinese medicine therapist?
Its learning distance is 47 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.