Shiatsu practitioner to traditional chinese medicine therapist
A shiatsu practitioner already meets 75% of what the traditional chinese medicine therapist role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.
31.8/ 100
1 How much of what a traditional chinese medicine therapist is expected to do is already part of a shiatsu practitioner’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 17 of its required skills as things a shiatsu practitioner already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- advise on healthy lifestyles
- apply context specific clinical competences
- apply massage therapy
- develop therapeutic relationships
- empathise with the healthcare user
- ensure safety of healthcare users
What stands in the way is 6 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 29 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 shiatsu practitioner background worth leading with.
- already held pathologies treated by acupuncture health and welfare
- already held traditional Chinese medicine health and welfare
- already held auriculotherapy health and welfare
- already held select acupuncture points assisting and caring
- already held complementary and alternative medicine health and welfare
- already held observe healthcare users information skills
All 29 carried skills, including the 17 the traditional chinese medicine therapist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 9 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 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
- still to learn pathology required
- optional, not held composition of diets optional
- still to learn biomedicine required
- optional, not held pharmacology optional
- still to learn counsel healthcare users on medicines required
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 29 skills that carry over
- already held advise on healthy lifestyles skill
- 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 pathologies treated by acupuncture knowledge
- already held phytotherapy knowledge
- already held promote mental health skill
- already held traditional Chinese medicine knowledge
- already held acupuncture methods knowledge
- already held address side effects of menopause skill
- already held apply acupuncture skill
- already held auriculotherapy knowledge
- already held carry out preventative internal medicine interventions skill
- already held complementary and alternative medicine knowledge
- already held educate on the prevention of illness skill
- already held general medicine knowledge
- already held provide health education skill
- already held relaxation techniques knowledge
- already held select acupuncture points skill
- already held sterilization techniques knowledge
3 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held develop long-term treatment course for disorders in the glandular system optional
- optional, not held composition of diets optional
- optional, not held pharmacology optional
27 held skills the traditional chinese medicine therapist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role accept own accountability skill
- not needed by the target role acupressure knowledge
- not needed by the target role advise on healthcare users' informed consent skill
- 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 deep tissue massage skill
- not needed by the target role balneotherapy knowledge
- not needed by the target role communicate with customers skill
- not needed by the target role demonstrate professional attitude to clients skill
- not needed by the target role etiopathy knowledge
- not needed by the target role fasciatherapy knowledge
- not needed by the target role give massages skill
- not needed by the target role give shiatsu massages skill
- not needed by the target role homeopathy knowledge
- not needed by the target role homeopathy remedies knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify energetic meridians skill
- not needed by the target role iridology knowledge
- not needed by the target role kinesiology knowledge
- not needed by the target role kinetics knowledge
- not needed by the target role massage theory knowledge
- not needed by the target role massage types knowledge
- not needed by the target role neurophysiology knowledge
- not needed by the target role promote healthy lifestyle skill
- not needed by the target role reflexology knowledge
- not needed by the target role skin types knowledge
- not needed by the target role types of aromatherapy treatments knowledge
4 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 pathology required
- optional, not held composition of diets optional
- optional, not held pharmacology optional
Other moves recorded from shiatsu practitioner
Common questions about this move
Can a shiatsu practitioner become a traditional chinese medicine therapist?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A shiatsu practitioner already covers 75% of what a traditional chinese medicine therapist is expected to do: 29 skills carry over, 17 of which the traditional chinese medicine therapist role treats as required.
What skills does a shiatsu practitioner need to become a traditional chinese medicine therapist?
6 required skills are missing, plus 3 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is biomedicine.
How hard is the move from shiatsu practitioner to traditional chinese medicine therapist?
Its learning distance is 31.8 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.