Traditional chinese medicine therapist to herbal therapist
A traditional chinese medicine therapist already meets 50% of what the herbal therapist role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.
58.9/ 100
1 How much of what a herbal therapist is expected to do is already part of a traditional chinese medicine 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 herbal therapist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A herbal therapist role treats 15 of its required skills as things a traditional chinese medicine therapist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- acupuncture methods
- apply context specific clinical competences
- 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 11 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 herbal therapist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a traditional chinese medicine 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 acupuncture methods health and welfare
- already held observe healthcare users information skills
- 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 15 the herbal therapist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 30 missing skills fall into 8 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 advise on mental health required
- still to learn communicate in healthcare required
- still to learn develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship required
- still to learn interact with healthcare users required
- optional, not held use communication techniques optional
- optional, not held use foreign languages for health-related research optional
- optional, not held use foreign languages in patient care optional
- still to learn apply a holistic approach in care required
- still to learn apply aromatherapy required
- still to learn maintain healthcare user data confidentiality required
- still to learn collect healthcare user's general data required
- still to learn study topics required
- optional, not held conduct physical examinations optional
- optional, not held monitor stock level optional
- still to learn types of aromatherapy treatments required
- optional, not held homeopathy remedies optional
- optional, not held iridology optional
- optional, not held reiki optional
- optional, not held shiatsu optional
- optional, not held tai chi optional
- optional, not held energy therapy optional
- optional, not held etiopathy optional
- optional, not held fasciatherapy optional
- optional, not held homeopathy optional
- still to learn characteristics of plants required
- optional, not held biology optional
- optional, not held chemistry optional
- optional, not held marketing principles optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a herbal therapist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 advise on mental health practise this
- 02 apply a holistic approach in care practise this
- 03 apply aromatherapy 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 acupuncture methods knowledge
- 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 provide health education skill
- 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 refer healthcare users skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held pedagogy optional
- optional, not held apply organisational techniques optional
19 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held conduct physical examinations optional
- optional, not held homeopathy remedies optional
- optional, not held iridology optional
- optional, not held monitor stock level optional
- optional, not held reiki optional
- optional, not held shiatsu optional
- optional, not held tai chi optional
- optional, not held apply organisational techniques optional
- optional, not held biology optional
- optional, not held chemistry optional
- optional, not held energy therapy optional
- optional, not held etiopathy optional
- optional, not held fasciatherapy optional
- optional, not held homeopathy optional
- optional, not held marketing principles optional
- optional, not held pedagogy optional
- optional, not held use communication techniques optional
- optional, not held use foreign languages for health-related research optional
- optional, not held use foreign languages in patient care optional
16 held skills the herbal therapist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on healthy lifestyles skill
- not needed by the target role apply massage therapy skill
- not needed by the target role auriculotherapy knowledge
- not needed by the target role biomedicine knowledge
- not needed by the target role composition of diets knowledge
- not needed by the target role counsel healthcare users on medicines skill
- not needed by the target role educate on the prevention of illness skill
- not needed by the target role monitor patient's health condition skill
- not needed by the target role monitor patients' progress related to treatment skill
- not needed by the target role pathologies treated by acupuncture knowledge
- not needed by the target role pathology knowledge
- not needed by the target role pharmacology knowledge
- not needed by the target role relaxation techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role select acupuncture points skill
- not needed by the target role sterilization techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role traditional Chinese medicine knowledge
15 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 types of aromatherapy treatments required
- still to learn characteristics of plants required
- optional, not held homeopathy remedies optional
- optional, not held iridology optional
- optional, not held reiki optional
- optional, not held shiatsu optional
- optional, not held tai chi optional
- optional, not held biology optional
- optional, not held chemistry optional
- optional, not held energy therapy optional
- optional, not held etiopathy optional
- optional, not held fasciatherapy optional
- optional, not held homeopathy optional
- optional, not held marketing principles optional
- optional, not held pedagogy optional
Other moves recorded from traditional chinese medicine therapist
- shiatsu practitioner 63% covered · moderate
- acupuncturist 56% covered · substantial
- sophrologist 50% covered · substantial
- aromatherapist 44% covered · substantial
Full index of moves from traditional chinese medicine therapist
Common questions about this move
Can a traditional chinese medicine therapist become a herbal therapist?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A traditional chinese medicine therapist already covers 50% of what a herbal therapist is expected to do: 22 skills carry over, 15 of which the herbal therapist role treats as required.
What skills does a traditional chinese medicine therapist need to become a herbal therapist?
11 required skills are missing, plus 19 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is advise on mental health.
How hard is the move from traditional chinese medicine therapist to herbal therapist?
Its learning distance is 58.9 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.