The College / Who chooses to study? / Where might I work?

Where might I work?

Graduates of the College practise in a variety of situations. Some work in group practices in a clinic; some work on their own from home, or from rented premises; some work in multi-bed settings; some work in group practices with other alternative health practitioners, or with GPs; a few work in hospitals, employed by the NHS. Cooperative working with the medical profession has increased recently as many GPs controlling their own budgets are choosing to include acupuncture amongst the services they provide.

Keeping in touch with our graduates

After graduating from this College, students not only experience the excitement and satisfaction of treating patients, they also become part of the wider community of acupuncturists. Students often comment on the community spirit found within the College and are pleased to find that this continues long after they have graduated. Most graduates continue to keep in contact with and gain support from their fellow students.

The College also keeps in regular contact with its graduates and we encourage them to maintain contact with us if they wish. The College building, library and facilities remain available to all who qualify in acupuncture or Chinese herbal medicine. We keep graduates up to date with developments at the College by post. This includes information about our programme of continuing professional development (seminars and workshops mainly of one or two days duration, open to anyone with a TCM qualification), and graduate days, provided exclusively for College graduates. They also receive our magazine Jing Shen twice yearly.

After they have qualified we encourage graduates to join supervision groups or have individual supervision. Graduates say they enjoy the opportunity supervision groups provide for them to meet and compare ideas about their practice, and to discuss patients and patient management issues with their peers. They value the ongoing mutual support which results from these sessions.

Now I'm a practitioner
and I work...

• in the College of Integrated Chinese Medicine clinic, which is open to the public
• as a researcher exploring the use of acupuncture to manage cancer-related health conditions
• part time as a midwife and have the Trust's permission to offer acupuncture as appropriate in low-risk obstetric cases. In addition, I have a private acupuncture practice in Poole
• in my thriving multi-disciplinary clinic in a lovely East Sussex village
• from a room in my house - which gives me flexibility to work when I want
• in a busy multi-bed clinic where team working with other practitioners allows us to see several patients at once in the same room, separated by privacy screens - like they do in China
• in the Gateway clinic at Lambeth Hospital and the drug detox clinic at Bethlem Royal Hospital and am currently running two private practices
• alongside GPs in a busy practice
• I set up World Medicine, a charitable organisation providing complementary and alternative healthcare to people around the world suffering the effects of trauma, disaster and poverty’