what to look for in a school

[obdaw]

Hi folks.
I have some questions and I would like if people could offer their views to help inform me. I find myself at the end of my first year of acupuncture training in the UK/Ireland and i'm looking at the training we've recieved so far as compared with other schools in the area.
I would like to ask for people's input on what they see as essential skills that should be taught and what do ye think can be learned on your own?

(My experience so far is that our school emphasises a number of skills above others and I suppose the aspect of this that worries me most is that we seem to be leaving pulse diagnosis to one side. The examination of a patient (we get to observe treatments) focuses on detailed history taking (Western and TCM based questions) and backs up the impressions gained from this with tongue diagnosis. Point selection so far has been focused on the command points of the legs and arms, more specifically source points, with some torso/head points included. Needling technique (i.e. reinforcing/reducing methods) is not seen as essential, focusin more on achieving de qi.
TCM theory of the zang fu, channels, points, patterns etc are being covered according to Giovanni Maciocia)

Thanks for your help.

[attilio]

Hi,

It maybe that you are covering different parts at different times. Pulse diagnosis is a delicate skill and may therefore be covered in a later module. You need to check your course structure and see what you will cover in the coming years.

Again with needle technique, you may cover reducing/reinforcing methods later after you get to grips with obtaining de qi. Ask students in the above years and see what they are doing.

If it turns out that you won't cover pulse diagnosis too much or reinforcing/reducing methods, then i would personally not be happy with that and would seek alternative education.

[obdaw]

Thanks for your input.
Pulse diagnosis will be given about 16 hours lecture time next year and it seems to be up to us after that to develop our skill with it. The impression I get from talking to other school's students and practitioners is that this is very little time to dedicate to a such complex area.
The opinion coming from our main lecturer is that needling technique is not of significance and that accurate point location is sufficient.

[renegoris]

dear questioner, modern TCM is largely leaning on western ideas about disease, conceptualisation and perceptions about the body as you might have noticed in yr study. in more common traditional study for CM practice the student was gradually made aware of the pulses within his own body trough the pointers given throughout his indeterminedly long education. from there concepts like qi, xue, jing, shen and jin, ye and other aspects were coming to be understood -so that people knew what they were actually puncturing, or whom. the most important aspect of your diagnosis will have to come from you understanding the nature of your clients through observation and questioning.
your first three year of study should center around these things, so that later the pulse can be properly understood in a natural way and can be understood by you if the needling should negotiate an impoverished situation into abundance or an overly abundend situation into more modesty, like the person him or herself: ones qi and ones behaviour cannot be separated according to the core classics. the pulse analisis is a direct result from that observation. if you would perceive your pulse diagnosis as mere schematics you might not really get the point for what it is about, so if the pulse diagnosis is later in your study, the better for your chances to develop superior acupuncture skills. succes in yr sudies