“I’m loving treating patients Michael. It so amazing what we do.” Jack beamed when I saw him on Friday.

Jack has just graduated from our school and he’s already set up his clinic at home. He also comes into the school every Friday for ongoing support. We offer this to our graduates because we’ve know the first year in practice can be challenging. We’ve seen too many people give up because they didn’t get the support they needed.

Jack’s a great example of the kind of student we look for. He’s passionate about helping people with Five Element Acupuncture and he’s put in consistent effort to get where he is.

Our most recent students started in September. Already they’re doing practice diagnosis sessions with people who will be their first patients this October.

Our training is rooted in practical learning and we get our students treating patients as soon as possible. It’s a bit like learning to drive a car - no amount of being told how to drive a car will prepare you for actually driving one.

Jack learned from the beginning that books alone would not get him there. He had to learn how to make a diagnosis using his senses. He learned that the most important skills passed down from the ancient Chinese are:

To Ask
To Hear
To See
To Feel

Jack didn’t need to spend to time on academic exercises like writing dissertations or learning research skills.

Some people want to learn using a more academic approach. We respect this. However if you want to spend more time reading books than learning from nature and your patients then our course is probably not for you.

That’s not to say our training is easy. Jack was challenged to grow and stretch right from the start. Self reflection and the ability to look deeply into yourself is vital. If you want to be present with your patients’ deepest feelings, you need to be able to sit with your own. Jack dared to step beyond his comfort zone and confront his fears so he can serve his patients’ deepest needs.