An online course to guide you in the study of medical Chinese.

Chinese Medical Concepts in Context

Philosophical and etymological background of Chinese Medical Characters, and how they function in classical texts as applied in the clinical context.

Course objective and description

The course will help you to develop a deeper understanding of concepts in Chinese Medicine through the study of characters and their use in classical texts. It guides you in your studies of the basic vocabulary of Chinese Medicine. The characters are traced to their origins, and placed in the context of the medical classics. You will get access to the original descriptions of the concepts in medical classics like the Neijing and Nanjing by close reading of citations from those texts. Through increasing understanding of Chinese medical concepts, the practitioner leaves with a far greater depth of understanding of the medicine as it applies to self-taught knowledge, peer to peer exchanges, approaches to continuing education, and thus day-to-day practice, diagnosis, treatment and overall patient care. The components of this “hands-on” workshop include:

Practical benefits to the practitioner: relationship to scope of practice and continuing education (demonstrated through examples). This is the equivalent of an intensive (mini) master’s level course in OM concepts and principles. Again, as stated above, best OM Medical Practices are achieved, in part, through competency in the language. This allows for more finely nuanced herbal prescribing and acupuncture interventions. The importance of this concern has a direct impact on clinical practice, patient care and systems based care, as well as access to the vast clinical resources available only in Chinese.

Learning Methodology

Study assignments are sent by email. Group discussion is encouraged. Self-study is crucial, but Herman will always give feedback to individual questions, and he will help you to evaluate progress regularly.

Participation requirements

Some basic knowledge of Chinese Medicine is helpful, but the course is open for beginning as well as advanced students and practitioners of Chinese Medicine. The contents of the course can be adjusted according to the needs and wishes of the students.

Course leader

Herman Oving is a sinologist and practitioner of Chinese Medicine. He has taught Chinese medical language to students and practitioners for seven years and works as a translator of Chinese medical texts.

Contents of Block A: Basic Concepts

You will study characters from Chinese Medical Chinese (see below). Herman has developed additional material exploring the historical and philosophical roots of concepts using quotes from the classical literature.

Assignments

Herman will send you documents to study. He will tell you which characters to study in the book Chinese Medical Characters. You will learn to read and write a couple of characters each week. Herman will show you how to use the internet to learn how to pronounce them.

The tests and exam are to check your knowledge of the characters studied thus far and the exam includes a short essay. Writing the tests and passing the exam is a prerequisite for continuing to Block B and C.

Study-load and CEU's/ CPD

To get the maximum out of this course, you will need to study an hour a day. The course (Block A) qualifies for 100 NCCAOM PDA Points. The duration of the course is five months.

Course material

You are required to study Chinese Medical Characters, Volume One: Basic Vocabulary [0] (Paradigm Publications, 2003). You can begin to study Chinese Medical Chinese, Grammar and Vocabulary [0] (Paradigm Publications, 2002). Herman will provide extra study material in the form of pdf documents and study assignments per email. A Brief History of Qi [0] and The Practical Dictionary of Chinese Medicine [0] are strongly recommended but not required.

Schedule

Spring 2010 Session: Block A will begin in February 2010, a specific date will be set when class registrations are complete.

Cost

Block A: $500.00 US dollars; paid with course registration to cover Block A. An additional $750.00 charge for Blocks B and C is due at the beginning of Block B. Your fee is fully refundable if the class is cancelled. If you withdraw during the course, you will be refunded an amount proportional to the number of weeks that have passed less a $25.00 charge for processing. Alternately, you may choose to restart the class during a new session for half price. If you choose not to continue with Block B, there is no additional charge. The entire course, Blocks A, B and C can be purchased for $1,175.

Enrolment

Click Here to Join this Class [1]

Contact Herman Oving for further information. [2]

Contents of Block B and C: Continuing Study

You will increase your speed of learning of Chinese medical characters, continue to deepen your understanding by studying quotes from the medical classics, and begin to study grammar. Subjects are: organ theory; channel theory; and pulse qualities. We will also discuss more single characters, such as those appearing in acupoint names and a series of characters used in terms for therapeutic principles. Names of medicinals and formulas will be discussed as well.

Schedule

Block B (current session) will run from September 2008 to January 2009, and Block C from February 2009 to July 2009. To enter Block B and C, you need to pass the exam of the previous block. The final examination will consist of translating a simple text.

Literature for Block B

Chinese Medical Chinese, Grammar and Vocabulary [2] (Paradigm Publications, 2002)

Chinese Medical Characters, Volume II: Acupoint Vocabulary [2] (Paradigm Publications, 2005)

Chinese Medical Characters, Volume III: Materia Medica [2](Paradigm Publications, 2006)

Literature for Block C will be announced later.