What certificates can I take for traditional Chinese medicine health care?

There are actually not as many certificates on the market that can be legally used in the field of traditional Chinese medicine health care as those posted online. Most of the certificates are "guaranteed" and "you can open a clinic with a certificate". They are either training certificates without official validity, or simply self-made pheasant certificates made by institutions. It is easy to get into trouble if they are really used to practice.

Two years ago, I met Brother Chen who opened a health center in a community. He spent 2,800 yuan to buy a senior physical therapist certificate issued by a certain "National Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine". I thought that with the certificate, there would be no problem, but he ended up doing bloodletting quilts for his customers. After someone reported the illegal practice of medicine, he was not only fined more than 20,000 yuan, but also closed for half a year. Later, he honestly followed the apprenticeship path and spent three years to become an assistant physician of traditional Chinese medicine. Only then did he dare to put the medical and health care projects on the shelves again. If you plan to do health care projects with medical attributes such as acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine bone setting, scraping and bloodletting, the only thing that can legally support you is the Traditional Chinese Medicine Practicing (Assistant) Physician Qualification Certificate organized by the National Medical Examination Center. The application threshold for this certificate is not low. You must either have a full-time degree in a Chinese medicine-related major, or sign up through a path with real expertise and mentorship. After passing the exam, you can not only legally carry out related medical health care services, but also can use it if you later want to take the doctor's title exam or open a traditional Chinese medicine clinic.

If you have no intention to touch the medical field and only provide pure health care services such as ordinary moxibustion, shoulder and neck massage, and health dietary guidance, you can take the professional skill level certificate issued by a third-party evaluation agency registered with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, such as health manager, health moxibustionist, and health masseur. Such certificates are nationally recognized certificates of skill level. After passing the exam, many areas can receive skill improvement subsidies ranging from 1,000 to 2,000, which can be a stepping stone to find a job in a health center.

Nowadays, many people in the industry will take the training certificate issued by various industry associations and private training institutions. There has been a lot of controversy about this type of certificate. Some people think that as long as this type of certificate is issued by a formal organization, it can at least prove that they have received systematic training. It can also increase their sense of trust when introducing it to customers or looking for a job.； Some people also think that this type of certificate is not officially registered. Many institutions can get it by paying money. The gold content is very low and it is completely IQ tax. It depends on your own needs. Anyway, remember that this type of certificate can never be used to provide medical services. If the organization tells you that you can get acupuncture and bloodletting with this certificate, just block it.

If you study Chinese medicine for health care purely as a hobby, and you only do moxibustion and diet adjustments for your family, and have no intention of practicing, then you don’t actually need to take any certificates. If you really want a certificate of study, you can go to a public welfare training class run by a regular Chinese medicine school and get a certificate of completion. You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars to buy some useless certificates and let them gather dust at home.