COVID-19 Education and Supervised Clinical Training Requirements Update

Online Courses

In consideration of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the College will recognize, on an interim basis, online didactic courses¹ offered during the pandemic as equivalent to classroom theoretical instruction, as described under section 9 of the Registration Regulation. That is, one of the registration requirements for the General class being the successful completion of a post‐secondary program in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Under the Registration Regulation, the program must:

1. in the case of a full traditional Chinese medicine program, consist of at least four years of full-time education, or education that is of equivalent duration, and
2. in the case of a traditional Chinese medicine acupuncture program, consist of at least three years of full-time education, or education that is of equivalent duration.

The regulation further defines full-time education as “a program of study that annually consists of at least 480 hours of classroom theoretical instruction or at least 620 hours of practical instruction or some combination of the two where, for every hour of classroom theoretical instruction that is less than 480 hours there must be a corresponding increase of 1.3 hours in the number of hours of practical instruction”. O. Reg. 27/13, s. 1.

The online didactic courses offered during the pandemic will also be accepted for the purpose of approving candidates for the Pan-Canadian Examinations.

Practical Instruction and Supervised Clinical Training

In addition, to the theoretical and practical requirements listed above, applicants for the General class must also successfully complete a program of supervised clinical training, which consists of at least 45 weeks of clinical experience involving at least 500 hours of direct patient contact.

 It is the College’s position that all practical instruction and supervised clinical training must be provided in person. 

Pan-Canadian Examinations

To be eligible to write the Pan-Canadian Examinations, candidates must meet a number of requirements, including the supervised clinical training requirement. For more information, please see the Pan-Canadian Examinations Application Guide.

Due to the pandemic, and on a temporary basis, applicants for previous examination administrations were permitted to write the exams prior to completing their supervised clinical training. Please note that this exception is no longer in effect.

For the October 2023 administration, all applicants are required to have completed their supervised clinical training in order to be eligible to write the examinations. All applicants are responsible for ensuring the College receives confirmation from their school regarding their successful completion of all theoretical and didactic courses and clinical training.

To be granted the General Class Certificate, applicants must meet all the requirements listed under section 9 of the Registration Regulation.