Getting Ready for Work

A Career in Traditional Chinese Medicine

This guest article was written by Damien from Sydney Institute of Chinese Medicine.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a unique medical system. It dates back thousands of years, is recognised by the World Health Organisation, is practised in over 180 countries worldwide and delivers a natural, drug free approach to treatments while maintaining general health and wellbeing.

TCM’s most common treatment types are acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine. Acupuncture involves inserting needles at key points in a patient’s body to stimulate qi. Herbal Chinese medicine involves prescribing a combination of natural herbs to help a patient based on their symptoms.

What does a Career in TCM Involve?

Most TCM practitioners in Australia spend most of their time seeing patients in a clinic. This typically involves:

• Meeting patients and listening to their health concerns.
• Diagnosing the problem and planning the right treatment.
• Prescribing acupuncture and/or herbal medicine.
• Providing lifestyle and dietary advice.
• Contacting the patient to monitor their progress and adjust the treatment as needed.
• Working with other healthcare professions, such as doctors or physiotherapists, to ensure the best outcomes for the patient.
• Attending workshops and seminars each year to ensure that their knowledge and skills are up to date.

How can I become a TCM Practitioner?

If you are a high school student in Australia, these four steps are the fastest path to becoming a TCM practitioner:

1. Choose an accredited institution: Five institutions in Australia are accredited to teach a Bachelor of TCM degree – Endeavour College, RMIT University, the Sydney Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Torrens University and Western Sydney University. Decide which one best suits you.
2. Meet their entry requirements: Each institution has its own entry requirements, such as a specific ATAR or completion of certain subjects in high school. Check the requirements of the institution you’re interested in – and make sure you meet them!
3. Complete the degree: Your degree of TCM degree will normally take around four years to complete. During this time, you will learn Chinese medicine theory, acupuncture, herbal medicine, anatomy, physiology and pathology. You will also receive hands-on clinical training under the supervision of experienced practitioners.
4. Get registered: After completing your degree, you need to register with the Chinese Medicine Board of Australia. Once you’ve been registered, you’re ready to practise!

What’s the Difference Between a Reference and a Referee?

If you’re hunting for work, you’ve probably put together a resume to hand out to potential employers. One of the most important parts of the hiring process is the employer looking for information about you from other people. This is usually done through references and referees.

But what are references and referees, and what’s the difference? Read on to find out.

Reference vs referee

A referee refers to an actual person – someone you’ll put down on your resume who can vouch for your skills and effectiveness.

A reference is a written document or statement from a person you’ve worked for. It usually includes information about the kind of work you undertook, and your skills and abilities.

So someone may be willing to write up a reference for you, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you also need to include them as a referee on your resume.

The purpose of references and referees is so employers can cross-check any information you’ve put on your resume to ensure you’re not making anything up.

The benefit of references is that once you have one, you can use it over and over again without needing to worry about it changing. On the other hand, the benefit of referees is that they can potentially provide more relevant and up-to-date information.

Who can be a referee?

Your referees need to be people who know about your work experience and skills, and are willing to vouch for you in a positive way.

Keep in mind you should never put your parents or friends down as references – employers will usually consider them as biased and unreliable. The best referees are people you know in a professional capacity, such as your employer. If you’ve never had a job before, you can include people like teachers, mentors or coaches instead.

If you’re going to add someone as a referee to your resume, make sure you let them know in advance. Not only is it the polite thing to do, it also means they can be prepared in case a potential employer calls them for information.

Ensure your referee details are always kept up to date – if an employer can’t get in touch with your referees, this might affect your application.

Who can I get a reference from?

If you’d like to add some references to your resume, they don’t just need to come from people you’ve been employed by.

If you’re undertaking work experience, it’s a good idea to ask if you can get a reference at the end of your placement. Or if you do any sort of volunteer work, this is great to get a reference for too.

If you have no work experience (either paid or unpaid), you can also ask for what’s known as a ‘character reference’. Obviously this won’t include any details of your work, but can tell a potential employer more about the type of person you are. These might come from people like teachers or coaches.

References are most credible if they’re written or typed on a company letterhead, and also signed by the person who wrote the reference. Keep in mind that employers might contact the business or person you’ve received a reference from to make sure it’s legit.

Want more?

Like to know more about job hunting? Check out the other resources on Study Work Grow.

Find out about Entry Level Opportunities at Local Councils

There are so many different branches and jobs within Local Councils you probably can’t even think of a quarter of them. Which is great news if you’re thinking about future careers, as it means there are many pathways to start a new career in Local Government.

Councils offer a range of programs for graduates, school leavers, school and university students, as well as mature aged people to develop a new career path and make a real difference in your community.

You can learn all about the different kinds of entry level opportunities here: https://www.careersatcouncil.com.au/entry-level-opportunities/