I asked the British Acupuncture council: Would your members be allowed to practice in China?
Because they state on their website:

BAcC professional codes

The British Acupuncture Council is committed to ensuring all patients receive the highest standard of professional care during their acupuncture treatment

.

Here's their answer!

Dear Robert

Thank you for your inquiry.

China is a very large country, and it would be difficult to offer a definitive view. However, as we understand it, the majority of acupuncture practice in China is offered through the state hospital system, and there are a variety of degree qualifications which mean that most practitioners are also trained in western medicine to a far greater extent than would be the case in the UK. This reflects the fact that acupuncture is in many areas of clinical specialty offered within the state system, and the training which people undertake can be as much as five to seven years long. There are shorter degree courses in China, but these tend to harness acupuncture to a western clinical skill. With the difficulty of making sense of the apparently infinite varieties of course available this means that we often have problems with determining the full extent of someone's competence when they apply through our external applicant route. What we can say with some confidence, though, is that it would be highly unlikely to find a course in China which replicated the form of UK courses, with the acupuncture skill being primary and sufficient western medicine included (about one third of course time) to ensure that practitioners can integrate their work with conventional medicine and be aware of red flag conditions requiring immediate referral.

That said, there is no doubt that there are more rural areas where acupuncture is still an apprentice-style system, often within families, which is roughly how it was pre-1945, and in these areas one assumes that if a practitioner was good enough they would be able to eke out a living. How the authorities might react to this is another matter, and we have not heard of any western Europeans who have taken their skills back to China in this way.

However, a number of the UK courses have close affiliations with Chinese hospitals and universities, and their students undertake six week or three month study programmes in China, and often undertake postgraduate training in China. Working within a specialist hospital department may give a practitioner a chance to see hundreds, if not thousands, of similar cases in a very short period of time, and this can provide invaluable clinical understanding.

There are also a number of short courses in cities like Nanjing and Beijing which offer three or six month training from scratch to westerners, and many of the senior figures in the profession undertook this training when UK training was in its infancy. We have a number of members who in the last decade have begun their training in this way and gone on to work successfully in Chinese hospital departments, but it has to be said that in each case they have had to meet our requirements in the UK and had to undertake a fair bit of additional training in clinical management and western medicine before we could admit them to membership.

The short answer, though, is that it would probably be unusual for a UK trained practitioner to be able to drop straight into mainstream acupuncture practice in China because of the way that this is offered as part of an integrated package of medicine through the state system.

Best regards

BRITISH ACUPUNCTURE COUNCIL

My reply:

Dear Sandy,

Thank you for your answer, however, I think you may be ill informed regarding the course structures in China, and indeed in your own country. In China, accredited Acupuncture practitioners have had a minimum of 5 to 7 year full time study. No one else is allowed to practice. The courses you offer in the UK, although they state them to be full time, are actually part time. Most of your colleges have courses running over 3 years part time with as little as 400 contact hours. This compared with a minimum of 3500 hrs in China. There are indeed short courses for foreigners, but these people are not allowed to practice in China. Only as part of their study under supervision. Been there and done that.

The reason I asked you the question is because a lot of my patients ask me, I will put your reply on my blog with a commentary.

Thank you,

Robert Vandevelde

Past President Australian Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Association

BAC:

Dear Robert

Many thanks for your very helpful comments.

I went back to the expert practitioner from whom we sought a response, and he fully understands your comments. However, he did point out that the course structures in China are complex, and although the vast majority are five to seven years long, the proportion of TCM to Western medicine is often variable. This has proved taxing on occasion when applicants to the BAcC have the usual booklet certificates without course transcripts, and on a number of occasions it has become apparent that the level of acupuncture training is quite rudimentary. In all cases, however, the training as a whole substantially exceeds what a UK trained practitioner can reasonably achieve, and would mean a reciprocal recognition of qualification was well-nigh impossible.

With regard to your comment about the part time nature of training, he pointed out that the courses are degree-equivalent within the UK University teaching systems, and that the balance of theory, contact time and western medical training had been struck after many years of complex discussion. The view always taken was that this provided a good basic level of training to deliver safe, competent and effective acupuncture on which the overwhelming majority of practitioners then engage in lifelong postgraduate education. There are many in the UK who believe that a five year training is the ideal, but at present the funding of training, either through private institutions or through universities, makes this development unlikely in the near future.

Once again, thank you for your response. We shall look forward to reading your bog with interest.

Best regards

THE BRITISH ACUPUNCTURE COUNCIL

What you are saying is that  your members have a basic knowledge of training but will learn the rest while they are practicing through continuing education!

Continuing study

20.      You must refresh your knowledge and techniques by, for example, attending appropriate seminars and post-graduate training courses, or by undertaking recognized Continuing Professional Development training. Failure to take part in an appropriate amount of post-graduate education will be taken into account by the Professional Conduct Committee if there are any allegations concerning your professional competence.

I'm sorry Sandy, but your code of safe practice does not state what appropriate continuing education is. and if you don't do any, no action will be taken unless there are allegations against  you concerning professional competence!
Not good enough is it?