Our Hands On Approach

The City College of Acupuncture course is composed of modules that focus on different specialist areas. In addition, we also have some strands of activity which cut across different modules – such as the Practical Techniques Strand, which means that most of your lessons will have a practical aspect to them.

 

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Practical Techniques Strand

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We want you to be relaxed and confident about treating when you go into our teaching clinic. Clinical skills such as tongue and pulse diagnosis, needling, cupping, gua sha, moxibustion, electro acupuncture and auricular acupuncture start being taught within a few weeks of you joining us and are practised regularly throughout the course.

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Nearly every lesson you take will have time dedicated to the Practical Skills Strand in order to give you as much experience in treating as possible.

 

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Apprenticeship Days Strand

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Another strand that cuts across several modules is the Apprenticeship Day Strand. On these days you get to observe in close proximity people being treated for a wide range of conditions. You are able to practice your tongue and pulse skills and discuss the cases in depth with the practitioners.

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We pride ourselves on being a college that embraces eclecticism, and we make sure that you see a wide range of practitioners from different backgrounds so that you can start to think about how you would like to practice once qualified. These treatments are given initially by CCA tutors, but you will also spend some time observing in our teaching clinic where you will be able to see how accomplished our third year students are.

 

 

Spiral Curriculum

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We teach Chinese Medicine using what is called a ‘spiral curriculum’. This means that concepts and skills are initially introduced in a basic way and then returned to time after time to enable you to build up an understanding of complex issues. If you don’t immediately grasp something the first time around, you will have ample repeated opportunities to review the material and ask questions until the most complex concepts become easy to grasp.

 

 

Blended Learning

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Our curriculum is delivered in a blended manner that incorporates theoretical and practical sessions with course notes and educational technologies such as videos, the college SharePoint system, and occasionally on-line Teams sessions.  Our curriculum includes formal lectures, practical demonstrations, practical sessions split into small groups, formative assessments, and group tutorials. We have two fully-equipped computer rooms, meaning that the large amount of teaching material we provide electronically can be accessed both on-site or remotely from home. Wi-Fi is available throughout the building.  

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Our Support Still Continues When You Have Graduated

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If you have missed any lectures or need to refresh your knowledge on any subject, you are allowed to come and re-attend any lecture on the course. Just let us know what you need to go over, and we will tell you when those classes are running.