NZSATCM Delivers Modern Choice for
Traditional Medicine

Graduation Ceremonies
The delivery of high quality acupuncture health services in New Zealand took a major step forward on Friday March 19 and Saturday 27 March when nineteen graduates from the Wellington campus and 10 from Auckland campus received their Bachelor of Health Science (Acupuncture) degrees.

• The 19 students who finished the four-year full-time study were among a total of twenty-nine graduates of the New Zealand School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine in Wellington. The graduation ceremony was held at the Pines in Houghton Bay.
• The 10 Auckland bachelor graduates were among a total of twenty-seven graduates with the ceremony being held at Bayfield School Hall in Herne Bay.

Of the fifty-six awards, thirty-nine graduated with the BHSc(Aucpuncuture), two graduated with the International Diploma of Acupuncture, ten received their National Diploma of Acupuncture(NDA), nine the Diploma in Tuina (Chinese medical massage) and one in Qigong (Chinese medical breathing).

Paddy McBride, President of the New Zealand Register of Acupuncturists (NZRA), told the celebrants and their quests that acupuncture was now a mainstream medical discipline widely accepted within New Zealand and internationally.

In her speech, Paddy congratulated the School for being the leading edge in the creation of highly qualified acupuncturists to meet the increasing popularity and demand for holistic medicine nationally and internationally.

She further congratulated the School for being the country’s leading educational institution providing teaching and training at an increasingly high level. What’s being taught at NZSATCM are the real practical skills backed by a deep knowledge of the principles. It’s a rigorous four-year study with a core curriculum that combines traditional Chinese medicine and western medical studies.

Paddy says the increasing popularity of acupuncture also reflects the increasing cultural and economic links between China and New Zealand. About 50 per cent of the members were Chinese. “We have interesting situations where Chinese students are learning, what is a traditional Chinese discipline, in English,” she says, adding that acupuncture has been an accepted part of the cultures of other countries like Japan and Korea.

Most of the courses offered at the School have traditional Chinese medicine and western medical studies as core curriculum. All the courses are NZQA approved. Eighty percent of the graduates of the School successfully established their own practices within two years.

Katie Jenkins, young mother of four children aged from seven-years-old downward, is one of the 19 graduating with a Bachelors degree from Wellington. A qualified nurse, she became interested in acupuncture after listening to hospital patients recounting their own stories about how the technique had helped them.

"As a health practitioner, I want to help others. I have a choice of establishing a clinic at home or working at one of the integrated health centres,” she said.

For more information, contact: Lorraine, ph: 04 4739005, email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Janine, ph: 09 361 1161, email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it