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Clinical Teaching Models in Traditional Chinese Medicine: Historical Evolution and Contemporary Integration
Taisong Liu1, Ping Zhao2, Xiaoqi Wu2
1Institute of Chinese Medical Literature and Culture, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China.
Rationale:
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has developed a distinctive tradition of clinical teaching shaped by historical inheritance, institutional transformation and the modernization of medical education. Among its major teaching models, the master-apprentice system, the academy system and modern clinical rotations represent three key stages in the evolution of clinical training. However, these models are often examined separately, and an integrated understanding of their historical continuity and contemporary educational significance remains limited.
Aims And Objectives:
This review aimed to examine the evolution of major clinical teaching models in TCM and to explore their implications for contemporary clinical education.
Method:
A narrative review with a historical-analytical perspective was conducted to analyse the origins, educational characteristics, strengths, limitations and modern transformation of the master-apprentice system, the academy system and the clinical rotation model.
Results:
The review indicates that the master-apprentice model has played a central role in transmitting tacit clinical knowledge, mentorship-based learning and individualized professional formation. The academy system promoted the institutionalization of TCM education by integrating classical learning, scholarly exchange and practical cultivation. Modern clinical rotations have strengthened structured supervision, practical competence and exposure to diverse clinical settings, making them essential to contemporary TCM education. Each model, however, also has limitations, including the low standardizability of apprenticeship, the historical constraints of academy-based teaching and the risk that overly standardized rotations may weaken the distinctive interpretive logic of TCM.
Conclusion:
The evolution of TCM clinical teaching reflects a process of educational adaptation in which continuity and reform coexist. Future TCM clinical education should integrate mentorship, institutional learning and competency-oriented practical training to cultivate clinically competent practitioners grounded in the intellectual traditions of TCM.
