Chinese medicine 101
THE annual Chinese Medicine Week was organised at the International Medical University (IMU) Bukit Jalil campus from Oct 30 to Nov 1 with the aim of raising awareness and promoting knowledge of Chinese medicine to the public.
Two display boards with over 100 self-made compartments were placed near the entrance and decorated with real herbs, along with their functions stated under them. Common herbs in bottles and equipment used for Chinese medicine therapies such as acupuncture, vacuum and fire cupping, moxibustion and skin scraping were also placed near the boards, complete with written explanations for better understanding.
Students were on hand to help answer visitors’ enquiries and clarify matters related to Chinese medicine. Visitors also had the chance try out the equipment under supervision.
Other exhibition boards included basic theories and diagnostic methods as well as the history of Chinese medicine with information on famous physicians, books, schools of thought and more.
Throughout the event, senior students conducted demonstrations on fire cupping, moxibustion and skin scraping.
Visitors also learned about the various therapies and their procedures and functions.
A variety of foods such as herbal eggs, herbal jelly, soya jelly, osmanthus jelly, Luo Han Guo tea and aloe vera tea were also sold.
As with previous years, the Tuina massage was the most popular activity during Chinese Medicine Week. Other services provided included ear acupressure and diagnosis services.
A series of games designed to promote insights into Chinese medicine were also held. These included flipping cards with herb pictures, recognising acupoints of different meridians and knowing herbal formulas and herbs.
IMU offers a four-year BSc (Hons) in Chinese Medicine. It has partnerships with several universities of TCM in China (Shanghai University of TCM, Shandong University of TCM, Guangzhou University of TCM) and RMIT University, Australia, for students to transfer after three years in the IMU Chinese Medicine programme.
Students are awarded the bachelor degree in Chinese Medicine of the respective partner universities upon completing their studies.
The commencement for the Chinese Medicine programme is in February and September each year. IMU welcomes students with pre-university qualifications to join the university.
If you have pre-university qualifications, apply online today. If you have just completed your SPM and do not have pre-university qualifications, consider enrolling in the one-year IMU Foundation in Science, the direct route for entry into any of the university’s local degree programmes.
■ For more details, log on to www.imu.edu.my or e-mail start@imu.edu.my or call IMU at 03-2731 7272.