The Canadian Association of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (CAATCM)
The Canadian Association of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (CAATCM) was incorporated in 1994 as a non-profit, multi-discipline professional association to promote and improve the practice of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture in the prevention and treatment of diseases, and restoration and maintenance of health.
We regard the health and well-being of our clients as our primary responsibility, and we strive to meet their needs and help them attain their optimal level of health.
We maintain that there should be acceptable standards of practice, both academic and clinical, in TCM and Acupuncture to ensure the quality of care provided by the practitioners of TCM and acupuncture meets the expectations of the general public.
We advocate that acupuncture is an integral part of TCM, and not a separate entity. It is one of the treatment modalities used in TCM and should only be applied after appropriate assessment and proper differential diagnosis are made to achieve the desired therapeutic results.
We insist that acupuncture practitioners must be knowledgeable in the fundamentals of TCM and be proficient in the assessment techniques in order to arrive at the proper diagnosis and offer the appropriate treatment.
We are confident that TCM and acupuncture offer effective treatment alternatives to our clients in seeking optimal health. TCM addresses the causes of the disease and their appropriate treatments through acupuncture, herbal therapy, diet, exercise and tuina.
We are committed to continuing education to broaden our knowledge base, keep us abreast with current developments in the medical field, and enable us to provide better quality service to our clients.
We feel that practitioners of TCM and acupuncture deserve proper professional recognition. We believe the establishment of a self-regulating College of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture Practitioners is an essential step towards this goal.
In the past, we have been instrumental in the development of the Ontario Acupuncture Examination, taking the first step to establish minimum standards for acupuncturists. To date, there have been hundreds of acupuncture practitioners who have sat and passed this Examination.
We have made presentations on behalf of our profession to the Health Professions Regulatory Advisory Council (HPRAC) regarding self-regulation and the establishment of a College of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture Practitioners to monitor such functions.
Dr. James Yuan, our Association Chairman, made submissions to the federal government's Sector Study for Complementary and Alternative Health Care on behalf of practitioners in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
We have maintained a close relationship with different levels of government to lobby for self-regulation of our profession.
We have organized many continuing education sessions, inviting professors in TCM and acupuncture at universities in China to come and give presentations on related topics to keep our members abreast with recent developments in TCM and new treatment protocols.