New Heights for Acupuncture in New Zealand
New Zealand School of Acupuncture (NZSATCM), which began as a small ripple 25 years ago, is about to cause a large stir,
as it leads tertiary education to new heights in the field of Acupuncture and Chinese medicine in New Zealand.
In March of 2014, NZSATCM gained NZQA accreditation for a Master’s programme. The intensive NZQA vetting process through
a panel of experts, NZ and Australian TCM academics, brought together to scrutinize, challenge and apply rigorous
standards eventually gave rise to a New Zealand first; a Master’s of Health Science- Chinese Medicine.
Adejola Olatunji, a founding Director of the school, reflected back;
“In 1987, when I first arrived in the capital city, there were at most 25 -30 acupuncturists in the whole of NZ. This
medicine could only be learnt by going offshore”.
Now there are over 800 members in the New Zealand Register of Acupuncturists, a large percentage of these being
graduates from NZSATCM. The medicine has grown in popularity, partially due to ACC recognition and through the growing
body of research validating acupuncture, and also the client’s desire to a more holistic approach to managing their
health.
Paddy McBride, current president of the New Zealand Register of Acupuncturists, when speaking at the school’s recent
graduation ceremony, commended the new qualification as advancing the profession in this country. Not only can one study
acupuncture and TCM at Bachelor’s level in Wellington and Auckland, now practitioners can design and implement their own
research projects while completing a Master’s qualification.
There have been inroads into the public arena for Acupuncture and TCM. The profession celebrated when Tim Haiseldine
when he became a Member of the NZ Order of Merit in 21012, for services to Acupuncture- the first time an acupuncturist
received such public endorsement.
Another first for the country was gained in April of this year, when the University of Western Sydney conferred Debra
Betts with a PhD for acupuncture research studies into recurrent miscarriage.
“Often the western medical approach was to deliver the ‘facts’ and avoid ‘false hope’. TCM practitioners, on the other
hand, while acknowledging the serious implications of the presenting symptoms, are also able to offer the supportive
care of acupuncture, lifestyle and dietary recommendations from an empowering perspective. Interestingly, all the
participants in the trial spoke of how much they valued the support they received. What was of statistically
significance was that those women receiving acupuncture experienced a reduction in symptoms related to threatened
miscarriage, including bleeding, cramping, back pain, and emotional distress.”
Betts, NZ born and Wellington based, established an obstetrics acupuncture clinic at Hutt hospital 5 years ago. She has
trained midwives in the specifics of acupuncture in pregnancy and is a sought after lecturer around the globe.
Betts and Leonie Walker a respected nursing workforce researcher based at the NZ Nurses Organisation, and professor with
the Postgraduate School of Nursing and Midwifery at Victoria will co lead the new Master of Health Science at the New
Zealand school of acupuncture and TCM. These are exciting time for acupuncture development globally.
ENDS