Zhongyi Online Partners with China Association of Chinese Medicine to Launch 'Cornerstone Initiative' for Innovative TCM Talent Development

On September 20, 2016, the China Association of Chinese Medicine (CACM) and Zhongyi Online formally signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Beijing. CACM designated Zhongyi Online as its “New Media Strategic Partner,” thereby establishing a strategic partnership between the two parties. Meanwhile, both sides will launch the “Cornerstone Initiative” to explore new models and mechanisms for cultivating traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) professionals, particularly those at the primary care level, in the new media environment.

“TCM Online” — Building the Premier Platform for TCM Heritage Education

Actually, this is not their first collaboration.

This year, TCM Online has hosted 14 academic activities via live streaming organized by the society, with a cumulative online viewership of 93,000. The total number of clicks on the live streams has exceeded 200,000. At the 4th Qihuang Forum of the China Association of Chinese Medicine (CACM) held in July this year, TCM Online provided live coverage, with 10,000 viewers watching simultaneously online. Xie Zhong, Deputy Secretary-General of the CACM, stated, “This is a beneficial and successful attempt to leverage internet technologies in the new media environment.”

TCM Online is currently a leading online platform for the inheritance education and academic live streaming of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Built upon internet technologies, the platform has been dedicated to the dissemination, preservation, and development of TCM, traditional culture, and TCM academia.

The China Association of Chinese Medicine and Zhongyi Online have entered into a strategic partnership to leverage their respective strengths, achieve resource sharing, build the premier platform for the inheritance and education of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and enhance TCM service capabilities.

Through this collaboration, the two parties will pool expert insights to design a series of course curricula, expand content supply, meet the learning needs of diverse audiences, and enhance the service capabilities and quality of “TCM Online.” Meanwhile, they will explore and innovate the content supply model and dissemination formats of the “TCM Online” platform.

The Society will leverage its expert advantages to establish a high-quality national teaching expert team, enrich the course content on the “TCM Online” platform, and meet the continuing education needs of professionals in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) science and technology. Relying on its pool of distinguished experts, the Society will jointly organize online and offline training, health education, and health consultation activities.

“Cornerstone Initiative” — Exploring New Models for Training Professionals in Traditional Chinese Medicine

In February this year, the State Council issued the “Outline of the Strategic Plan for the Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine (2016–2030),” which proposes that by 2030, a TCM talent workforce should be basically established, comprising 100 National Masters of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 10,000 renowned TCM practitioners, one million licensed TCM physicians, and ten million skilled vocational personnel.

To actively implement the spirit of the State Council, the China Association of Chinese Medicine and TCM Online will jointly launch the “Cornerstone Initiative,” themed around the “Future Renowned Physicians 1+1 Growth Plan,” to conduct related online and offline training activities.

The “Cornerstone Initiative” plans to mobilize expert resources from the China Association of Chinese Medicine and its specialized branches, leveraging the online education platform of Zhongyi Online. The initiative aims to partner with hundreds of prefecture-level cities to train one million TCM practitioners, primary care physicians, and healthcare professionals through online and offline programs over three years. This effort seeks to enhance academic proficiency, clinical capabilities, and health service delivery in traditional Chinese medicine, thereby better meeting public demand for TCM services and laying a solid foundation for the health of the Chinese people.

It is reported that the “Cornerstone Initiative” primarily targets TCM practitioners in municipal- and county-level TCM hospitals and general hospitals; TCM practitioners and general practitioners in township health centers, village clinics, community health service centers, and outpatient departments; as well as graduates of TCM universities. The main model combines online training with offline activities (including training, health education, and health consultations). Five to eight offline training sessions are planned for the end of this year, with an annual target of 30–40 sessions thereafter. During each training session, health consultation or health education activities will be held. By integrating top-tier expert resources with the TCM Online platform, lectures can be delivered once and reused multiple times, thereby extending online training opportunities to a broader base of primary-care physicians across China.

Deputy Secretary-General Xie Zhong pointed out that, under the current new circumstances, only by continuously exploring and innovating models for talent development and academic exchange can we better promote the academic advancement and overall progress of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

Through this collaboration, the China Association of Chinese Medicine and Zhongyi Online aim to explore new models and mechanisms for cultivating TCM professionals, particularly those at the primary care level, under the new circumstances. They seek to provide an online learning model that maximally meets their needs, enabling primary-care TCM practitioners to acquire practical TCM knowledge and skills, as well as access the academic insights and clinical experience of renowned TCM experts and scholars, without having to leave home or with minimal travel.

This collaboration will leverage internet technology and a TCM online education platform to provide primary care physicians with more scientific and authoritative health education knowledge on traditional Chinese medicine, thereby enhancing their health literacy and supporting the realization of the Healthy China strategy. Under the synergy of modern technology, ancient traditional Chinese medicine will radiate renewed vitality and vigor.