Clinical Handbook and Breakout Session Notes
Professional conduct and boundaries
TCM practitioners or doctors must be registered with the CTC and PAO; students are not yet registered and cannot act as acupuncturists or PCM practitioners.
No student shall needle, be needleled, perform, or receive any treatment modalities in school outside of the scheduled and supervised periods and anywhere else, anytime outside of the school.
If you want to be needled or practice needling, it must be within the school premises, during supervised school time, and under the supervision of a designated qualified registered supervisor or clinical instructor.
Consent from an individual is not a justification for inappropriate conduct by a student. For example, if a classmate asks, "Simon, can you needle me?", the activity is not allowed—even if the person says it’s okay.
TSTCM reserves the right to initiate disciplinary action in cases where a student conducts themselves in a manner unbecoming of the educational institution.
Supervision, practice rules, and safety
Practice must occur only under supervision; if there is no qualified supervisor available, you should not practice.
The school setting is the controlled environment for any needling or treatment-related activities.
Consent and ethics in student practice
Consent does not legalize or justify unsafe or inappropriate conduct.
The policy applies regardless of peer relationships or claimed informal approvals.
Disciplinary action and governance
The institution retains the right to discipline students for unbecoming conduct.
These rules are intended to protect students, patients, and the integrity of the program.
Breakout groups, roster, and logistics
Group assignments for breakout work:
Group 1: Amanda, Barney, Fengzi, Esther, Jennifer, Claudia
Group 2: Katrina, Laila, Lynn, Mei Jing, Anna
Group 3: Qian, Sam, Sarah, Sharon, Simon, Tanil
Group 4: Nancy, Yanmin, Chris, Ingrid, Derek
You will be broken into rooms for a breakout session of 30 minutes to:
Introduce yourselves
Become familiar with your groupmates
Assign roles for case work: primary intern, assistant, observer (and one other role mentioned but not named in the transcript)
Return to the main room by 09:40.
The breakout exercise is designed to help you collaborate effectively for future group work and case discussions.
Breakout session experience and dynamics
You should be able to see breakout rooms and join accordingly.
It is common for connectivity or camera issues during breakout transitions (e.g., camera resets or blank screens).
The session includes informal dialogue about prior terms and experiences to ease into group collaboration.
Term structure, progression, and scheduling nuances
Discussion about term layout and preceding courses:
References to courses like ACU 1, ACU 2, TCM 1, TCM 2, and herbs 1 (Herb 1) and herbs 2.
Some participants note that the scheduling for the first two years is the same across tracks (e.g., all two-year schedules align for ACU and TCM tracks).
Break timing and perception of breaks:
A participant joked about a lengthy summer break; another clarified that the break is actually 1 month (not four months).
There is an annual cadence to breaks, and the timing can cause confusion early on.
The conversation also references the pacing of the term and the sequencing of courses (Herb 1, TCM 2, ACU 2, TCM 1, etc.).
Student introductions and backgrounds (highlights)
Sam: practicing nurse in hospice; has yoga and Reiki background; aims to build a home care business incorporating acupuncture; relatively new to TCM; sees acupuncture as filling gaps in western healthcare.
Sarah: studies kinesiology; full-time student; third term, first year overall; background in sports/biomechanics.
Sharon: massage therapist; interested in branching from massage into acupuncture/TCM; works at a prenatal clinic; knows an acupuncturist in her circle.
Neil/Tian: (The speaker’s name progression suggests two identifiers in the session; the person describes) a BS in psychology; trauma-informed holistic wellness professional with life-coach certs; trained in Root Cause Therapy; experienced with postpartum depression and energy work; believes TCM uniquely aligns with a biopsychosocial-spiritual wellness model; sees acupuncture as enhancing somatic release and trauma healing; plans to pursue acupuncture licensure and possibly combine it with his/her existing practice.
Daniel: shares the business logo story—moon-influenced; tree of life motif; moon represents a lunar-aligned approach to coaching and healing; his/her approach emphasizes how lunar cycles influence emotions and behavior; believes acupuncture can deepen healing by unblocking energy and emotions; intends to pursue acupuncture registration and possibly integrate it with coaching.
Tian: (first semester student) background in computer science and statistics; left a draining corporate job due to misalignment with personal values; seeks to integrate TCM with spirituality, yoga, and Ayurveda to promote optimum wellness; wants to explore cross-disciplinary approaches.
Simon: previously in real estate; has a musical background (violin); personal health journey with TCM helped recover from illness; motivated to learn TCM to help others.
General note: several students describe moving toward a holistic, trauma-informed, and spiritually aware approach to wellness; many emphasize the desire to integrate TCM with existing careers and broader health care perspectives.
Personal and clinical experiences with TCM (anecdotes and observations)
Edema in feet: a student reported low-grade edema; after needling one foot, noted improvement by the next morning, suggesting rapid physiological response to acupuncture points.
Digestive issues: a personal experience of digestion improving after a session; described sensation of energy flowing and release of stagnation.
Emotional release and glow: a student observed emotional release during sessions and reported others noting a visible glow after energy release; this is framed as blocked emotions and energy moving again.
Niece case (clinical intuition): after finishing a diagnostic class, a student observed signs in their eight-year-old niece suggesting serious health issues (vomiting, appetite changes, excessive thirst); the niece was later diagnosed with diabetes after a blood test indicated risk; this highlighted the student’s early diagnostic intuition and the difference between TCM-inspired observation and conventional medical testing.
Personal health and somatic awareness: several students discussed experiencing improvements in stress, digestion, and energy flow through acupuncture and-related modalities; some reported emotional and somatic breakthroughs through somatic processing and trauma-informed approaches.
Sweat lodge anecdote: a case discussed in the context of somatic processing and trauma release; the practice illustrated how intense experiential modalities can reveal and release trapped emotions and trauma, aligning with root cause therapy concepts.
Moon symbolism, spirituality, and the philosophy of healing
Daniel’s moon-themed branding connects lunar cycles with coaching and healing work; he argues that lunar alignment can influence daily routines, emotions, and goal attainment.
The lunar cycle is presented as an ancient, cross-cultural signal for emotional states and energy flow; some cultures integrate lunar timing into healing and rituals.
The panelists discuss spirituality as a core component of wellness, not necessarily religious, and argue that Western medicine often strips spirituality from healing, whereas TCM inherently acknowledges a broader, more holistic dimension (bio-psycho-social-spiritual).
The group emphasizes that trauma-informed practice, somatic processing, and energy flow (qi) are intertwined with the spiritual dimension of healing.
There is a claim that modern Western medicine is gradually catching up to concepts long present in traditional systems (e.g., the link between emotions and bodily symptoms; energy flow and the body’s healing capacity).
Healthcare system critique and professional identity
Several participants critique Western medical practice as increasingly detached and impersonal, with patients and symptoms treated in a black-and-white manner.
Some students express frustration at the perception of TCM as “woo woo” and emphasize that their personal experience with healing demonstrates legitimacy and efficacy.
The discussion frames TCM as a missing link in holistic health, particularly in addressing emotional and spiritual aspects of wellness that Western systems often overlook.
The conversation connects personal healing experiences with professional aspirations to become licensed practitioners and integrate TCM into broader care contexts (e.g., home care, hospice, prenatal settings).
Coursework logistics and next steps
Next steps after today’s session:
Obtain the physical clinical handbook via Karina (if available) or rely on the digital copy.
Review forms and procedures and prepare for upcoming case studies.
Assignment details for the upcoming week:
An essay consisting of 2 ext{ to }3 paragraphs is acceptable; length is flexible depending on the student’s approach.
The course emphasizes that the essay should reflect understanding of clinical handbook material and growing ability to discuss case study approaches.
Appendix: quick reference to group rosters
Group 1: Amanda, Barney, Fengzi, Esther, Jennifer, Claudia
Group 2: Katrina, Laila, Lynn, Mei Jing, Anna
Group 3: Qian, Sam, Sarah, Sharon, Simon, Tanil
Group 4: Nancy, Yanmin, Chris, Ingrid, Derek
Quick notes on formatting and numbers used in this summary
Breakout duration: 30 minutes
Return time: 09:40
Breaks and schedules: references to 1 month break (not 4 months as initially suspected)
Course references include terms like ACU 1, ACU 2, TCM 1, TCM 2, Herb 1, Herb 2
Group numbers and member lists are included as above for planning and collaboration purposes