Root, Branch, and the Future of Our Profession: A TCM Lens on Advocacy

Traditional Chinese Medicine teaches us that treating symptoms alone is never enough. To create lasting change, we must identify and address the root cause, while also managing the branch manifestations that demand immediate attention. This way of thinking is foundational to our medicine, and it must also guide how we advocate for our profession.

In recent years, TCM practitioners in British Columbia have faced significant regulatory changes that affect not only how we practice today, but how our profession will remain viable in the future. ATCMA approaches these challenges through the same clinical lens we use every day: systemic thinking, adaptability, patience, and a commitment to long-term health.

The Loss of Prescribing Chinese Herbal Formulas: A Branch Symptom of a Deeper Issue

The removal of the restricted activity of prescribing Chinese herbal formulas is a clear and urgent concern. Prescribing herbs is not simply a tool of TCM practice. It is a core competency grounded in extensive education, clinical training, national examinations, and public safety standards.

At the same time, TCM principles remind us that this loss is not the root problem, but a branch manifestation of a broader issue: a regulatory framework that does not yet fully understand, reflect, or appropriately integrate the depth and complexity of TCM practice.

Addressing only the symptom would mean focusing narrowly on reinstatement. Addressing the root means also examining how scope of practice decisions are made, who is included in those discussions, and whether public safety is truly being served.

Seeing the Whole System: Scope, Safety, and Modern Practice

TCM has always been a complete medical system, one that includes herbal medicine, acupuncture, lifestyle guidance, and therapeutic dietary planning. As regulatory conversations evolve, it has become increasingly clear that designing a therapeutic diet should also be recognized as a restricted activity within our scope of practice. This work is part of TCM foundational studies and therapy, and it’s a miss that it was not added to our regulations.

At the same time, ATCMA is not only defending what has been lost. We are also actively looking toward the future. Expanding and modernizing scope of practice—while maintaining rigorous education and safety standards—is essential to protecting the long-term relevance and sustainability of the profession. Advocacy cannot focus only on preserving the present. It must also prepare for what comes next.

Navigating Constraints with Flexibility and Strategy

In TCM, when a chosen treatment path is blocked, we adjust. We find alternative routes that work with the system rather than forcing it. Advocacy requires the same adaptability, especially when certain elements are outside our direct control.

Under the current regulatory environment shaped by the Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA) and the bylaws of the College of Complementary Health Professionals of BC (CCHPBC), ATCMA is addressing multiple interconnected concerns, including:

• Requirements for charting exclusively in English
• English proficiency requirements for entry to practice
• Increased liability insurance requirements
• Increased licensing and registration fees
• Vague regulatory language that lacks clarity and predictability
• Reduced transparency and a concentration of decision-making power among a small group
• Loss of federal grants for private school students across Canada
• Paused federal regulatory fee changes for Chinese herbs and other natural health products

None of these issues exist in isolation. Each affects access to practice, practitioner sustainability, public safety, and equity within the profession. From a TCM perspective, these are signs of systemic imbalance, not isolated problems to be addressed one at a time.

Respecting Time While Staying the Course

We understand the desire for rapid change. Patients want quick relief, and practitioners want timely resolution to urgent professional concerns. Yet TCM teaches us that meaningful, lasting transformation takes time, consistency, and careful cultivation.

Advocacy, like healing, is often incremental. Progress may not always be immediately visible, but each submission, consultation, and policy discussion plants a seed. Rushing the process risks creating new imbalances; abandoning it risks stagnation.

ATCMA remains committed to principled, informed, and persistent advocacy that reflects both the urgency of current challenges and the long-term health of the profession.

Advocacy Grounded in TCM Wisdom

By applying the core principles of TCM of addressing root causes, recognizing interconnected systems, adapting to constraints, and honouring time, ATCMA continues to advocate not just for what we have lost, but for what our profession can and should become.

This is how we protect public safety.
This is how we protect practitioner integrity.
This is how we ensure a strong, sustainable future for Traditional Chinese Medicine in British Columbia.

And this is why your membership with ATCMA matters. Effective advocacy requires both a strong, united voice and the resources to sustain long-term, strategic action. Without sufficient membership support, our ability to hold ground, influence policy, and advance the profession is significantly weakened.

If you are not yet a member, we invite you to have your voice heard by joining us https://atcma.org/membership/#options