Education

Qualified herbalist pool dries up in city

By Wang Wei (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-11-16 07:58

Two herbalists at Hedantang Pharmacy in Chaoyang district weigh TCM ingredients. [Photo/China Daily]

Demand for herbalists climbs as salaries and social status stays low

When an Internet query returned its result of "soup made from dried longan and the root of a hairy asiabell", Zhang Xinping was hopeful she might have stumbled across the solution to her recent nights of restless sleep.

To be sure, Zhang, 50, decided to confirm the recipe with her local pharmacist. However, what she received was an apology and the line: "I am a pharmacist and I don't know much about the functions of each herb."

Not put off, Zhang sought out other pharmacies. Rather than get confirmation on the ingredients though, the only thing she became certain of was that while many pharmacies sold traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), very few employed qualified herbalists.

"I am a big believer of TCM," she said.

A TCM doctor shows two nurses how to apply acupuncture needles into a patient. [Photo/China Daily]

"The problem is that many herbs look alike and most pharmacies don't have a qualified herbalist, so I am afraid of being prescribed the wrong medicine."

Despite the arrival of Western medicine in China, TCM cures continue to be the first choice for many older residents. These natural remedies are often associated with a range of health benefits and also adverse effects, meaning that demand remains steady for both the products and the herbalists who prescribe them.

Healthr.com, an HR portal site for pharmaceutical companies, recently issued its third-quarter talent supply and demand index.

The report indicated that demand for herbalists had increased by 80 percent compared with the same period last year, way ahead of the 23-percent jump in need for acupuncturists.

Yuan Hang, press officer with the website, said the demand is intensified by a shortage in herbalists.

Yuan said most TCM universities don't offer specific herbalist degrees, so students graduate with broad areas of knowledge and go on to become hospital doctors.

"Comprehensive public hospitals are top choices when it comes to job-hunting," said Yu Lishan, an administrative staff member with Beijing University of Chinese Medicine.

She said better welfare packages also attract TCM graduates to public hospitals.

Graduates of TCM universities battle it out for space at a packed job fair in Beijing.

Yu said graduates are also interested in becoming sales representatives for multinational pharmaceutical companies, since the rewards can be particularly high.

On the bottom of the list of career choices is the role of herbalist, Yu said, adding that the low social status and limited monthly salary - on average between 3,000 and 4,000 yuan - were to blame.

"The result of a lack of herbalists is that many pharmacies fill the positions with pharmacists," said Wang Lixia, a TCM doctor from Guang'anmen Hospital.

"This causes problems and can even put consumers in danger."

She noted that a TCM prescription might involve more than 10 herbs, each of which would have to be prepared and cooked in a particular way to release the nutrients locked inside.

"If the so-called expert doesn't study the skill systematically, it can easily go wrong," she said.

Wang said a qualified herbalist must also be able to distinguish between real and fake herbs, determine the quality of selected materials, and prescribe quantities based on these results.

Additionally, a good bedside manner is essential.

"It takes years of practice and experience to get these skills," she said.

Wang suggested universities start offering degrees in TCM herbal medicine to meet client needs, as well as raise herbalist salaries.