title: [The role of the chinese medicine nurse in Taiwan: professional or assistant?].
abstract: Personal participation in first line Chinese medicine nursing practice made the author aware of a significant gap between learning and practice in traditional Chinese medicine nursing. For this paper, she interviewed physicians, nurses and patients, researched hospital system and regulatory requirements. She found that "an assistant" is what Chinese medicine physicians expect of nurses, while patients expect a nurse to be able to help them complete treatment while having a good attitude. In order to distinguish clearly nursing from medicine, nursing scholars, with the help of the Chinese Medicine Committee have designed a Chinese medicine nursing training program. Administration is the main content of front-line nurses in this field. They typically have limited responsibilities related to health problem assessment, prevention, or providing guidance / advice. This article raised difficulties and contradictions between the role and practice of Chinese medicine nurses. Three suggestions are provided, including: clearer demarcation of job responsibilities; renewed respect for nurses as professionals; and including traditional Chinese medicine nursing into the formal nursing curricula in order to support a better future for Chinese medicine nurses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, National Taichung Nursing College, Taichung, Taiwan, ROC. lily0927@gmail.com
authors.forename: Li-Fen
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D024802:Nurse's Role; D013624:Taiwan