title: Chinese Medicine in Australia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Chinese medicine is a complex domain of theoretical and practical approaches that is being increasingly put under the research spotlight. The "Chinese Medicine in Australia" research project attempted to capture the clinical features of practitioners of Chinese medicine.
  
  
  METHODS
  The project involved a national survey of Chinese medicine professional association members and registered practitioners in the state of Victoria, Australia (n = 655; response rate, 42%-55%) completed in 2012-2013.
  
  
  METHODS
  The content and face validated survey was developed using new and previous workforce survey questions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This paper reports on the workforce and practice characteristics of the survey respondents. Chinese medicine practitioners are highly educated, come from diverse backgrounds, and have chosen to practice predominantly in sole or multipractitioner private practice settings. An interest in the philosophy of Chinese medicine and previous experiences contributed to practitioners' decisions to study and practice Chinese medicine. Incorporating a variety of techniques, practitioners describe themselves as practicing predominantly Chinese acupuncture and herbal medicine.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results from this survey contribute to the understanding of the nature and description of Chinese medicine practice in Australia.
authors.affiliation: 1 Three Lanterns Clinic , Williamstown, Victoria, Australia .
authors.forename: Amber
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.affiliation: 2 Office of the Pro-Vice Chancellor, Monash University , Victoria, Australia .
authors.forename: Paul A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Komesaroff
authors.affiliation: 3 National Institute of Integrative Medicine , Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia .|4 College of Health and Biomedicine, Victoria University , Melbourne, Victoria, Australia .|5 National Institute of Complementary Medicine, University of Western Sydney , New South Wales, Australia .
authors.forename: Kylie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.affiliation: 6 College of Engineering and Science, Victoria University , Melbourne, Victoria, Australia .
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: 5 National Institute of Complementary Medicine, University of Western Sydney , New South Wales, Australia .
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bensoussan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014739:Victoria / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult