Before 1959, when Tibet was independent, there were two major ways of becoming a Tibetan doctor

1. Formal certified training
2. Internship

a) Formal certified training

1. The Tibetan government supported medical centers for lay students (two students from each major county in Tibet were selected to train and, when trained, returned to serve in their county
2. The Tibetan government supported medical centers for monks (two monks were selected from each of the major monasteries in Tibet and after training they returned to their monasteries.

In Lhasa, the Men-Tsee-Khang and the Chogpori Medical Center, and other medical schools in various regions of Tibet, were the main focus for the formal education and training of Tibetan physicians. From these schools came many of the most famous Tibetan doctors.

b) Internship

Internship did not involve formal training at a medical school but rather serving as an intern under a practicing physician.

There are two main methods of training for Tibetan doctors:

1. Through monasteries and community based training
2. Through formal training at one of the medical schools

There are some families that have practiced medicine for generations and skills are handed down usually from father to son – very few women became doctors through this system. Community based training has been in existence for approximately 2,500 years, providing primary health care for the majority of the population.

Other community based doctors are trained in the monasteries. Some continue for a further 1 to 2 years training with a senior doctor.

These community doctors do not receive a formal qualification but many have become venerated practitioners. They practice medicine in scattered rural communities, using mainly herbs, but also minerals, moxibustion, cupping therapy and blood letting.

b)  Formal Training

In recent years, formal qualifications have been introduced, primarily in the main teaching schools offering seven-year formal training courses. This formal training for Tibetan Doctors takes place in these established medical schools that are not part of the monastic tradition. There are two stages:

STAGE 1

The first five years of the course consists mainly of medical theory, leading to the recognized qualification of Men-pa-kachupa degree.

Courses include:

• Memorization of medical texts
• Medical theory
• Practice of pharmacy
• Herbals and minerals, collection and recognition
• Tibetan grammar
• Debate on Tibetan medicine
• Medical astrology and astronomy

STAGE 2

The second stage of training emphasizes practice, although theory is still important. Students spend 2 years in a clinic with a senior doctor before they are fully qualified to practice alone.

The two most famous schools in the past were the Men-Tsee-Khang and the Chogpori in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.

• The Lhasa Men-Tsee-Khang was established by the Thirteenth Dalai Lama in 1916. When the Chinese community invaded Tibet in 1959, the school was temporarily closed. Many of its famous physicians and students, as well as many village-based Tibetan physicians, were arrested and imprisoned. Most died in prison. In the ensuing years, the Chinese authorities destroyed many Tibetan medical scriptures, medical paintings and traditional medicines.

The Lhasa Med-Tsee-Khang has been reestablished in recent years to provide education and training in Tibetan Medicine, although very few of the original Tibetan doctors are still teaching.

• The Chogpori Tibetan Medical Center in Lhasa, Tibet, was founded in 1696 by Desi Sangye Gyatso. He was the most influential politician, scholar and famous physician of his time. During the cultural revolution, following the Chinese invasion, the Chogpori Medical Center was completely destroyed and nothing was left of the Chogpori name.

Seven Year Formal Training Schools for Tibetan Medicine

• Men-Tsee-Khang (Tibetan Medical and Astrology Institute - TMAI), Dharamsala
  In 1961, His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama in exile re-established the Men-Tsee-Khang (Tibetan Medical and Astrology Institute - TMAI) at Dharamsala in Northern India. Approximately half of the students are women. The director of this medical school is a rotating appointment, with a new director every three years. The current director is Pema Dhumdul. There are many famous doctors associated with the school.

See the Brief History of the Tibetan Medical & Astro College (TMAI) (The Men-Tsee-Khang, Dharamsala, Northern India) for further information.

• The Men-Tsee-Khang in Lhasa, Tibet, continues to provide education and training in Tibetan medicine, although very few of the original Tibetan doctors are still teaching.

• Lama Dr. Trogawa Rinpoche re-established the Chogpori Tibetan Medical Center in Darjeeling, Sikkim, India. There are strong links with the monastic tradition in this system of education and only men are accepted as students. The current director is Trogawa Rinpoche.
  
• The Ladakh School of Tibetan Medicine established in 1989 in Ladakh, India, runs on the same basis as the Men-Tsee-Khang and is closely affiliated to the Tibetan Medical and Astrology Institute in Dharamsala.
  
• The Tibetan Medical School, Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, in Sarnath, Varanasi, India also runs a seven year recognized course. The first batch of Tibetan Medical students were admitted to the Institute in 1993. Since then seven students have gained admission every year. Besides the Tibetan Medical Course, Sanskrit and the Tibetan language are taught at graduate level to facilitate research work at the institute.

Short Preliminary Courses on Tibetan Medicine

• The Men-Tsee-Khang in Dharamsala offers short appreciation courses primarily to foreigners: a 5 day basic course and a 10 day advanced course. To take the full seven year training course requires complete fluency in the Tibetan language.

For further information on these courses contact:

Ms. Ngawan Lhamo (Course Coordinator)
Men-Tsee Khang (Tibetan Medical & Astrology Institute)
Gangshen Kyishong, Dharamsala - 176215
(H.P.) INDIA
Phone: (0091-1892)-22618 or 23113
Fax: (0091-1892)- 24116
e-mail: tmai@tcrcdsala.org

Some schools in Europe also offer short, preliminary courses in Tibetan Medicine:

• The Milano School of Tibetan Medicine offers a three year preliminary course. The director, Dr. Pasang Yonten Arya, is a renowned Tibetan doctor.
  
• The Tara Rokpa College of Tibetan Medicine in Scotland offers a six month course of training. The barefoot doctor training programs are taught also in Tibet to help keep the traditional methods of local practice alive. The director is Dr Akong Tulku Rinpoche.

Both of these schools are affiliated to the Men-Tsee-Khang in Dharamsala