The Endeavour College of Natural Health in Fortitude Valley has undergone a $3-million redesign to deliver a new, bespoke campus for students.
The renovated building has also opened a Wellness Clinic and dispensary for Brisbane locals to access affordable nutrition, naturopathy, Chinese medicine and massage treatments.
The site, which was officially opened in March 2022, is now the largest provider of natural health courses in the Southern Hemisphere, where three new Chinese Medicine courses will also be offered amidst a growing interest in Traditional Chinese Medicine post-pandemic.
“We’ve seen a huge spike in demand for our acupuncture course in the past two years, especially at our two Queensland campuses, showing how much Queenslanders are embracing the ancient practice,” Shuai Zheng, Head of Chinese Medicine at Endeavour College of Natural Health, said.
“We are seeing clients of all ages and from all walks of life requesting acupuncture and Tui Na treatments, with Chinese medicine treatments at Endeavour College’s Brisbane (33%) and Gold Coast (30%) teaching clinics accounting for around a third of all appointments this year – the highest demand across all our Australian clinics,” he added.
Research shows that two out of three Australians use some form of complementary medicine, with 21 per cent of the population visiting their massage therapists regularly and 8 per cent getting their acupuncture treatments each year.
In place of the existing Bachelor of Health Science (Acupuncture), Endeavour College will offer the following Chinese Medicine courses from 2022:
- Diploma of Health Science (Chinese Remedial Massage) – The only qualification of its kind in Australia, this new course represents the first time Chinese Remedial Massage, or Tui Na, has been offered at a higher education level. With a rise in interest in this specialist area of Chinese Medicine in recent years, Endeavour is introducing the qualification to cater to growing demand for the dry massage which focuses on acupuncture meridians and pressure points.
- Bachelor of Health Science (Acupuncture Therapies) – As the leader in acupuncture training, Endeavour still offers the only specialised acupuncture course for undergraduates in Australia. This new course replaces the existing Acupuncture course that has been taught for the past 20 years. It has been designed from scratch to meet the latest standards and offer a contemporary approach, which focuses on practical elements and paves a swift pathway into practice.
- Bachelor of Health Science (Chinese Medicine) – This new bachelor degree encompasses the Chinese Remedial Massage and Acupuncture Therapies courses, as well as expanding on other areas of the philosophy and principles of Chinese Medicine, with a particular focus on Chinese herbalism. The comprehensive qualification allows students to graduate prepared to meet the evolving needs of the Chinese medicine profession in Australia.
“Traditional Chinese Medicine has been growing in popularity in Queensland for many years, to the point where it’s not uncommon to see an acupuncture clinic alongside the bottle shop and bakery at the local shopping centre. The statistics tell us that Australians turn to a complementary massage therapist as often as they seek help from a counsellor or a physiotherapist, showing how Chinese medicine has become a core part of our health care,” Mr Zheng said.
With the new campus, Endeavour College of Natural Health is expected to produce the majority of Brisbane’s next-generation naturopaths.