Partnership Opportunities: To Bring Healthcare Practitioner Education to China | 合作机会：将营养和环境医学教育带到中国

The Australasian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine (ACNEM) has been Australia’s leading provider of postgraduate education in nutritional and environmental medicine for almost 40 years. ACNEM was founded by Professor Ian Brighthope, now a retired medical practitioner and previous owner of the well-known nutritional supplement company Nutrition Care. ACNEM’s mission is to support and promote nutritional and environmental medicine through independent, evidence-based education. We do this by filling a gap in medical education which is nutritional and environmental medicine: how diet and nutrition and environmental factors impact on health and contribute to illness, and how to improve health with nutritional and environmental approaches.

The term ‘environment’ is used broadly to include the inner environment of the body, the personal environment (including how stress impacts on the body), the immediate home/office environment (for example how chemicals and mould can contribute to disease) and the global environment (including contamination of food and water as well as climate change effects). ACNEM education is focused on its Four Pillars of Health: good nutrition and diet, good sleep, physical activity and environmental factors.

ACNEM Education Products ACNEM provide a range of educational offerings including online level 1 and 2 certification courses in nutritional and environmental medicine, an annual conference, online Masterclasses and a range of other online webinars and short courses (eg. half day courses). It also provides face-to-face events. ACNEM is about to launch its online library where videos of presentations on a variety of health topics will be available for purchase or via subscription to the library. In 2020, ACNEM conducted an 8-week online conference focused on environmental disruptors, which is still available for purchase. We have also launched an online Masterclass on medicinal cannabis and will shortly launch three new short (half day) online courses:

1. stress

2. oral health

3. electromagnetic radiation and its impacts on health.

The Opportunity to Partner There is an opportunity for healthcare education providers and hospitals in China and other parts of Asia to partner with ACNEM to provide continuing professional development education to medical, nursing and allied healthcare practitioners across China and other parts of Asia. It remains a fact that most medical curricula (that includes western and Chinese medicine) pay little attention to nutritional and environmental factors in disease, despite the fact that these factors play significant roles in most illnesses and despite the fact that many patients are already choosing nutritional supplements as part of their own self-care.

There is an urgent need for medical practitioners, Chinese medicine practitioners, nurses and allied healthcare providers to understand the potential impact of nutrition/diet and environmental factors in order to guide patients to better health. Hospital rehabilitation and wellness programs in China could substantially benefit by partnering with ACNEM to tailor educational programs for their staff and patients. There are many possibilities of how partnerships might work but together we are stronger and we can help change health for the better.

Contact For further information, please contact Professor Kylie O’Brien PhD, Director of Education at ACNEM: kylie@acnem.org

About the Author

Professor Kylie O’Brien PhD is Director of Education at ACNEM and has a Bachelor degree and PhD in Chinese Medicine, as well as a Master of Public Health and Bachelor of Science (Optometry). Kylie lived in Nanjing in 1999 and completed her studies in Chinese medicine, and was a member of the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies’ Speciality Committee for Cancer Rehabilitation from 2018-2020.

澳大拉西亚营养与环境医学学院（ACNEM）近40年来一直是澳大利亚营养与环境医学研究生教育的领导者。ACNEM由Ian Brighthope教授创立，他是一名退休医生，也是著名营养补充剂公司Nutrition Care的前老板。ACNEM的使命是通过独立的循证教育来支持和促进营养和环境医学的发展。我们填补了营养和环境医学教育的空白，包括饮食、营养和环境因素如何影响健康并导致疾病，以及如何通过营养和环境方法改善健康。

“环境”一词涵盖身体的内部环境、个人环境（包括压力对身体的影响），直接家庭或办公环境（例如化学品和霉菌如何导致疾病）以及全球环境（包括食品和水源污染以及气候变化的影响）。ACNEM的教育侧重于健康的四大支柱：良好的营养和饮食、高质量的睡眠、身体运动和环境因素。

ACNEM教育产品 ACNEM提供一系列教育服务，包括营养和环境医学的线上1级和2级认证课程、年度会议、线上大师班和一系列其他网络研讨会和短期课程（半天课程）。学院也举办线下活动。ACNEM即将推出自己的网络图书馆，公众可以从图书馆购买或订阅各种健康主题的演示视频。在2020年，ACNEM举办了一场为期8周的线上会议，主题是“环境干扰物”，会议资料仍可购买。我们还推出了一个关于药用大麻的线上大师班，并将于近期推出三个新的短期半日网络课程:

1. 压力；

2. 口腔健康；

3. 电磁辐射及其对健康的影响。

合作机会 ACNEM目前在寻求与中国和亚洲其他地区的医疗教育机构和医院的合作机会，为中国和亚洲其他地区的医疗、护理和联合医疗从业者提供持续专业发展教育。目前大多数医学课程（包括西医和中医）很少注意营养和环境因素对疾病的影响，尽管这些因素在大多数疾病中扮演着重要的角色，尽管许多病人已经选择营养补充剂作为自己的自我保健的一部分。 医生、中医、护士及相关医护人员迫切需要了解营养、饮食以及环境因素的潜在影响，以更好地引导病人改善健康状况。通过与ACNEM的合作，进行为其员工和患者量身定制的教育项目，中国的医院康复和健康项目会受益匪浅。伙伴关系如何发挥作用有很多可能性，如果我们共同努力，就会变得更加强大，我们就能帮助更多人改善健康状况。

联系方式 欲了解更多信息，请联系ACNEM教育主任Kylie O’Brien教授： 邮箱：kylie@acnem.org

关于本文作者 Kylie O’Brien教授是ACNEM的教育主任，拥有中医学士和博士学位、公共卫生硕士和科学学士（验光）。Kylie1999年在南京生活期间，完成了中医专业的学习，并于2018-2020年成为世界中医药学会联合会癌症康复专业委员会成员。