CMBA Herbal Medicine MCQ study guide
CMBA Herbal Medicine MCQ · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The MCQ examination is one of the CMBA regulatory examinations listed by the Chinese Medicine Board of Australia, alongside the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). It is administered within the Board's registration pathway, which the Board describes as existing to ensure that Australia's Chinese medicine practitioners are suitably trained, qualified and safe to practise, with public safety as its priority. The CMBA Herbal Medicine MCQ study guide has 4 sections and about 1,288 words.
01Chinese Herbal Medicine: Actions, Combinations and Safety
Candidates must be able to place every herb within four coordinates: nature and flavour (temperature, taste, channel entry), category and primary action , classical combination partners , and contraindications/cautions . Questions frequently test the pair , not the single herb - for example, the logic of combining a warming disperser with a cooling one to prevent over-heating, or an astringent with a qi-mover to prevent stagnation.
361 words, about 2 min02Acupuncture: Point Selection, Needling Method and Safety
Three layers must be secure: point location and functions (channel, regional anatomy, key indications), treatment strategy (local, adjacent, distal, and symptom-specific points; front–back, left–right, and channel-pairing approaches), and needling technique and safety (depth, angle, Deqi, retention, moxibustion and cupping adjuncts). Anatomy near danger zones - pneumothorax risk at upper thoracic and supraclavicular points; vascular and nerve structures at the neck, axilla, and popliteal fossa.
320 words, about 2 min03Chinese Medicine Theory and Diagnosis: Pattern Differentiation
Build answers from yin–yang, qi–blood–fluid, zangfu, and pathogenic factor frameworks. Diagnosis follows the four examinations - observation (including tongue), listening/smelling, inquiry (including the ten traditional questions), and palpation (including pulse).
308 words, about 2 min04Professional and Regulatory Practice: Safe, Ethical, Lawful Care
Questions test consent, competence and scope of practice, confidentiality and records, and safety governance (hygiene, adverse-event reporting, referral, and complaints handling). You must know the difference between what is legally required, what a professional code expects, and what is merely good practice.
299 words, about 1 min