Traditional Medicine Doctor Licensing Exam study plan

Define and recite the core yin-yang, five-phase, and qi-blood-fluid relationships without notes, then self-quiz with 30 recall prompts.

Map each zang-fu organ to its paired fu, opening orifice, tissue, emotion, and fluid, and build a one-page comparison grid.

Explain the six excesses and seven emotions as causes of disease, writing one clinical vignette for each pathogen.

Draw the three-jiao and channel-organ relationships from memory twice in the week, correcting errors against a reference text.

Compare the four diagnostic methods and list at least six observable signs for each, with the pattern each sign suggests.

Differentiate the eight principle patterns by writing paired contrast statements for interior/exterior, cold/heat, deficiency/excess, and yin/yang.

Practice tongue and pulse description using written case descriptions, assigning a pattern label to 20 cases.

Identify the six meridian and organ patterns of cold damage and write distinguishing criteria for each.

Classify 120 high-yield herbs by category, nature, flavor, and channel entry, and record them in a spaced-repetition deck.

State the primary actions, key indications, and major contraindications for each of those 120 herbs from memory.

Group herbs that are commonly confused (for example, similar-tonifying or similar-clearing pairs) and write the distinguishing clinical cue for each pair.

Explain the principles of combining herbs, including mutual accentuation, mutual enhancement, mutual fear, and mutual killing, with one example each.

Analyze 25 classical formulas by identifying the chief herb, the deputy, the assistant, and the envoy, and explain why each role is assigned.

Match each of the 25 formulas to its pattern, key symptoms, and common modifications, writing the logic in one sentence per formula.

Compare formulas that share a chief herb and articulate the clinical situation that separates them.

Explain dosage, preparation, and administration principles for decoctions, pills, and powders, including special handling instructions.

Outline the pattern differentiation and treatment principles for at least 12 internal medicine conditions, including respiratory, digestive, and cardiac categories.

Write treatment plans that pair each pattern with a formula and at least one modification for a complicating symptom.

Distinguish conditions with overlapping presentations and state the deciding clinical feature for each.

Draft three full case responses with chief complaint, findings, pattern, principle, formula, and follow-up plan.

Locate and describe at least 60 high-yield acupoints by region, including their channel, standard location, and primary indications.

Trace all twelve primary channels and the governing and conception vessels on a body diagram, marking key landmarks.

Explain needling depth, angle, and contraindications for dangerous points, and list points requiring caution in pregnancy.

Describe moxibustion methods and the indications and safety limits for each.

Summarize pattern differentiation for common external conditions such as sores, abscesses, and skin eruptions, and for traumatic injury patterns including sprains and fractures.

State the red-flag findings in external and traumatic presentations that require referral or urgent care.

Outline informed consent, confidentiality, scope of practice, and record-keeping duties under professional regulation.

Identify common ethical conflicts in practice and write a defensible response to each using a structured reasoning framework.

Review safety topics including herb-drug interactions, hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity risks, needling adverse events, and infection control, and list the warning signs for each.

Integrate biomedical red flags into pattern-based reasoning by writing five cases where referral is the correct next step.

Complete two full timed mock exams under exam conditions and log every missed item by domain.

Build a final-week review list from missed items and re-test each until recall reaches 90%.