The School of Nursing at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (BUCM) was founded in 1984, with BUCM being one of the first CM universities in China to establish higher education institutions in nursing. It began enrolling associate-degree students in 1985 and launched undergraduate programs in 2000. The nursing program received national accreditation in 2018 and was designated a national first-class undergraduate program in 2019. Graduate degree education started in 2004, with authorization for professional master’s programs in 2014 and first-level discipline master’s programs in 2017. Since 2015, the school has admitted doctoral students in Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Nursing, forming a complete pathway from undergraduate to doctoral levels. Today, it enrolls more than 1,300 students.
The school has 47 faculty and staff members, 30 of whom are full-time instructors. Among them, 23 hold doctoral degrees, 15 have senior professional titles and one is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. The school has three teaching divisions, two clinical nursing departments and one experimental center. In 2015, it established the third Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Evidence-Based Nursing Collaboration Center on Chinese mainland — the first in the world dedicated to CM nursing — and China’s first RNAO-BPSO (Best Practice Spotlight Organization-Academic) Research Center for Nursing Best Practice Guidelines.
Teaching and curriculum innovation are key strengths. “Evidence-Based Nursing” was selected as one of the first national first-class online courses, and “Surgical Nursing” was recognized as a high-quality course in Beijing. Faculty members have served as chief editor or co-editor of more than 40 national textbooks, including China’s first CM nursing series. Its experimental center has been recognized as a Demonstration Center for Experimental Teaching and an Excellent Undergraduate Teaching Laboratory in Beijing. The school also maintains over 20 clinical practice bases, including leading tertiary hospitals such as Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking University hospitals and Capital Medical University hospitals.
Nursing at BUCM has been designated a key first-level discipline in Beijing and a high-level key discipline by the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The school has established disciplinary strengths in CM nursing and evidence-based nursing, supported by an expanding portfolio of national and provincial research projects. It serves as the chair institution for multiple national professional committees in CM and integrative nursing education. In 2023, it was approved as a science popularization base by the China Association of Chinese Medicine.
The school is also committed to international exchange, maintaining partnerships with 16 countries and regions, including the United States, Canada and Australia. Students benefit from a wide range of practice-oriented activities that foster ideological education, professional competence and career development. Nearly 50 national-level innovation and entrepreneurship projects have been completed, alongside numerous provincial and national awards.
