Abstract:
This paper reports a study designed to investigate the agreement
between TCM students in their discrimination of basic
pulse parameters such as speed, depth, volume, length and
overall quality of the pulse. Method: a standardised form
was used to assess agreement among the sample of students
on three occasions: at the beginning of formal pulse diagnosis
teaching classes (week 1), at the conclusion of pulse
teaching (week 14), and one year later. Students were randomly
divided into two groups, with each group randomly
assigned three subjects, for whom each member of the group
was required to palpate the pulse. Data were analysed using
Chi square (X2, a= 0.05). Results and conclusions: Results
indicated that participants' estimations of a
subject's pulse were influenced by the subject's gender, the
types of pulse characteristic measured, and radial pulse position.
While the results indicated a significant level of difference
in agreement for some pulse characteristics, the overall
level of agreement was not different from that expected by
chance alone. It is likely that the problems in pulse quality
evaluation recognition do not stem from the ability of the
student to learn to use pulse diagnosis reliably, but rather,
from inadequacies in the relevant pulse literature and conflicting
information available for the study, teaching and
clinical practice of pulse diagnosis.
