Abstract: Objective To explore the application and effectiveness of the apprenticeship education model in Chinese herbal medicine teaching at Western medical college. Methods By comparing classic lecture-based teaching with a combined approach integrating apprenticeship education, the study assesses the impact on student learning outcomes. Participants included students from the 2018 cohort of the eight-year clinical medicine program and the 2022 cohort of the “4+4” pilot program at Peking Union Medical College, who received classic teaching methods and apprenticeship case-based teaching methods, respectively. Upon course completion, students completed a 14-item multiple-choice questionnaire covering essential theory of Chinese medicine, as well as specific categories such as qi-regulating, blood-activating herbs, among others. Results The overall accuracy rate in the apprenticeship case-based teaching group was significantly higher than that in the classic teaching group (P＜0.01). Conclusions The apprenticeship education model of Traditional Chinese Medicine has a positive effect on teaching of Chinese herbal medicine at Western medical college and warrants further promotion and application.

Key words: teaching evaluation, traditional Chinese medicine course, traditional Chinese herbal medicine teaching, traditional Chinese medicine apprenticeship education