During this initial stage, fundamental knowledge about individual herbs, herbal formulae and the theoretical framework of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) will be taught in order to optimize the educational experience of the participants during Stage B, the face-to-face practical sessions beginning on September 10, 2005. This segment will cover much more than cursory knowledge of Chinese herbal therapy and include the following topics:

1. Theoretical Foundation: Important concepts of TCM such as eight categories of illnesses, four methods of diagnosis, internal and external, physical as well as emotional causes of diseases, patterns of progression of pathological processes, etc. will be presented in a multimedia program consisting of audio and video tapes/DVD's, and a specially designed course workbook. The principles of TCM, though seem foreign to modern physicians, will be logically explained in modern medical terms.

2. Individual Herbs: The properties, sources, therapeutic actions, potential adverse effects, modern basic scientific data, traditional usages as well as modern clinical studies of over a hundred herbal agents will be described.

3. Herbal Formulae: Herbal ingredients, relative dosages, therapeutic rationale and the traditional and contemporary explanations of the healing mechanisms of many well-known herbal formulae will be explored.

4. Treatment Strategies: Major TCM therapeutic methods such as tonification, dispersion, diaphoresis, emesis, catharsis, qi mobilization, equilibration, etc. will be discussed.

5. Classification of Herbs According the Meridian System and how such a concept may be extrapolated to understand pharmacological actions and side-effects of modern drugs.

6. Yin and Yang and the Modern Clinical Experience: How a basic TCM concept such as Yin and Yang may be used to interpret the findings in modern clinical trials and how this knowledge may be translated into actual benefits for patients.

7. Algorithms in Designing Therapeutic Formulae: How to select individual herbs according to their pharmacological properties and combine them effectively to achieve a specific therapeutic goal; and how to balance the formula with additional agents to reduce its potential side-effects and enhance its overall efficacy.

Depending on the time of enrollment, the participants are expected to devote a minimum of 5 to 10 actual viewing or listening hours per week to the program, so that they will be adequately prepared to take full advantage of the learning experience in the practical sessions of Stage B.