Nick has a social science PhD and was a teacher and researcher for a number of years at the University of Birmingham. Subsequently he retrained as an acupuncturist at the London School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine, and later also as a herbalist at the School of Chinese Herbal Medicine in London. He gained further clinical experience working in hospitals in Nanjing, China, in 1992 and 1996. 

Before setting up the Birmingham Centre for Chinese Medicine he worked from rooms in three Birmingham NHS clinics.

Within the field of Chinese herbal medicine he has a particular interest in the treatment of skin, respiratory and digestive conditions. Within the acupuncture field he has a lot of experience in treating musculo-skeletal pain.

Between 2001 and 2003 he served as president of the Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine (the lead professional body for Chinese herbal medicine in the UK) and since then has continued to sit on the RCHM Council. In that capacity he has been closely involved over several years in work which has been conducted under the auspices of the Department of Health to prepare the way for statutory regulation of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine in the UK. He also contributes to teaching programmes in Chinese medicine.