Chinese Study of Traditional Medicine Lags Behind
Growing Western Interest
Fernando Davino arrived in Beijing
eight years ago to learn about Chinese medicine and to become a Chinese
medicine practitioner.
Davino, 37, grew up in Minas Gerais,
Brazil. He went to IMAM-INCISA, a medical college in Brazil, in 2001. The
school had a five-year program and a partnership with Beijing University of
Traditional Chinese Medicine, where students could go intern in Beijing for
their last year. Davino was in the inaugural class to explore Chinese Medicine
with 30 other classmates.
Davino said he was drawn to Chinese
medicine's different approach to healthcare. "Chinese medicine is not like
Western medicine where you study cells, different parts of the body and how to
treat them, and then you become a doctor," Davino said. "Chinese
medicine is different. It focuses on people's relationship with the
world."
He earned his bachelor degree at
Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and is now working on a
post-graduate degree.
Davino was drawn to Chinese medicine
in Beijing because he felt the city had top-notch doctors. During his studies
he was surprised to find many Chinese residents were as familiar with the
centuries-old practice.
Research from the China Education
and Research Network indicates only one-twelfth of medical students in China
are studying Chinese medicine, with the vast majority studying Western
medicine. The number of well-known Chinese medicine doctors has dropped from
5,000 people in the 1980s to less than 500 today.
"Passing on the knowledge of
Chinese medicine is really slow, rarely Chinese people know about yinyang right
now," Davino said.
Traditional Chinese medicine, also
known as TCM, includes a range of traditional medicine practices and is based
on a 2,000 year tradition. It's a practice that includes various forms of
herbal medicine, acupuncture, Tui-Na (massage), qigong(a system of deep
breathing exercises), and dietary therapy.
Davino said Chinese medicine
consists of three parts: philosophy, culture and medical knowledge. Medical
knowledge is used to treat disease; philosophy is like yinyang-how different
forces complement each other-or knowing the relationship between the
environment and the world. Western medicine focuses on diseases and how to
treat them.
Unlike Western Medicine which
requires basic medical knowledge and for the treatments of diseases, Chinese
medicine must study a wider range of practices. Chinese medicine requires
practical experience to find precise acupoints, and it takes students a long
time to be professional doctors and find jobs. Chinese Medicine doctors pass
their knowledge and skills to their students, but the students need to take
exams to demonstrate adequate knowledge and application.
Yu Jianer, head of Shanghai Chinese
Medicine said he believes not enough is being done in China to preserve this
ancient practice. "Governments need to pay more attention on to Chinese
medicine and to better publicize the knowledge of it, letting more people know
about Chinese medicine and Chinese culture," Yu said, who's studied
Chinese medicine for more than twenty years.
Davino said, as an outsider, he's
noticing a lapse of interest in this unique medical practice that has been handed
down for centuries. But he is seeing increasing interest by Western people,
like himself, in Chinese medicine. There are more than 3,000 Chinese Medicine
hospitals in England and more than 100 Chinese Medical Schools in America,
according to Xinhua Network.
Davino said he's attended a Chinese
Medicine International Conference and was amazed to find the number of doctors
from Western countries who knew a lot more about Chinese medicine than Chinese
practitioners.
Davino said his county is one
specific example of Western society taking interest in Chinese medicine. A
Brazil Chinese Medicine Institute built in Brazil in 2006. The Brazilian
government launched policies regarding Chinese medicine. More than 30,000
doctors use Chinese medicine, acupunctures, massages and Chinese herbs in
Brazil, according to the Sina Network. Brazil is also building a community
health center to train professional Chinese medicine doctors.
"If Chinese medicine continues
in this way, Chinese medicine will vanish from Chinese society and foreigners
will teach Chinese people how to use Chinese medicine in the future,"
Davino said.
Davino said he doesn't plan to stay
in China forever, but hopes to return to Brazil one day and use his knowledge
of Chinese medicine in Western society. "I want to do what people do it
here now, helping people and I want to bring it back home," Davino said
No comments:
Post a Comment