ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE. RIGOR. CLASSICAL PRINCIPLES.
WHY FOCUS ON THE CLASSICS?
The goal of learning from the Classics is to become a superior physician, who practices Chinese Medicine according to a deep understanding of its tenets, fulfilling the dual role of benefiting patients and carrying forward a rich tradition.
The primary goal of most Chinese Medical physicians is to address the root and branches of a patient’s condition, with the intention of helping to facilitate a positive health outcome. In working towards this goal, the study and practice of Chinese Medicine can take on many forms and be guided by diverse philosophies. Two such philosophies are the ideal of the technical expert, who strives towards skillful application of useful protocols, and that of the scholar physician, guided by clinical reasoning based on principles.
By learning protocols, a clinician learns to apply useful treatments to general conditions. Over time most clinicians will have compiled a mental “cheat-sheet” of a number of protocols that they find to be most effective and reliable, and these serve as important tools in their clinical arsenal. By focusing on the application of principles, a Chinese Medicine practitioner learns how to think. They will thus be able to respond to the specific circumstances of each clinical encounter with intelligence and creativity. In this way, medical practice is spontaneous and insightful, and every clinical outcome serves to refine one’s understanding of the application of those theoretical principles.
These principles, or “rules” of Chinese Medicine, that have guided its thought and practice for roughly 2,000 years, were laid out in the Classical texts of the Han Dynasty. These rules are not simply statements to be memorized, but rather inform a worldview that allows us to frame health and disease in a unique and imminently useful way. Furthermore, learning the rules of the system will often allow a practitioner to deduce why or when an empirical approach or protocol is indicated, and so techniques that are generally useful can be employed more deliberately and with greater specificity.
WHY FOCUS ON TREATING PAIN CONDITIONS?
In the US, pain is one of the primary reasons patients seek medical treatment, and musculoskeletal complaints currently account for 30% to 50% of all visits to acupuncturists. The systemic problems in the way pain is managed and treated serve to emphasize the role that acupuncture and Chinese Medicine can play in improving the lives of our patients and communities who struggle with pain.
Pain has many sources, and many of them respond very well to the traditional approaches of Chinese Medicine. There are also other sources of pain that do not adequately fall into the categories of internal or external disease, and are not always alleviated through local-channel-distal acupuncture methods. By developing their understanding of the anatomical, physiological (both Chinese and biomedical) and neurological sources of pain, and of ways in which this refined knowledge can inform the use Chinese Medicine’s traditional modalities, our candidates will be able to more precisely assess, and more skillfully treat the roots of their patients’ pain conditions.
In addition, the transition to national healthcare that will take place over the next few years will see more worker’s comp, personal injury and MD-referred cases, dealing primarily with musculoskeletal issues. Learning to diagnose, treat and chart according to standards set up for this multidisciplinary style of healthcare will prove invaluable for MAcCHM candidates.