Standards and Pulic Perception [was education in china]

[Guest guest]

Teresa, and All,

 

 

> I have always found it interesting that one could earn a Masters of

Science degree in Traditional Oriental Medicine with never having a

bachelors *in anything*! I do know that some Psychology programs

allow one to jump from a bachelors to a PhD. I suppose if TCM

schools required a bachelors that there would not be as many students.

>

I think one of the things that defines

a medical school is its set of standards

for metriculation into its program.

Another, of course, is its set of graduation

standards. Typically, the schools with

the highest standards are the ones with

the longest lists of well qualified applicants.

 

Here, again, it is the establishment and

maintenance of standards that serves the

purpose of advancing the field. Defining

Chinese medicine as " alternative " does

not make it possible to avoid the actualities

of the real world.

 

The orthodoxy that has been established

in the field does indeed have this

peculiar characteristic, i.e. that

for the most part, standards of metriculation

into programs have been quite low.

 

We should ask ourselves questions like:

 

What are the popular public perceptions

about acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine,

and so on, in general? Do people tend

to look upon the field and those who

practice it with respect? Favor?

Disfavor?

 

Even if we don't have verified and verifable

data from studies available, everyone

can simply ask these questions of people

they know and listen to the answers.

That's all studies of such things attempt

to approximate, after all.

 

When you've got some answers, ask yourself

how the standards that currently exist

relate to the attitudes that you discover.

 

Ken

[Guest guest]

One of the 'acualities of the real world' that defines public

perceptions of our profession is the insurance industry. If in your

state, insurance will only cover acupuncture if administered by an M.D.,

or will only cover acupuncture for musculoskeletal pain, that will influence

how most people in that state will perceive it. No matter how high

the educational standards of the schools are, how insurance covers acupuncture

will largely determine how it is defined--scope, therapeutic value, and

all--in that state. We can all look the other way for all we're worth,

but insurance is a very big reality to practitioners in those states and

to our boards, such as in Maryland. Are we technicians or physicians?

And even if one decides to not participate in 'third-party reimbursement,'

their effect on our profession is a big one.

How to educate this brute--any ideas?

Frances

dragon90405 wrote:

Teresa, and All,

 

> I have always found it interesting that one could

earn a Masters of

Science degree in Traditional Oriental Medicine with

never having a

bachelors *in anything*! I do know that some

Psychology programs

allow one to jump from a bachelors to a PhD.

I suppose if TCM

schools required a bachelors that there would not

be as many students.

>

I think one of the things that defines

a medical school is its set of standards

for metriculation into its program.

Another, of course, is its set of graduation

standards. Typically, the schools with

the highest standards are the ones with

the longest lists of well qualified applicants.

Here, again, it is the establishment and

maintenance of standards that serves the

purpose of advancing the field. Defining

Chinese medicine as "alternative" does

not make it possible to avoid the actualities

of the real world.

The orthodoxy that has been established

in the field does indeed have this

peculiar characteristic, i.e. that

for the most part, standards of metriculation

into programs have been quite low.

We should ask ourselves questions like:

What are the popular public perceptions

about acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine,

and so on, in general? Do people tend

to look upon the field and those who

practice it with respect? Favor?

Disfavor?

Even if we don't have verified and verifable

data from studies available, everyone

can simply ask these questions of people

they know and listen to the answers.

That's all studies of such things attempt

to approximate, after all.

When you've got some answers, ask yourself

how the standards that currently exist

relate to the attitudes that you discover.

Ken

 

 

Chinese Herbal Medicine, a voluntary organization

of licensed healthcare practitioners, matriculated students and postgraduate

academics specializing in Chinese Herbal Medicine, provides a variety of

professional services, including board approved online continuing education.

 

 

[Guest guest]

, Frances Gander <

fgander@c...> wrote:

Are we technicians

> or physicians? And even if one decides to not participate in

> 'third-party reimbursement,' their effect on our profession is a

big

> one.

>

> How to educate this brute--any ideas?

>

 

there is only one thing that will affect this. Research. all else will

fall on deaf ears. If the CHA conference goes well, I hope to use

this as a springboard to develop research protocols that will be

funded by NIH and carried out in member offices. I already have

positive contact with the local med school, which already has a

relationship with NIH OAM.

 

[Guest guest]

Frances, and All,

 

> Are we technicians

> > or physicians? And even if one decides to not participate in

> > 'third-party reimbursement,' their effect on our profession is a

> big

> > one.

> >

> > How to educate this brute--any ideas?

> >

>

> there is only one thing that will affect this. Research. all else

will

> fall on deaf ears. If the CHA conference goes well, I hope to use

> this as a springboard to develop research protocols that will be

> funded by NIH and carried out in member offices. I already have

> positive contact with the local med school, which already has a

> relationship with NIH OAM.

 

Eight or nine years ago when I was studying

and working at the university in Chengdu,

a delegation of American MDs came to town

one day and visited the school. It was still

a college in those days and hadn't grown into

university status. It was mid-winter and the

bulk of the foreign students had left town.

I was the only native English speaker around

and got the job of entertaining these docs

and helping them get their questions answered.

I remember that the main concern on their

minds was where they could find comprehensible

and credible research data. They complained

about how unclear the nomenclature seemed.

 

" We know they're talking about something

important, but we're just not sure what it is. "

 

They weren't describing the problem of their

conversations with doctors in Chengdu, rather

their encounters with English language

materials that had stimulated their interest

and so brought them to China looking for insight

into what this medicine is all about.

 

A good many of my concerns about language

and literature relate directly to the

research environment and the effectiveness

of the reporting that is produced once

research is carried out. Research alone

is not enough. Results must be effectively

communicated.

 

The current issue of CAOM includes a good

deal of information about research standards,

and we have published many pieces over the

last year about reporting and language

standards.

 

Neglect of the language and literature

needlessly complicates the matter of

presenting credible research to the

appropriate groups and to the public

at large in an effective manner. Likewise,

a clear comprehensive presentation of

language and literature lends the entire

profession a comprehensible basis from

which it can manage regulatory interactions.

 

Regardless of whether or not ignorance

is bliss, communicating about it entails

the use of words.

 

Ken