coaxed

[Guest guest]

Certainly, this discussion will go round and round, as it could easily

go into academic vs. clinic. I tell beginning students that they will

find a dichotomy in their learning... " the statement of fact " aspect of

the classroom (the " form " in taichi terms) and the creativity of the

clinic (push-hands?:-) ) More and more I see this dichotomy (my

Western mind?) as an integral part of the medicine. Certainly the

multiple choice is the " form " of the classroom. One Chinese colleague

complains bitterly about an important test where she blew it " with the

correct answer but the wrong character " .

 

Ironically, one of the best things Emperor's has done is the " clinical

theatre " where observers watch a supervisor treat. One of those

supervisors is a senior doctor, Dr. Gu who is very patient in

explaining point by point the " statements of fact'. Ironic because the

extreme of this method is in the Asian programs in Los Angeles schools

where the doctors treat up until the end of the students final day.

Many have decried how a students could graduate from those programs

without putting a needle in a patient. Too little time? This

" dichotomy " also gives me a slight hesitation about the " clinical

teaching " method (now done at Harvard Med!) in an acupuncture school

setting.

 

So I'm all in favor of better books, certainly a new theory book is

really, really needed. I hope someone who as good as a writer as

Kaptcuk will rise to the challenge. But I think a lot of what we want

is to make " the classroom relevant to the clinic " and that may be

missing the point. This may be truly " Westernizing " the medicine.

 

It's again ironic that one of the most influential teachers in the

West, Jeffery Yuen, refuses to write a book because he doesn't want to

give the impression that what he says should be codified in this way.

He says one should take his words and mold them to their own

perceptions. I'm also reminded of a student who I had to flunk in a

class years back. He was struggling, I think he left the school 2

times. He finally came back and made it to the clinic and I groaned.

Then last week, I watched for half an hour as he patiently and

successfully worked on a frozen shoulder. His body was right there with

the patient, pushing and pulling, coaxing. Physical medicine at its

best. Oh well.

doug

 

 

Ken wrote

 

>

> Certainly everything is not contained in

> written texts. You can't, for example,

> touch a person with a written text, except

> in an extraordinarily abstract way, which

> of course delights me as a writer, but

> which is lost on most people I'm afraid.

>

> In my experience of the study and

> practice of traditional forms of medicine

> in China, touch has been a central

> focus. So if you want to call this education

> in touching a higher level, in my case,

> for example, then ok.

>

> I just prefer to call it the root, as in the

> line from the taiji classic that states that

> familiarity with the correct touch leads

> to wisdom. In my mind, wisdom is an

> understanding of the root. For the root

> is what survives...or doesn't. And if we

> are wise we know how to care for

> and cultivate the root.

>

> I guess I just have a problem with the

> phrase " higher level " because I've seen

> it so frequently abused by people who

> profess to have access to some higher

> level, but do not.