Digest Number 2109

[Guest guest]

Re: Brian's article " Why I am Going To Medical School "

 

While I agree a great deal with some of Brian's points regarding the necessity

of having knowledge about Western Medicine, I firmly believe that it is not

necessary to undergo the Western Med Program for the sake of greater recognition

and to heighten our knowledge of western medicine in general. I had worked in

NYC at a multi-specialty center with several MD's and many of those MD's

mis-diagnosed, mis-took and mis-handled patients. They didn't take the time to

understand a patient's maladies, and I was the one that often had to find the

proper Western (as well as TCM) diagnosis. It's a disheartening situation in the

general Western Medical world. There are some marvelous MDs, as there are

excellent TCM practitioners, and yet, from my experience, in MOST cases, the

MD's specialize in writing prescriptions that frequently create more problems,

rather than trying to get to the root of the disorder and changing the mechanism

that serves as the catalyst for the imbalance. (more in line

with our work)

I do not feel it is important to go to Western Med school, nor do I feel it

makes a practitioner a better acupuncturist or herbalist. " Jack of all trades,

Master of none " , as they say. Yes, I do believe in knowledge and being able to

work synergistically with Western Docs, but we have to FIRST have complete

knowledge of our own medicine, prior to delving into another form of medicine

that functions from an entirely different paradigm. The most important aspect is

to keep it simple... The patient's well being must come first, and if one seeks

a western medical degree as a way of heightening their self importance in the

field, I think they are in it for the wrong reason. The knowledge we gather

should, first and foremost, be for the sake of better taking care of the people

that entrust their health to us, and in a medical environment where cross

referrals are so easy to do, TCM practitioners need to gain a deeper

understanding of the medicine that took 3,000 plus years to develop. Just

my thoughts on that....

 

 

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Message: 1

Fri, 20 Aug 2004 14:06:13 -0000

" "

Re: news and news

 

I don't know if Brian is still on the list but it seems like a lot of work to

have more respect

as a writer. Then I guess if I were under 30 - which I assume he is - I would be

tempted by

being an MD or a Physician's Assistant or Nurse. One of my students said she was

going

on the DOM degree. She is 25, still some family support, - why not?- she says. I

envy

those who found themselves as healers in their 20's. Another student is in her

40's and is

going on to be nurse because with 2 or 3 years of schooling it makes more

economic

sense that acupuncture.

Having said that I'm pretty happy with where I'm at. I only feel the glass

ceiling with my

own knowledge that can only be broken with more studying. What's that new age

saying?

-you can only feel inferior with your permission, so don't give it- something

like that.

 

doug

 

 

, wrote:

> I heard about this site: http://acubriefs.com/

>

> in this article at

>

> http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/archives2004/sep/09carter.html

>

> Brian Benjamin Carter, MSCi, LAc

>

> Why I'm Going to Western Medical School

 

 

 

 

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Message: 2

Fri, 20 Aug 2004 09:27:32 -0700

" alon marcus "

Re: Re: news and news

 

Doug

I have several friends in late 40 and a couple in their 50 in Med school. There

is always a way if you really want. But have to be masochistic

alon