Supplying an effective and versatile service
Liong Ching, registered Chinese medicine practitioner and full-time PhD student, School of Chinese Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong
AS A REGISTERED Chinese medicine practitioner, I see patients twice a week at the teaching clinic for the School of Chinese Medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
The patients are mainly university employees and their relatives. I also spend Sundays seeing patients (even babies) from all walks of life at a charity organisation.
When I first started seeing patients in 2004, after my graduation, I noted that many people had the wrong impression of Chinese medicine. They thought it was limited and only good for minor illnesses. But when patients discovered how effective and versatile Chinese medicine was, my client base started to grow rapidly.
Women with obstetrics and gynaecology problems constitute my biggest pool of patients. This is not surprising, considering that I am a female medical practitioner.
Other patients come with skin diseases, oral infections and assorted ailments. I always read the patient's record before I see them. I also regularly perform acupuncture for patients in hospital wards.
In this profession you have flexibility in deciding what herbal medicines to prescribe your patients. This entails responsibility and reflects on your competence. If your prescription works, you are satisfied.
I am also a full-time postgraduate student following a PhD programme in Chinese medicine at the university, so I divide my free time between researching and teaching. In co-operation with the Kwong Wah Hospital - CUHK Chinese Medicine Clinical Research and Services Centre, I am also evaluating the efficacy of Chinese medicine in the treatment of osteoporosis.
In the mornings I usually do experiments. For example, for the osteoporosis study I look at cell culture and animal models to find out how certain Chinese medicines cure certain illnesses.
In the afternoons I prepare for lectures, seminars and TV programmes. My teaching includes such duties as showing housemen how
to check a patient's heartbeat.
Of all my duties, the research work is the most challenging. Research studies usually involve many people, and it gets very frustrating when patients taking part in a clinical trial drop out half way. This also leads to delays in the supply of drugs.
In western medicine, advanced technology is used to test drugs. The effectiveness of Chinese medicine cannot be measured by modern methods. Many areas of Chinese medicine remain unexplored.
So far, there is no formal organisation dedicated to the long-term professional development of Chinese medical practice. And there is no system yet for categorising Chinese medicine practitioners.
When the pressure and frustrations build up, I go jogging. The faster I jog, the better I feel.
