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.