Tradional Chinese Medicine - Sarah's thoughts

We did learn some about health preservation today, much of it having to do with balancing emotions, “harmonizing visceral and bowels” (which is related to balancing emotions, as imbalance of emotions can hurt the viscera), and maintaining a balanced diet (with the five tastes, instead of food groups or the food pyramid. The maintenance of balancing Qi and its flow throughout the body is vital to preserving health. Our lecturer explained that being calm, controlling breathing, and balancing emotions are vital to keeping Qi balanced. I love the concepts of Qi and Yin/Yang because they both maintain that balance is vital to a person’s life. I see this in my patients at home and I feel it in my own life.

Sarah Comeaux (TCM Journal March 13, 2009)
Photography by Rick Allen

Traditional Chinese Medicine - Leslie's thoughts

Today was our last day and we spent the afternoon visiting the Haven of Hope Hospital. This was our first visit to the Western Medicine side of a Hong Kong Hospital and it was really interesting to see how similar Hong Kong hospitals were to U.S. hospitals. I thought we were going to visit a hospice and see how TCM played a role in palliative care. It turned out that the hospital had a hospice unit, so I guess I wasn’t completely mistaken.

The tour of the hospice care was perhaps my favorite part of the day. I never worked in or visited a hospice, so this was my first experience seeing one in operation. I thought it was wonderful how the hospice nurses spoke of the importance in getting the patients outside to feel the sunlight and smell the fresh air --- it’s something that we often forget to consider when patients become non-ambulatory or otherwise dependent on machines and devices. The fact that they had designed the ramp to the courtyard to accommodate hospital beds spoke highly of their determination that all patients have the opportunity to spend some of their last days outside the confines of the hospital walls.

Leslie Wheeless (TCM Journal March 17, 2009)

Photography by Rick Allen

Traditional Chinese Medicine - Miriam's thoughts

Today, we had our first clinical site visit to a TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) clinic at Kwong Wah Hospital. This was an exciting day very much filled with interesting interactions and eye-opening clinical observations. Before this trip, I saw TCM as being an alternative way of treating health problems, but I began to think today that TCM may be an "alternative", but it is a very big and important alternative here in Hong Kong.

As we toured the pharmacy, I began to dismiss old ideas I had about TCM. I had seen herbal medicine as being a medicine that was not a science like our drugs/medications. What I saw in this pharmacy was just the opposite. The drugs were not pills, but were specific combinations, personalized for each patient. And, like the pills that we prescribe people in the U.S., these people are given specific instructions about how to take the medicine (ie. how long to boil an herb, or to heat a packet that had already been soaked in herbs). Very impressive.

Miriam Lundy (TCM Journal March 11, 2009)
Photography by Rick Allen

Traditional Chinese Medicine - Susan's thoughts

Our day began with a lecture on the causes of disease. This was a basic explanation of the concepts of excess and deficiency; internal and external forces. The next lecture took place in the Medicinal Nursing Laboratory, which was a room with glass jars full of traditional herbs and various tools for cupping/ moxibustion/ acupuncture on display.

Another lecture was on Chinese diagnostic skills including tongue and pulse assessment. I wanted to continue so we could really have a chance to take and describe each others’ pulses and tongues, but time was too short and we were not able to do more than quickly try each of the pulse machines. After lunch in the staff canteen, we learned about meridians. I love the way various theories are explained in naturalistic terms – rain cycles and seasonal cycles; it makes it really easy to understand.

Susan Wasseluk (TCM Journal March 10, 2009)
Photography by Rick Allen

Traditional Chinese Medicine - Katherine's thoughts

After a weekend packed full of sightseeing and exploring Hong Kong, I was eager to start classes. Today we learned about the basics of TCM, including the theories of yin and yang and the five elements. A second lecture focused on how TCM views the structure of the human body. I am most struck by the similarities between the ancient view, based in nature and founded on observations and the western one based on autopsies and scientific experiments. I also find the concepts of the triple burners very interesting, defining those areas of the human form that don’t correlate to organic structures.


Katherine Gonzalez (TCM Journal March 9, 2009)
Photography by Rick Allen

YSN International Experience Makes News In China

Photos submitted by Rick Allen.

Research

So. My purpose in China all along has been to conduct research with older adults, living in the community.

I am using a survey tool called the Reminiscence Functions Scale, which was developed in the USA and Canada, and tested originally on college students. Recently, though, reminiscence has emerged as a possible modality to improve self-esteem and decrease depression in older adults. So, what is reminiscence? In a simple sense, it is recalling past events from one's own life, re-visiting old memories, pleasant and painful, and processing them emotionally. Why is this important? Because as older adults age, there is sometimes an increase in isolation and depression, and a general decline in quality of life. Reminiscence may be a promising way to alleviate these events, without medication, and with human interaction, and perhaps affection.

This was a banner week for me, for data collection. After more than a month of revising the scale, which had been translated from English to Chinese while I was still at school this spring, we finalized the survey tool a few weeks ago. While the language may be Chinese, the cultural and linguistic appropriateness was not achieved, according to at least 3 focus groups we conducted. So, we made vocabulary changes in an attempt to simplify the scale, we consulted linguistic experts within the university, we consulted psychiatrists at the local hospitals and university departments...all in an effort to make the scale the best possible tool. So, for now, we are using a finalized version of the original scale. My colleagues here have been endlessly supportive and helpful. I think, ultimately, the scale may have to be completely revised to be appropriate for older adults in China, but sadly, this is out of my project's scope, as a master's student and novice researcher here for only a few months.

However, that being said, when things happen, they happen fast. We distributed probably over 200 surveys this week, with the most rewarding (for me) including outings to local parks early in the morning (6:30...this, for me, is early! but it certainly affords the opportunity to avoid the excessive heat in subtropical Changsha, and older adults are out en force doing their morning exercises). It is simply blissful for me to observe the flurry of activity, cheerful smiles and greetings in reply to my shy "ni hao?", bustling around the parks and sidewalks...people simply going about their day, living their lives.

I am content.

Pictures and excerpts from 7/6/08 blog - Erin A. Loskutoff