Western & Eastern medicine

I had a unique experience yesterday that I wanted to share. In the same day, I had an appointment with my allopathic medical practitioner and, that afternoon, with the acupuncturist I have been working with for some neurological issues. The juxtaposition was striking.

My morning Western medical appointment was a model of efficiency. In a matter of minutes, after signing in, I had been weighed, had my eyesight checked, had an ECG performed and had all my vital signs noted. The nurse practitioner that I see was in the room shortly thereafter and pulled up my profile on the office computer system. My lab work was in place and we discussed the results, point by point. The nurse prac made some suggestions for issues that were ongoing, scripts were written for supplements, a referral was made for some other testing and I was out of there. The entire visit took about an hour. Despite the fact that this is one of the best practitioners of Western medicine that I have found, I could not help feeling "processed".

By contrast, later that day, I visited my acupuncturist. We sat in the waiting room chatting for a while and then moved into the treatment room where I gave an update of my observations about the treatment and my condition. I was settled on a massage bed and left to relax for a few moments before this practitioner came and took my pulses (a diagnostic method used in traditional Chinese medicine - TCM). After determining the course of treatment for this session, the acupuncturist explained what he was going to do and began a staged series of needlings. He would insert a few needles at specific points then leave me to let the treatment work for a while. Then, he would come back, remove the needles and place a new set. Once the treatment was complete, I was given all the time that I needed to get up and moving. My practitioner was waiting for me in the waiting room and spent some more time chatting before I went my way feeling relaxed and not at all hurried. This visit took over two hours.

After this experience, it has never been more evident to me that Western medicine is based on a corporate manufacturing model while TCM actually works with and treats people. While I would still want to be taken to the local trauma center for treatment after a car accident, I am realizing, as I get older, that I want my health maintenance to be based on a model that looks at me as a whole person and not just a collection of parts to be removed, swapped out or otherwise "fixed".