Melanie Nacey

Writing Assignment 3:

Traditional Chinese Medicine is very different compared to Western Medicine from how

they treat diseases to even the different concepts they use to understand the body, and the way

the systems and organs interact. One overarching theory or theme of Traditional Chinese

Medicine is treating the patient and not just using the patient’s symptoms to treat them. The

practitioners ask about the patient’s mental, physical, and emotional states to diagnose the

problems the patient may be having. They also do not use the same treatments for every patient.

Practitioners used patient specific treatments to identify the best way to help the patient. They

treat more chronic illnesses rather than acutely ill people. As for treatments Traditional Chinese

Medicine does not use as many tests as Western medicine. They more so focus on observations

and the feelings of their patient rather than an x-ray or CT scan. Practitioners of Traditional

Chinese Medicine also do not specialize in specific areas of the body because they believe that

the body is connected, so they use more of a generalized approach rather than having a patient go

to a cardiologist because they are having palpitations in their chest. To treat these overall

imbalances Chinese medicine uses five different therapies that include acupuncture, herbal

medicine, tu na massage, diet, and Qigong theories. Through these different therapies the

practitioners try to fix the different imbalances that can be occurring in the body through the

patient’s yin and yang, their twelve organs and the five elements, and vital substances. A big

theory that Chinese medicine uses is the balance of yin and yang through the organs. The yin and

yang are opposites of each other and they are dependent on each other. There are yin organs and

yang organs. Yin organs help regulate the body’s vital substances. Examples of yin organs

include lung, spleen, kidneys, and liver. Yang organs are important for receiving, separating,
distributing, and excreting vital substances. Examples of yang organs include large and small

intestine, stomach, and bladder. Physicians use these yin and yang organs to diagnose the

imbalance of the body systems. When a person comes into the doctor’s office they often use

palpation, the twelve pulse points, and observation of the tongue to gather more information

about the illness and the affected organs. Overall the way physicians diagnose and treat patients

is a holistic and in depth method of gathering subjective and some objective data to find the

patients imbalance in their emotional, mental, and physical state. The central principle of

Traditional Western Medicine is working with the patient to completely understand the root

cause of the person’s problem to have them maintain a healthier life.

Some of the treatments discussed include acupuncture and herbal treatments.

Acupuncture is when acupuncturists insert fine sterile needles into channels where Qi flows. Qi

is a person’s vital force or energy. Acupuncturists choose the different passages to release

blockages or rebalance a person’s Qi. Many patients felt relief from their symptoms immediately

after the treatment. This treatment can be used for a range of different problems including joint

pain, stress, depression, insomnia, pain, weakness, and viral infections. The acupuncturist

sometimes uses tender points that are not close to the affected organ, but it can still help with the

symptoms because of the pathway the Qi is flowing. Some other treatments that are often used

with acupuncture is guasha which is scraping of the skin to remove a pathogen and cupping

which helps with congestion of Qi. These therapies are used for the treatment of colds and the

flu. Herbal medicine is another therapy of Traditional Chinese Medicine that uses natural

substances such as bark, leaves, plants, fruits, flowers, and seeds to help maintain a person’s

health and energy. There are four different types of herbs which include the emperor herb that

treats the main symptoms, minister herb which treats a coexisting imbalance, adjuvant herb
which adds to the effects of the other herbs, and the messenger herb which carries the herbs to

the affected body region. When a patient is using herbal medicine they receive a combination of

herbs that are specific to their symptoms. Some uses include clearing phlegm, calming a person’s

spirit, and moving food. One important and highly used herb in Traditional Chinese Medicine is

ginseng. Ginseng is a sweet herb that helps with stress, improving life expectancy, and increases

resistance to disease. Other herbs such as honeysuckle can help prevent acute diseases like the

common cold. To sum up, the treatments of acupuncture and herbal medicine are holistic

treatments for patients to improve their health.

After reading the chapters about Traditional Chinese Medicine I learned how different it

is compared to my understanding of medical techniques used today. I found it interesting how

practitioners of TCM do not look at one symptom a person is having and give each patient the

same treatment for that symptom. I always thought that having a doctor or nurse that knew the

patient’s background and really listened to their problems would provide the best continuity of

care. After reading the chapters and watching the video on the TCM practices I understand now

how these practices can really help a person’s overall health. Many of the excerpts in the

chapters had people discussing a problem that was being treated by Western medicine practices

unsuccessfully. Then when they tried acupuncture or an herbal medicine slowly they began to

notice improvements to their health. One excerpt discussed how a woman was having a hard

time conceiving and was using western medicine. She went to an acupuncturist and discussed not

only her infertility but also her mental problems that included anxiety. The acupuncturist did a

few treatments to restore her heart and kidney Qi, and the patient reported that she felt less

anxious. A few months later she was expecting a child. This story provided a great example of

how TCM practices focus on a person’s mental health and understands how it can greatly impact
their physical health. After reading about the different TCM practices I would use them as health

care options. I think a big goal of TCM practices is preventing illness and maintaining health.

Some of the herbs discussed seem to be good nutrients to add into one’s diet to help maintain

their health. As a nursing student I also would use some of the TCM ways of thinking and

diagnosing especially for patients with chronic health conditions. Understanding that the body is

influenced by many factors can help a practitioner understand the root or cause of the initial

problem. A person’s mental state can greatly affect their physical health, so understanding that a

person needs to take care of their mental health to improve their overall health.