My Journey of becoming a TCM Physician Chap 11: Behind the scenes

Usually when patients see doctors, we are supposed to be the problem solvers of any sort and the superhumans who can clear any problems for the patients.

But do you wonder what happens behind the scenes when the patients left, and we are closed for the day?

Now in the context of my training as an intern in the Acupuncture department, it was usually a battlefield during the operating hours of the department. Packs of needles were used up within hours and the needle bins would be filled with used needles. Concurrently, one doctor could be seeing 4 to 6 patients at one time and we as interns had to assist in keeping the time for the needles to stay in for each patient, removed needles when they were done, acupuncture for those patients who were alright for us interns to do so, blood let, attached electropulsators to the points as instructed and kept the workstations as clean as possible among the battle. One morning could easily hit 30 to 40 patients at one go.

So what happened when the clock stroke 5 for the end of the day?

Well, you must understand one thing: doctors are humans. And we have pains and aches and health problems too. Many people thought we are saints and can take any kind of pressure and nonsense. That is a whole big misconception and even up till this day in my practice I still get patients who have that belief. Anyway, I have digressed.

So usually at the end of the day, we would swop roles and become the patients. Those that had no issue would start to ‘practice’ on those that had issues to resolved. Or we would bug the mentors and seniors to help us before they left. And we usually would be capable to remove the needles on our own at the end of the session because by then everyone would have left.

Sounds a little pitiful?

Maybe. But one thing was we would give ourselves the best unrushed treatments with sometimes the better equipments =)

So because this practice is a human to human interaction, one small piece of advice that I can give you the next time you visit a TCM doctor: Be nice to your doctor and show respect and understanding. To put it in a crude way from one of my healer friend: Try getting into the good books of doctors and healers. Because you never know we can throw in some premiums for you just because you are nice =)

TCM Life StoryXiang Jun LimDr (TCM) Xiang Juntcm, acupuncture, afterwork, needling, mentors