I came in Shanghai in 2008 as a teacher at a local high school.
While teaching, i learned a lot about asian culture and various chinese-isms. But one of my most memorable experiences was a time when i sprained my ankle playing ultimate frisbee and was sent to the school doctor (who i was told spoke excellent English). This was my first and ONLY time going to a doctor trained in Chinese Medicine. I told him my situation and with an unlit cigarette in his mouth, he grabbed some iodine and rubbed it on my ankle (IODINE is a disinfectant!! How is that supposed to help a broken bone?!) then he wrapped my leg loosely in a cheap bandage.
A friend of mine, DC, had a similar experience with the same doctor. DC had cut his knee pretty badly and obviously needed stitches. He figured he would see the free campus doctor before forking over money to a hospital. As DC tells it, the doctor was smoking the entire time, did a terrible cleaning job and dressed the would poorly then said “OK!!!” When DC asked, “Well what about tomorrow when the wound needs another dressing?” The doctor only laughed and replied, “But tomorrow is SATURDAY!”
So one of the MANY things my first job exposed to me was Chinese Medical practices. Personally, i just don’t trust it even though my roommate swears to her prescription of herbal medicines. I guess herbs are ok, but when it comes to dressing wounds, stitches, or anything where blood is involved, I will head to a western-educated doctor. Am I wrong in doing this? Are there actually really awesome Chinese medicine doctors out there?
