Chinese Medicine as a Social Movement Print

“Medicine is a social science, and politics is nothing more than medicine on a large scale.  The physicians are the natural attorneys of the poor, and the social problems should largely be solved by them.”

                        ~Rudolph Virchow

As medical practitioners and healers we are activists and organizers.  We give a voice to the voiceless, whether it be validating the experiences of a patient, advocating for the right to healthcare, or paving the way for natural medicine in America.  In school we learn about disease and its pathological mechanisms, but in the end all disease is an issue of powerlessness.  We contract disease in the unoccupied parts of our body, the parts where the light of our Shen, our spirit-consciousness, is absent.  These are the parts we have forgotten and ignored, that in turn give us pain or problems as a reminder of their existence.  On a larger scale this is also true in our society; the organism of America contracts disease as well.  There are many places where spirit is absent, where power is taken from people and oppression occurs.  I believe as a healer it is my responsibility to address disease on every level and I see Oriental medicine as a mighty instrument for this work.  I use the term “Oriental medicine” specifically to include all the various healing arts that have sprouted from the roots of Eastern philosophy.   There is a time and place for philosophical debate, but for the purpose of this discussion let us broaden our perspective to survey our role as healthcare providers in the current landscape of America.


The expansive and inclusive philosophy of Oriental medicine makes it applicable in every facet of life.  In the Classical Chinese medical model I study at NCNM we look to the Yi Jing, Dao De Jing and Neijing, among other texts, for the framework of the medicine.  These ancient books give us the concepts of the one (Dao), the two (Yin and Yang), the three (Heaven, Earth, and Human Being), the five (Earth, Metal, Water, Wood, and Fire), and the six (Taiyang, Yangming, Shaoyang, Taiyin, Shaoyin, Jueyin), that provide myriad ways in which to understand the seen and unseen world. They offer a comprehensive system in which to view the body and its intricate workings as well as a means to interact with the world we live in.  The macrocosm and microcosm are not separate entities—both reflect the essential quality of the other.  Every process and phenomenon that exists in nature is also found in our society and within us.  Because of this central idea I believe that the way we approach the body in Oriental medicine is also the way we should approach our community.  It is a landscape like any other, with warmth and cold, expansion and contraction, inhalation and exhalation, and the myriad cycles within cycles that form the web of life.  It is from this understanding that I seek to engage and treat the very fabric of society with my practice as an acupuncturist and herbalist.  My work must acknowledge the needs of the community as a whole and thus address the places in our community where disease lies.

Right now the community is crying for help.  There is a healthcare crisis in this country and I believe that as practitioners of an inexpensive and effective natural medicine we can be a force for change.  How can Oriental medicine best serve the community at this crucial time?  This is the question I pose to myself and to each one of you. The healthcare revolution must start with a rethinking of what acupuncture and Oriental medicine is and does.  The true scope of practice for Oriental medicine goes far beyond what is generally found in the West.  A trip to China makes that point obvious, where all manner of diseases are treated with Traditional Chinese medicine.  This discrepancy is due to many things, including the scope of our education, but a main factor is how the medicine is practiced in America. The average cost of a treatment, around $60, does two detrimental things to the practice: it restricts access to those who can afford treatments or to those who have insurance that cover them (generally the upper-middle class), and it lowers the number of times people can come for visits.  The former limits the range of people who are served and the types of cases we treat (thus limiting our skill) and the latter lowers the efficacy of the medicine.  In short, affordability impacts accessibility to treatment and is a major factor in our ability to serve the community and affect change.  But, practically, how can we charge less and still pay our bills?      

The need to earn a living wage and repay loans after graduation is a huge driving force for graduates of acupuncture and Oriental medicine.  It often seems that creating an accessible practice and living a comfortable life are mutually exclusive realities for practitioners.  However, right here in Portland a clinic called Working Class Acupuncture is debunking this myth.  Their community acupuncture model offers a sustainable business plan while successfully treating a wide variety of people.  By providing group acupuncture on a sliding scale of $15-35 WCA is able to make appointments affordable while paying practitioners a living wage.  They are a shining example of an innovative way to serve the needs of the community and the people doing the work.  

Generating new ideas, like the model of Working Class Acupuncture, and rethinking the old is what will strengthen our profession during this monumental time.  Raising the voice of acupuncturists and practitioners of Oriental medicine in Washington is also part of our work, whether it be advocating for loan forgiveness, licensing regulations, or other rights and benefits.  All of this movement comes back to the goal of using this medicine to promote health and well-being in the world.  As we empower ourselves as practitioners, so we empower our clients and our community to take back control of their health.

I believe Oriental medicine, as a natural medicine, can revolutionize healthcare.  I look forward to dialoguing, brainstorming, and organizing with more and more people as we address the issue of health in our community.  We are the ones we have been waiting for; the time is now to ride the wave of change that is sweeping this country.  

 

Written by: Adrianna Locke, MSOM2