The original article (in Chinese) was published in the 13 January 2025 edition of Ming Pao's Monday Campus Subscription.
"I once had a patient who loved cats but was allergic to cat hair. She developed eczema all over her body. When her condition was at its worst, she even lost her eyebrows. But she continued to raise her cats at home." Chinese medicine practitioner, Rosa Fu shared her unforgettable experience at work. The patient had received treatment from Western medicine, but due to repeated illness, she sought help from Rosa. Rosa combined medication and acupuncture to help the patient's skin to restore its beauty in 8 months. Now she is still continuing to use acupuncture to improve the patient's physical condition, hoping to cure the allergy. "I am very touched by her trust." Every time she successfully helps a patient recover, Rosa feels a great sense of satisfaction and loves the profession of Chinese medicine even more.
Q: Uni Dream
A: Chinese medicine practitioner Rosa Fu is a registered Chinese medicine practitioner of the Chinese Medicine Council of Hong Kong. She graduated from Hong Kong Baptist University with dual degrees in Bachelor of Chinese Medicine and Bachelor of Science (Honors) in Biomedical Science, and completed a Master of Science in Chinese Medicine with specialization in Acupuncture at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Q: Why did you choose to study Chinese medicine in university?
A: When I was choosing my subjects in Form 7, I found out that I could choose to study Traditional Chinese Medicine. I thought it was very special because at that time, my understanding of Chinese Medicine was still limited to the impression that doctors treated patients in herbal medicine shops. Out of curiosity, I collected some Chinese Medicine theories and found that the theories about the five elements of Yin Yang and the internal organs were very appealing. For example, when someone is nervous, they will feel uncomfortable in the stomach, which is consistent with the theory in medicine that "liver qi stagnation" causes "wood to overcome earth" (liver belongs to wood while spleen and stomach belong to earth according to the five elements of Yin Yang). It turns out that many daily physical phenomena can be explained through Chinese Medicine theories, which makes me think this subject is very interesting.
Q: Can graduates of Chinese medicine only engage in clinical diagnosis and treatment? Are there other career options?
A: Most of them will aim to engage in clinical diagnosis and treatment, and some graduates will also engage in teaching or scientific research in traditional Chinese medicine.
Q: What do you think about the role and development prospects of traditional Chinese medicine in modern society?
A: After the implementation of the self-examination license system, more people recognize Chinese medicine as a profession, which has greatly improved its social status compared to the past. Hong Kong is also about to establish a Chinese medicine hospital, which I believe will help the public further recognize Chinese medicine.
Since Chinese and Western medicine each have their own strengths, I think mixed treatment will be an important direction for the development of Chinese medicine. The strength of Western medicine is that it can provide a lot of specific data and information about the patient's body and condition through tests and examinations, which has a positive effect on the diagnosis and treatment of Chinese medicine; the strength of Chinese medicine is that it is more personalized. Different patients have different symptoms and conditions, and they are all independent cases. Not all people with colds take the same medicine. Chinese medicine can also use methods other than prescribing medicine to treat, allowing patients to choose a method that is more suitable for them. In recent years, Chinese medicine beauty, such as beauty acupuncture and weight loss, which combines Chinese medicine and modern medical principles, has also become popular.
Q: How do you view the impact of modern technology (such as artificial intelligence or digitalization) on the traditional Chinese medicine industry?
A: Since Chinese medicine practitioners treat each patient as an independent case, I think it is difficult for artificial intelligence to replace them. In addition, taking the pulse requires Chinese medicine practitioners to judge the patient's condition based on their experience and feelings. Other aspects such as observing the patient's complexion, mood and condition are important means of "visual diagnosis" in Chinese medicine, which should be difficult to be replaced by modern technology.
Q: What qualities or skills do you think a successful Chinese medicine practitioner needs to possess?
A: You need to be empathetic. Because patients are feeling physically unwell and are prone to emotional ups and downs, as a Chinese medicine practitioner you must be patient and help them deal with their discomfort. In addition, studying Chinese medicine requires memorizing a lot of information, so students who want to apply must really like this subject. It would also be helpful if they have some knowledge of Chinese culture.
Learn more about Chinese Medicine
The University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong Baptist University offer Bachelor of Chinese Medicine programs that combines traditional Chinese medicine theory with modern medical knowledge, and provides clinical internships to allow students to accumulate experience in a real-life clinical environment. These programs generally take six years to complete. After graduation, students must pass the registration examination of the Chinese Medicine Council of Hong Kong to become registered Chinese medicine practitioners.
Universities in the Mainland also offer Chinese medicine courses. Mainland bachelor's degree programs are usually five-year and combine Chinese and Western medicine knowledge. Graduates must meet the relevant requirements of the Chinese Medicine Council of Hong Kong before they can apply to become registered Chinese medicine practitioners in Hong Kong to perform professional diagnosis and treatment.