Cultural differences in Medicine

[smedley]

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Does anyone know of any recent articles regarding cultural and racial differences in the practice of medicine? I would like both sides of the coin here and if anyone does--it would really help me out.
Thanx

 

[leorl]

I can't point you to any articles, but that might not be bad idea for those studying internationally to think about writing! Finding cultural nuances is one of the reasons some students want to study internationally. Among western/european civilizations, I don't think you're going to find much of a difference. But you could research things like... acupuncture and herbal treatments which eastern cultures use more of. This also includes things like aromatherapy, therapies which focus on cleansing the soul...Actually, NYC seems to have a lot of alternative medicine schools which you can check out for info, since lots of those types of therapies originated from non-western civilizations.

Good luck!

 

[Mr. Eastern Medicine]

Hi~
I am a freshman in MITCM in Bethesda, MD. It's an oriental medical school that offers a "Master's Degree" which is a 4-year program. It consists of acupuncture, herbal medicine and physical arts(tuina, which is an oriental massage, tai chi, etc...). After I become both licensed acupuncturist and herbalist, I am planning to attend an allopathic med school. I would probably be around 32 by the time I finish with the residency. But it's really worth it, I think. I guess I am doing all these because I am an Asian American. I was raised where oriental medicine was the primary whereas the western medicine was the secondary. Also, I always wanted to be a doctor who has knowledge of both eastern and western medicine. I really don't want to be a doctor who can't explain anything if my patients ask me about alternative medicine such as the oriental medicine.
But you know, in my personal opinion, you have to believe in Eastern medicine theory if you would like to practice it. Do you think you could belive in Yin/Yang theory? Five Zang-six Fu theory? Son and Mother relationship theory? Five elements (wood, earth, metal, water, fire)? (These five elements were formed by Ancient Chinese people because they thought that people wouldn't survive without these 5 sources and they compare these five elements to our body). These theory seems nonsense and even funny at times, but I personally believe in it so much because I was personally benefited from it (oriental medicine). I hate to say this but MDs couldn't do anything about my illness.
There are a few diseases or illnesses that western medicine CAN NOT cure, and Eastern medicine can and vice versa. This is the main reason why I am planning to study both and hopefully become a "complete" physician. Afterall, we would like to be doctors to help people. And hopefully, my future patients will appreciate my knowledge of both eastern and western medicine.
I guess I wrote too much of Eastern medicine rather than cultural differences in medicine.
Sorry~
Good luck~

 

[Ai]

I'm kind of doing the same thing as Mr. Eastern Medicine. I'm studying at an Oriental medicine school in San Diego and currently applying to Western medical school. After studying TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) for a year I have come to realize that it's not really a matter of whether or not you believe in it, it's just looking at health from a completely different perspective. It is not in competition with Western medicine, the two are very complementary and address very different aspects of health.

Smedley - I don't know if this has anything to do with your original question, but if it does you can check out Pacific College of Oriental Medicine (PCOM) in NYC. Let me know if you have any questions 🙂

 

[wmg]

hi. i did my mph in international health/trop med before med school and learned a lot there. particularly intriguing was the cross cultural interpretation of disease causation. interestingly the psychiatric diseases was the most varied. as the us becomes more diverse i believe it will be necessary to consider cultural influences on treatment, especially behavior change/self management conditions like tobacco use and diabetes. also, there is scads of stuff written on the subject.

 

[smedley]

Thanx for the replys guys -- how about cultural expectations of physicians?

 

[EWestMed]

Hello Mr. Eastern Medicine and Ai. It is nice to hear from people like you who share similar goals as I do; to learn both East and West medicine. Although I'm in my fourth year UG, with plans to enroll in both Oriental (TCM) and Allopathic medical school, I nevertheless look forward to reading your posts and comments here.

As for your question smedley about cultural expectations of a physician, I am not sure if I will answer your q' but i'll give it a try. Running along the lines of the other posts, regardless of what type of medicine he/she practices (East or West), I am confident that all practitioners share the same goal of alleviating and treating the illness of the patient. I know that in Chinese medicine (as well as in Allopathic medicine), much emphasis is placed upon the PREVENTION of the disease, before the onset of the symptoms arise (they say that TCM doctors-traditional Chinese medicine-who prevent the illnesses of their patients are viewed and considered far more superior of a doctor than those who treat the patients when the symptoms arise). This is probably one expectation held among the TCM community, where an emphasis on prevention of illness, through tai chi, qi gong, changes in diets (less consumption of greasy food) and sexual activity is prescribed to patients. I am confident that this can also be translated in the West, where doctors will tell patients to change eating habits, as well as daily activities that constitutes stress (in Chinese medicine, stress is seen as a major factor for cancer as well as other life-threatening illness)
I hope I don't go off on a tangent here, but another cultural expectation of physicians is that they should also learn the various types of medicine, other than just allopathic medicine-especially in the Asian American community. I had the opportunity to volunteer at the EastWest Center of Medicine at UCLA, a medical center where they blend both Chinese and Western medicine, as well as to sit in and to listen in with the 4th year UCLA medical students, as they took thier elective course in EastWest medicine. I was able to notice how the doctors there voiced an interest as to how their western-trained Chinese colleagues, should also take up a study into Chinese medicine, given the many multi-facted changes that are going on in America, as well as the benefits that patients can recieve from them. So I think that all in all, there seems to be both external and internal cultural expectations of physicians.


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