Recently I spotted an article about the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, the largest in Canada. They want to end “the age-old tradition of licenses which give physicians unfettered freedom, as it steps up its drive to restrict doctors from dabbling in areas where they lack the proper skills”. It comes partly due to some dangerous practices such as cosmetic surgery done by unqualified General Practitioners (GP).
My point of view comes from being a Registered Acupuncturist in the province of Alberta. And also from being a registered member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA).
A Doctor of Chinese Medicine requires 3 or more years of rigorous education and training to learn the necessary skills to become one. In that time, we are taught anatomy, physiology and other sciences. But obviously the focus is on Chinese medicine which has its own science, terminology, diagnostic analysis and processes, and of course, it’s own treatment protocols. It is a science and art.
When you’re looking around for an acupuncturist, for instance, you probably see a lot of signs up announcing that this and that clinic offers acupuncture. But do you stop and think about it? One of my clients recently said that you see these signs everywhere, but she knows the difference.
So I want to help you to know the difference. Many medical doctors (MD),chiropractors, naturopaths, massage therapists, and physiotherapists are taking short courses in acupuncture. That is, they learn a few places where to put the needles in your body. They know anatomy, so they can easily follow directions about where to put the needles.
An acupuncturist, who happens to share a clinic with physiotherapist, observed that this person was doing a sloppy job. She didn’t care enough to place the needles in the PRECISE location of the point.
How much do you think someone who takes a weekend course or a couple of trips to China really knows? It’s like telling someone who’s merely observed a gall bladder surgery to go ahead and do it.
The issue here is largely about PUBLIC SAFETY. Engineers were not educated as such when people who had an aptitude for building bridges, houses, roads, etc, began doing this kind of work. Someone at some point decided that people needed to have a good rigorous education and they also had to take public safety very seriously.
As soon as I started my degree in Engineering it was drilled into us about our responsibility for public safety (at least in Canada, it is!). We even have a special ceremony in all Canadian Engineering schools and we each get a reminder called the “Iron Ring” to wear on our pinky fingers in our final year. In Canada, that’s what distinguishes an Engineer from the rest of the population.
How do you know if you’re getting the real thing and why does it matter? I’ll explain more next time!
Dr. Joanny Liu, TCMD, RAc, P.Eng. Dr Joanny Liu “Best Selling Author and founder of Extraordinary Sports Medicine, where we help athletes reverse injury, get back in the game they love and improve their quality of life.” Best selling book at: Heal Your Concussion: How to Quickly and Effectively Get Back in the Game Remember, we’ve got two books about healing concussions in Amazon: Knock OUT Concussions, Heal Your Concussion: 21 Days to Brain Health, and Dr. Joanny’s new book, Heal Your Concussion: How to Quickly and Effectively Get Back in the Game is NOW live on Amazon!
