It takes a village to raise a doctor…

I was raised in a small village in northern China and the very first child in town who went to medical school. It was no surprise for me to have become a VIP in the village after treating dozens of neighbors during my first winter break in 1986.

Most patients were able to travel to my parents house for treatments. Occasionally I had to make house calls by foot or bike for those who were bedridden because there were no cars or ambulances. My services in the village have been always FREE because there was no cost but some acupuncture needles which could be reused after being sterilized in the stove.

I had such a great time being a barefoot doctor in the village until 1996 when I had a chance to move to America. Knowledge is powerless unless applied. Therefore, I am forever grateful to those patients who kindly allowed me to apply my medical knowledge and refine my clinical skills in the early stage of my practice. And that continues to be my motive to go visit the people there every year, whether being accompanied by colleagues or as a lone star.

My village has been and will continue to be a major cause in my life and medical practice. The demand for better medical care is huge and it takes teamwork to improve the people’s health in the village. Never underestimate the power of even a single treatment as my skills just got better every year. I’m proud that MCT, an innovative acupuncture technique that originated in China,  has been yielding much better clinical outcomes after being re-engineered in the US and re-applied in China.  

My typical day schedule in the village-

• Wake up 4:30 am
  
• Patients line up at 5:30 am
  
• Breakfast between patients until 9:00 am
  
• Farming activity until lunch time around 1:00 pm
  
• Patients still come and go until peak time around 5:00 pm
  
• Dinner and grand rounds between patients until 7:30 pm
  
• Social time with family and neighbors until bedtime 8:30 pm