A group of Brazilian doctors specializing in traditional Chinese
medicine (TCM) have come to Beijing to learn the finer points of
acupuncture, cultivate their understanding of Chinese herbology and
improve their medical massage techniques.
Projecto Vamos A China (PVC) bringing 60 Brazilian doctors to
China to study TCM is an 11-day crash course borne out of a rising
demand for TCM in Latin America's largest and most populous
country.
"People in Brazil are less and less satisfied with the results
of Western medicine and are seeking alternatives," said Dr Paulo
Lacava, a psychometrics specialist who enrolled in the program to
get better acquainted with the culture that developed TCM.
The World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies (WFCMS) has
enlisted a who's-who of TCM cosmetology gurus from China's top
hospitals and universities to teach the Brazilian doctors how to
alleviate acne, remove wrinkles and fight flat wart. While the
curriculum concentrates on cosmetology, it also tackles more than
skin-deep diseases, such as endocrinal disorders, depression and
addiction, showcasing the depth of treatments TCM can offer.
"It's an exchange of experience," said Dr Antonia Santana, who
uses acupuncture to treat recovering burn victims in Sao Paulo's
state hospital. "Sometimes what they teach me, I already know.
Other times, what they teach me provides the answers to my
failures."
This is the second such group of Brazilian doctors to come to
China, and in response to the ever-increasing popularity of TCM
services in Brazil, Projecto Vamos A China now bring two to three
groups annually.
The proliferation of TCM in Brazil offers an affordable
alternative for the country's impoverished population who often
cannot afford expensive Western medicine, said PVC's Director Paulo
Vieira.
While Chinese medicine has an 80-year history with Brazil, the
national government officially only recognized TCM certification in
1986.
"This kind of legislation is part of the government's strategy
to provide Brazilians with an alternative to Western medicine,"
Vieira said.
In this spirit, Brazil's Ministry of Health will recognize the
WFCMS certification conferred upon those doctors enrolled in
Projecto Vamos A China, pending passing of final exams.
Today, Brazil's mainstream medical community is still testing
the waters on TCM and a unanimous verdict is still being
awaited.
"TCM is new in Brazil, and many doctors are curious but a little
uncertain; they want to confirm its value," Vieira said.
Santana, for one, believes wholeheartedly in the value of
Chinese medicine. The TCM practitioner says the program has granted
him a deeper understanding of the nuances inherent to acupuncture.
Most importantly, he has observed how the manipulation of the
speed, depth and rotation of the needle produce particular results
in patients' recovery.
Vieira says that in addition to providing TCM instruction, the
program also aims to resolve a longstanding debate within Brazil's
TCM community about the need for orthodoxy in traditional Chinese
medical practice. The nub of contention exists in the advocacy TCM
techniques against the backdrop of Western medicine.
Diagnosis is central to the debate, Vieira said, highlighting
both sides of the argument. Brazil's orthodox Chinese medicine
traditionalists will diagnose patients by analyzing their pulses
and examining their faces, tongues and hands. Less orthodox TCM
practitioners will instead draw blood samples, a uniquely Western
diagnosis method, before using TCM to treat their patients
according to these diagnoses, Vieira explained.
While Santana practices "100 percent Chinese medicine," he still
believes TCM works best in tandem with Western medicine.
"When you are a doctor of Western medicine, you already have
some tools in your toolbox, but Chinese medicine offers you new
tools. When you combine these tools, you can develop a better
prognosis for treatment," he said.
Calling TCM "alternative therapy" doesn't sit well with Santana,
who favors calling it "alternatives in therapy." The burn patients
he treats have already received Western medical care up to the
point that they enter the recovery ward where he uses acupuncture
to ensure a steady course of recovery. He said that compared to the
amount of Western medical treatment his patients undergo before he
cares for them, his TCM-based role in their care seems small
comparable to "only a fingernail on the whole body."?
However, Santana believes it's a question of quality versus
quantity. He smiled as he recalls the words of a Brazilian plastic
surgeon to who he had explained his "fingernail" metaphor: "Without
the fingernail, there is no protection for the finger."
While Santana doesn't apply Western medical techniques in his
practice, Western medicine still creates boundaries the
acupuncturist doesn't cross.
"The Chinese don't use acupuncture for burn victims; they use
herbs. However, in Brazil, I can't use herbs, because in the
context of Western medicine, generally speaking, it's still
difficult to prove the scientific value of these herbs," he
says.
Proving Chinese herbology's usefulness in the eyes of Western
medicine will take time, he says, but as the number of Brazilian
TCM practitioners increases, the nation's medical community is
edging closer to a verdict.
(China Daily September 18, 2006)