A big 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 get a better grip on the techniques of medical
massage.
Projecto Vamos A China (PVC) the largest-ever program 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 diseases
that are more than skin-deep, such as endocrinal disorders,
depression and addiction.
"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 increased demand for TCM services in
Brazil, Projecto Vamos A China will bring two to three groups every
year.
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 a history spanning more than 80 years
in Brazil, the national government officially 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 who pass their final exam.
Today, Brazil's mainstream medical community is still testing
the waters and has yet to arrive at a unanimous verdict on its
effectiveness.
"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 given
him a deeper understanding of the nuances of acupuncture techniques
most importantly, 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 main point of contention in the dispute is
the acceptability of using TCM techniques against the backdrop of
Western medicine.
Diagnosis is central to the debate, Vieira said. 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 and then use 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 prefers to call 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 whom 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.
Verifying 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
coming closer to a verdict.
(China Daily September 18, 2006)
