Dr. Zhu Sets a High Bar

Dr. Zhu sets a high bar for his students and Zhu Scalp Acupuncture (ZSA) Certified practitioners.

His insistence upon our clinical excellence reinforces his philosophy that ZSA is a complete system of medicine that can be applied for general practice.

The ZSA certification program enables practitioners to deal with any kind of medical condition; emergent, acute, chronic, or otherwise.

This is one factor that sets ZSA apart from practitioners not trained and certified in his system.

I was blessed with the opportunity to study and work with Dr. Zhu. Something that he said in the very first course I attended has stayed with me ever since.

“There is always just one medicine – human medicine.”¹

To Dr. Zhu, different medical modalities or paradigms are just different facets of the same integrated system.

I would venture to say that each medical paradigm is like a set of goggles through which we perceive our patient’s needs.

“Medicine has no borders!”²

Therefore acupuncturists must be able to integrate microscopic (biomedicine) and macroscopic (holistic/functional medicine) perspectives in our clinical practice to help our patients in the most profound and appropriate ways possible.

“There is no differentiation between Western and Chinese medicine – only one human medicine.”³

Western and Chinese medical systems are each, in their own right, capable of occupying a student’s entire lifetime with study. I suggest that we had better get to it sooner rather than later.

So how do we mold ourselves into the well-rounded and effective general practitioners Dr. Zhu envisions us to be?

I’ve curated salient points from Module 1 materials⁴ and class notes which offer the ideals:

1. Develop knowledge. The areas of focus include medicine, I Ching, Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, or “other religious ideas that teach you to be a nice person.”
2. Master medicine. There are five steps: learn, imitate, apply, think, and innovate. No small task and that is why we practice and study it for years.
3. Live a favorable lifestyle. Simplicity, openness, movement (as in the movement of the body and exercise), being big-hearted, and calm are the qualities to strive toward.
4. Things to avoid. Greed, anger, obsession, deceit, and jealousy are the qualities or emotions to avoid whenever possible. Ironically life is a constant source of exposure to these poisons, so I would say that proactivity matters in their prevention.
5. Develop the Five Virtues. Benevolence, righteousness, piety, sincerity, and modesty. I think it’s safe, and not disharmonious, to add compassion to this list. I hope it’s not just me who thinks so.

This is pithy stuff and it may seem like a tall order to ask modern acupuncturists (or anyone for that matter) to live up to these lofty standards.

What I can tell you from personal experience is that self-cultivation is necessary in providing the best medical care to patients.

“If the doctor is not calm, the patient is not calm.”⁵

How we communicate with patients can make or break the practitioner-patient relationship. It is not always easy to communicate with patients, for myriad reasons. I have learned that caring for patients through the use of right speech and positive reinforcement is empowering for all parties involved.

“There’s a Chinese saying, good words are better than good medicine.”⁶

Anyone who has visited Dr. Zhu’s San Jose clinic can tell you that it is a very positive, upbeat, and supportive environment in which to do the work of healing. Patients spontaneously get to know one another and cheer each other on.

It’s nothing short of inspiring! Encouragement is the order of the day.

This is living a favorable lifestyle. It does not have to be as difficult as we sometimes may try to make it. 

Dr. Zhu asks a lot of us and simultaneously teaches us how to excel at human medicine. My experience is that training with him was a rare opportunity to hone my medical skills and learn how to meet the needs of my patients.

Thank you, Dr. Zhu, for setting the bar high and insisting that we continually refine ourselves in the life-long pursuit of self-development to benefit others.

It is remarkable what Dr. Ming-Qing Zhu has achieved during his more than five decades of teaching and treating patients. He embodies the above ideal principles and is a true master in my eyes and the eyes of many patients and providers around the World.

If you are unfamiliar with Dr. Zhu’s life story, please see the short film After 15 Million Needles.

Endnotes

1. Class notes taken by the author, on 4/6/2013 and 3/17/2016
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Handout: Module 1 – Basics of Zhu Scalp Acupuncture course slide presentation
5. Class notes taken by the author, on 4/6/2013 and 3/17/2016
6. Ibid.