This document summarizes a medical encounter with Dr. Huo, a traditional Chinese medicine doctor with expertise in reproductive systems. It describes Dr. Huo's training starting from a young age through family inheritance, a common approach for traditional Chinese medicine doctors. It also notes the intense training required to master Chinese medicine recipes. The document observes Dr. Huo's medical practice, which combines herbal medicines made from animal and plant materials according to formulas that may be public or family secrets. It contrasts the different approach to privacy between Chinese and American medical cultures.

1. Medical
Encounter with
Dr. Huo
By CiCi
2014-09-04
ccui2@albany.edu

2.  Dr. Hao has great
reputation in
healing sicknesses
related with
reproductive
system of both
man and woman,
his specialty also
included many
other categories,
such as problems
with skin, spine,
etc, .


3.  Family inheritance is
one of the most
important training
approach of traditional
Chinese Medicine
doctors. Dr. Huo began
his training when he
was still a
teenager…He want to
find some one to inherit
his skills, but even his
son refuse to do it since
“it is too difficult”…This
is a classical dilemma
of many traditional
cultural heritages in
China.

4.  I had asked him whether I
can learn from him, he said:
You are too old for leading
Chinese medicine… I agree
with him… The training is very
intense…and need great
memory about all the
recipes…To be really good at
it, the trainee needs to start
at very early age, and be
totally focused on it.

5.  Grateful patients
from all over the
country sent in
appreciation flags
to Dr. Huo. In China,
sending
appreciation flag to
doctor is a sign of
great appreciation.

6.  Materials for
Chinese medicine
come from all kinds
of plants and organs
of animals, Dr. Huo
and his wife who
was a nurse trained
in the western
medical system use
their own tools and
procedures to make
their own medicines.
The formula can be
well know receipt, it
can also be a family
secret.

7.  Dried
scorpions
waiting for be
processed.
Scorpion is
very good
materials for
many
medicines.

8.  The messages from
Buddhism and
Confucianism can
be found on the
wall and the door.
 Dr. Huo and his
wife live behind the
door.
 His office is also his
pharmacy.

9. A long poem on the all that persuade people
to treat their parents well.

10. Look at the left
side of the
picture, Dr. Huo
is using his finger
to diagnose his
patient.
 (I intentionally
skipped the
patient’s face in
this photo)

11.  The social structure and
cultural-psychological
structure in China is quite
different from the U.S.
Compared with here,
privacy is not a big issue in
China. As you can see, while
Dr. Huo is diagnosing the
patient, there were two
unrelated individuals are
around. No one think it is a
problem, including the
patient herself.

12.  Doubt the effects of Dr. Huo’s medical skills?
 Let me put it in this way. The same sickness
that happened to many woman, in Western
style hospitals, the patients need to go
through the insertion of tube, even the
surgery…even so, the symptom can only be
mitigated, can’t be completely cured. When
they come to see Dr. Huo, after three weeks’
medicine (tastes terrible…), the problem got
completely solved.


13. There is always something
going beyond our imagination.
Never got fooled by the illusion
of what the world should be.

14. Thanks for your time!
CiCi