Interviews – Five Branches University

Members of Five Branches Interviewed by Michael Zwerling from KSCO

Caitlin Tsai — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 23:13:19 +0000

On January 28th, Five Branches University was invited to a KSCO Saturday Special podcast hosted by Michael Zwerling.

Representing Five Branches, President and CEO Ron Zaidman and vice president Joanna Zhao were joined by instructor Nicholas W Hancock as they discussed how Traditional Chinese Medicine promotes health. From the different branches of TCM, to illness treatment and illness prevention, listeners got to hear various TCM-related topics and also had their questions answered in a Q & A session.

To hear the full podcast, visit the KSCO webpage

Doctor & Senior Professor Lucy Hu, LAc: A Life Dedicated to Service

Caitlin Tsai — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 00:38:55 +0000

Twenty-seven years later, Dr. Lucy Hu is still teaching at Five Branches University and treating patients in the University’s health clinics, her private clinic in Palo Alto, and consulting with Stanford University pediatricians on difficult cases. She is the embodiment of the hero physician, tirelessly pursuing excellence to be of service to so many in need.

What is the most important attribute or virtue of an aspiring doctor? Are heroes born, or are they cultivated and nurtured?

Medicine is one of the most challenging, meaningful and rewarding professions. Being a doctor is one of the highest honors one can hope to achieve. It takes many years of education and persistent clinical training to master the subtle nuances of the human body and its response to illness. It takes commitment, perseverance, and sustained focus to actualize the long-held dream, often envisioned in childhood. Most importantly, it takes compassion and a willingness to serve others in times of greatest need. Times when all hope may be lost and the fear, anxiety, and worry over the fate of a loved one rest on the shoulders of a dedicated doctor to find the cause of an illness and administer a cure.

What happens when one is forced to deal with an insurmountable medical problem? While some fall to their knees and pray for advice, assurance, or even a miracle, others heroically take this labor into their own hands, doing everything in their power to solve the problem and find a solution. It is this willingness to act in the face of extreme adversity, even when there is little hope of finding a cure, that is the true miracle.

What makes some individuals challenge themselves in this way? When and how does one know they are meant to be a hero of medicine?

For Lucy Hu, Physician(China), LAc, the dream of being a doctor began in childhood. As she tells the story of the day she spoke with her father as a young child on the importance of becoming a doctor, she clasps her hands together, leans on the desk with the sleeves of her white coat rolled up, and looks at me with compassionate, jovial, and wise eyes. Being a doctor is one of the noblest pursuits one can undertake, her father told her. But even greater is to be a pediatrician. When a child is sick the whole family is worried and feels hopeless. They need not only a courageous doctor to find a cure, but also one who can be compassionate and warm to alleviate the fears of a young child, unaware of what is happening. It was then Lucy knew she wanted to be a pediatrician.

It is important to hold your dreams ahead of you to give you the motivation and courage to achieve them. Becoming a pediatrician means performing well in school, and most importantly on the medical entrance exam. After many years of tireless studying, she was successful in her preparatory coursework and achieved high marks on her medical entrance exam, allowing her to attend any of China’s prestigious medical schools.

Lucy graduated from Shenyang University School of Medicine in 1961 and began a 20 year career practicing at the Dalian Children’s Hospital during the tumultuous end of Chairman Mao’s regime and the subsequent cultural revolution. During the cultural revolution, all medical doctors were required to learn basic knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), as it was deemed a cultural heritage.

Her commitment to service was further developed when the government had all physicians treat rural populations in the countryside who were unable to reach hospitals to undergo treatments for their needed care. She served for one year, treating children and adults with many different illnesses, including obstetrics and surgical emergencies. The main treatment modality was Acupuncture and TCM due to the lack of medical supplies. During this year many additional challenges were presented: the team frequently moved from town-to-town, they encountered poor sleeping conditions, lack of access to laundry and showers, had minimal contact with family, and only very simple foods to eat.

Despite these hardships, the experience was very rewarding. It taught Lucy that medicine could be practiced anywhere, in any circumstance, as long as one was resourceful and possessed the willingness to serve those in need. She also witnessed firsthand the tremendous healing powers of Acupuncture and TCM.

Her greatest challenge was in 1983, when Lucy and her husband immigrated to Los Angeles, California, where her husband had family. For many months, her husband had a difficult time finding work in Los Angeles as an engineer. The family of three soon moved to Silicon Valley, after he finally secured a job in Cupertino. Lucy was still unable to work due to the many medical exams required, in addition to completing another medical residency, to practice medicine in the United States. Her fate was unknown and she did not know how she would help support her family.

After a month of living in Silicon Valley, she found a part-time job at the Stanford University library. “I was very grateful for this job. We had no family here, we did not know anyone, and we had very little money,” she said. Even though she lacked the knowledge of the library’s systemization, and had very little command of the English language, she was happy to work as a librarian and serve those who needed information, just like the many librarians that helped her as a medical student and doctor back home.

“This was very humbling for me because I was used to being a very high level and well respected pediatrician. Suddenly, I went to level zero, with no car, no job as a physician, no money, and having to take 3 buses for 2 ½ hours to get to the Stanford library for work,” Lucy explained as she looked down and shook her head, remembering those feelings.

Determined to practice medicine, Lucy valorously embarked on her self-study of the TCM literature to prepare for the California Acupuncture License Exam (CALE). For one year, she studied every night after dinner, while everyone was sleeping. She would stay awake until midnight, 1am, 2am, sometimes 6am studying, many nights falling asleep on her textbooks.

“My husband’s knowledge of English was much better than mine,” she said, “so during Christmas time, when he had vacation, we sat down all day and late into the night for 3 weeks translating the entire book The Web That Has No Weaver, by Ted Kaptchuk. We used 5 Chinese-English dictionaries in order for me to learn the material in Chinese and remember it, so I could take the test in English. I had one other acupuncture book in Chinese, but my main book was the dictionary I bought from the Stanford library.” This dedication and commitment to the pursuit of medicine helped her pass the 1987 CALE on the first attempt. A very uncommon feat, even at the time, because the majority of acupuncturists attend graduate school to study for many years before taking the exam.

She opened a practice one month after getting her acupuncture license. Lucy and her husband hand built a three room clinic, including all of the walls, tables, and furniture to save on expenses. Knowing her true potential and her gifted abilities as a teacher and clinician, her husband urged her to pursue an instructor position offered at Five Branches University in Santa Cruz, California. Worried about driving the treacherous Highway 17 by herself, and teaching only in English, her husband spoke to one of the university’s founders, Dr. Joanna Zhao, Physician (China), LAc, during the interview.

“I remember him whispering in my ear, ‘Lucy is worried and scared, but she is excellent and only needs to be pushed a little,’” recalled Dr. Zhao. After the interview, President Ron Zaidman and Dr. Zhao asked Lucy to start the next day, assuring her she had enough training and knowledge to be a professor. Additionally, they offered to help translate any English terms or phrases unknown to her. Due to her perseverance and decades of clinical experience, Lucy needed very little help.

Twenty-seven years later, Dr. Lucy Hu is still teaching at Five Branches University and treating patients in the university’s health clinics, her own private clinic in Palo Alto, as well as consulting with Stanford University pediatricians on difficult cases. She is the embodiment of the hero physician, tirelessly pursuing excellence to be of service to so many in need. As one of her students myself, I am reminded that it takes not only dedication, intelligence and fortitude to be a great doctor, but also humility, laughter and compassion.

“Being a doctor is very special because you have the opportunity to save a life. Being a pediatrician, for me, is the most important because you can save the life of a child and help a family who is scared, and sick with worry.”

~Dr. Lucy Hu, Physician (China), LAc

Written by: Chase Waters, LAc, DAOM Fellow, MTCM

October 31, 2016

Sterling TCM Clinicians, Effective Treatment To The Point.

Admin — Tue, 06 Jun 2017 11:55:00 +0000

The twelve-year-old girl who came in to see Dr Julie Zhu at the Five Branches Clinic was faced with not just the challenges endured by all the other girls of her age, she had had the added stress, trauma and fear as a result of things going horribly , horribly wrong.

For many young girls, the arrival of their first menstrual period can be a bewildering and frightening experience which foists upon them a whole range of challenges and changes.

Puberty is a daunting time for any teenager, the way one’s body changes, the awkwardness, the clumsiness, the embarrassment of sexual changes and sexual awakening confuse and challenge their self image and sense of identity.

The onset of her first menstrual period had been marked by dysfunctional uterine bleeding, a gynecological condition which had thrown the poor girl and her parents pell mell into a battery of medical tests and gynecological examinations and pharmaceutical and hormonal interventions which, save to mortify and traumatize the young girl and her family, didn’t help. The doctors were stumped! Expensive scans and blood tests and examinations revealed nothing abnormal. The family was desperate, the young girl disconsolate. The ongoing blood loss had lead to anemia , with the concomitant fatigue and the emotional and psychological impact that it brings.

Dr Julie Zhu is one of the sterling team of doctors at Five Branches University clinic, bringing a wealth of knowledge from long years of experience both in China and the United States to what is rated the best acupuncture school in the bay area, teaching students and treating patients with incredibly good results.

After just a couple of sessions the bleeding had stopped, the young girl had begun to recover her strength and energy, the family had hope restored, and within two months thereafter the young patient’s menstrual cycle was normalized and she has since been completely recovered.

Ten months of this nightmare had brought her parents to seek some other approach. They came, not so much looking for or expecting answers, so much as hoping for something miraculous, anything, to help their daughter. They were not disappointed. The treatment was short, and to the point!

Acupuncture School on Point!

admin — Mon, 29 May 2017 14:25:38 +0000

Nothing proves the point more sharply than a well-placed needle, a well thought out treatment strategy, and a quickly recovered patient. “What was the most amazing thing that you have witnessed with acupuncture?” the person lying face down had just learned that I am a student of Chinese Medicine at Five Branches University and that I had practiced acupuncture in Johannesburg, South Africa, for almost twenty years. My mind immediately returned me to that Saturday morning at the height of the Johannesburg spring all those years ago. It had been a busy morning, as all Saturday mornings were, as patients from as far afield as Pietersburg, a small town two hundred miles away, arrived to see my master, my shifu, seeking a miracle. Mr.Skosana came in on his wife’s arm, shuffling to an armchair in the waiting room, whereupon his wife left, and I pulled his file and placed it on the table. Shifu came out from the treatment room shortly after and took Mr. Skosana in for treatment. When Mr. Skosana came out after his treatment, he walked straight out the door, down the path to the gate, walked through the gate, and stood on the sidewalk gazing down the road, first this way, then that. I thought that he was impatiently looking for his wife. He stood there gazing intently down the road for a good ten minutes and eventually came back towards the Clinic. He called to me from the doorway, and as I approached, he excitedly said ” watch this.” Then proudly stepped over the threshold. I looked on stupidly, not knowing what I was looking for. He stepped out again, then re-entered, exclaiming”Look, I can see the step !”It then dawned on me that Mr. Skosana had been blind when he came in and that when he had been looking down the road that he was not looking for his wife. He was looking because he could see!!He had been blind when he came for acupuncture, and now he could see!! That was the incident which completely convinced me that acupuncture was “the Real Deal!”, that confirmed for me that this was the profession for me. And now here I am, thirty years later, at what is rated the best Acupuncture school in the Bay Area. When I came to America, I had to go back to school to qualify to take the board exam to become a Licensed Acupuncturist. I’ve been a student at Five Branches University for four years now. Clearly, their rating as the best acupuncture school in Northern California, and certainly, in the Bay Area, is warranted. Teachers like Steve Woodley, are, in my opinion, world class, and able to breathe life and energy into old classical texts that I had struggled with for so long. And the clinical faculty have such depth of insight and rich experience that patients experience their miracles on an ongoing basis, like the veteran’s in Dr. Chi’s Vets clinic hopping off the bed and forgetting their walking canes, or being able to come off chronic pain medications. Or in the words of a venerable veteran, ” I came off Dialysis, out of a walker, and threw away my cane since I’ve been coming to Five Branches. That’s something of a life changer, wouldn’t you say? ” I will graduate in December and will take the state board exam with confidence in March. Confidence because the rigorous preparation that I am undergoing has been proven, as many of my fellow classmates who have already graduated and passed the state board exam have passed on the first attempt, and many, like David and Andrea and Caroline, have their growing and successful practices. I have followed Shifu for almost thirty years, I have practiced for over twenty years, been in school and worked in Hospitals in Beijing where I witnessed brain surgery using acupuncture anesthesia, and my wealth of experience and long years of study of Chinese medicine gives me the insight to appreciate the quality of acupuncture training, the deep rooting and foundation within the classics, the solid preparation to take and pass the state board exam, but most importantly, the training and preparation to become successful clinicians to build a successful acupuncture practice that Five Branches University offers, and why it is rated the best acupuncture school in Northern California, and certainly the best acupuncture school in the Bay Area. Five Branches University has also established the world first in the way that they are establishing their Five Branches Alumni Network. I say it’s the world first because this is the first university that has begun to put in place a network to support and enable its graduates to draw upon its contacts and other resources to establish successful practices. This will be a game-changer for graduates who are entering the profession. Nothing proves the point more sharply than a well-placed needle, a well thought out treatment strategy, and a quickly recovered patient! About the Author: I am Trevor Huntley, came from Johannesburg, South Africa. Before I came to the States, I have followed Traditional Chinese Medicine Shifu for almost thirty years, I have practiced for over twenty years, been in school and worked in Hospitals in Beijing. I’ve been a student at Five Branches University for four years now.

An Interview with Sarah Holloway, ND

admin — Mon, 19 Sep 2016 17:01:35 +0000

For the second installment of our FBU student, alumni & faculty profile series, we sat down with senior Five Branches student and Naturopathic doctor, Sarah Holloway, at Twin Lakes beach to learn what it takes to be an Integrative Medicine practitioner in 2016.

“I feel like Chinese medicine gives me a great way to treat patients with chronic and complex illnesses because it provides a strong and scaffolded structure in which to categorize symptoms. When patients come in with conditions where no immediate diagnosis can be given, or a definitive answer of what they have and how to treat the condition, you really have to back up, look at the tissue states, the nuances of the presenting disease, examine whether there is excess or deficiency, hot or cold and start from there. It’s best to begin with just balancing what you see out of balance today, because if you try to fix the whole thing at once it can be overwhelming.”

FBU: Hi Sarah, thanks for meeting with us today and giving us the opportunity to learn a little bit more about you. So, where are you from originally?

Sarah: I am actually from rural Oklahoma. I remember saying my whole life, “I am getting out of here. There is something going on out there that I have not seen yet and I am going to go find it.” So, I graduated high school and left at 6:30 the next morning to travel for about a year before I started college. Looking back I feel coming from Oklahoma gives me a good perspective on the health of patients because I can understand where they are coming from and put these new lifestyle and health choices into context better. I didn’t grow up on the west coast with people who have grown up eating organic food, doing yoga, and especially not eating kale. Hahaha… So, I feel like it is easier for me to understand how absurd some of these ideas might seem and where people are coming from. I think it is a good thing for healthcare professionals to remember that for the average person, a little change in their diet and lifestyle is a big deal.

FBU: Tell us a little bit about your educational background.

Sarah: I studied pre-med in undergrad at the University of Texas, Austin, you know, pursuing the conventional medicine route. While I was there, I didn’t know anything about Naturopathic medicine, Chinese medicine or even alternative medicine in general. During my studies, I did rotations volunteering at a hospital. I discovered that I liked medicine and the science behind it, but the actual experience of being in a hospital, even after just a short time, was not how I wanted to spend my life. So, I took some time off and worked as a research biologist with the Smithsonian Institute in Panama and discovered Naturopathic Medicine. I enrolled at the National College of Natural Medicine (NCNM) in Portland, where I would then learn about Chinese medicine. I began studying Chinese medicine at NCNM during my 3rd year, pursuing the Masters of Acupuncture degree.

Ever since visiting Santa Cruz the year before I started college, I had always wanted to live here. So, after I graduated from NCNM, I took my boards in August, went to Burning Man, moved to Santa Cruz, transferred some of my Chinese medicine courses to Five Branches University and continued my studies the next Spring Semester. I also began working at a well-known Naturopathic health center a few months later. My studies at NCNM were a mere drop in the bucket compared to the depth of my studies I began here at Five Branches, because without studying Chinese herbal medicine, it’s completely different.

FBU: So prior to your studies at NCNM you had never heard of Chinese Medicine?

Sarah: No, I hadn’t. While I was there, I had a preceptorship with a doctor who was dually licensed as a ND and LAc, and he exposed me to it for the first time during my second year. I wanted to study it further because it works. It’s one of those things where it worked for me personally, I saw it work in the clinic, and it is a bit mysterious in a way. There are a lot of reasons to like it, but initially I got interested in it because I saw the great clinical impact it was having on patients.

It’s nice to have a service. It’s nice to be able to give something. As a Naturopath, everybody develops their own way of practicing. But, actually being able to touch a patient or give them something is so important. So that was what really stood out with Acupuncture. It was a service that you provided and people left feeling better that day. It wasn’t just a plan and a future promise of you feeling better. It was more like, today you feel differently.

FBU: How did you decide to attend Five Branches in Santa Cruz?

Sarah: Location! Location! Location! Hahaha… While I was in in Panama I worked for a post-doc professor at UT, Austin. I met some post-docs from UC, Santa Cruz and just kind of fell in love with how they talked about Santa Cruz, so I got a car and did my first tour of the West Coast. Immediately after that told myself that I would come back here later. That was over a decade ago. Haha… It’s just been one of those places in the world that continued to resurface for me. So, because I had that connection and because I was networking with some Naturopathic doctors in town, I decided to attend Five Branches because it was the best place for me to go. It was almost too good to be true in a lot of ways.

FBU: Do you have any clinical specialties or areas of interest?

Sarah: Well, I have more of a general practice focus at the moment. In my practice I see a lot of what we see at the Five Branches clinic: anxiety, pain, hormonal issues and gastrointestinal disturbances. What has been coming in a lot recently are super complicated, complex, chronic illnesses, like autoimmune conditions, Lyme’s disease, long-term viral infections, herpes virus, CD57 counts bottoming out, or people that are just really, vaguely ill. I didn’t really vote for these conditions, they just kind of came to me.

I feel like Chinese medicine gives me a great way to be able to treat patients with chronic and complex illnesses because it provides a strong and scaffolded structure in which to categorize symptoms. When patients come in with conditions where there is no immediate diagnosis that can be given or a definitive answer of what they have and how to treat the condition, you really have to back up and look at the tissue states and the nuances of the disease and examine whether there is excess or deficiency, hot or cold and just start there. Just start with balancing what you see is out of balance today because if you just try to fix the whole thing it is overwhelming.

So, Chinese medicine for me does so many things, such as whenever you don’t have a totally clear answer, diagnosis or treatment plan in biomedicine, you can still treat successfully with Chinese medicine according to the symptoms that you see the patient presenting with at the time of consultation. You are not treating because you are guessing, you are treating based off of what you see the patient manifesting. If you know your herbs, your acupuncture channel theory and both of their personalities and traits, then you should have an idea of how they are going to work in this person’s bodily condition. Chinese medicine has been incredibly helpful for the kinds of patients that have been coming into my practice lately. I feel like it takes a village to help these people. You know, it takes their specialists, their hematologist, their rheumatologist, their naturopath and their acupuncturist to really get them back on the right trajectory towards health.

FBU: How do you envision combining both medical specialties in your clinical practice after graduation?

Sarah: I will utilize both systems in order to provide whatever will work for a person at any given time based on what they most need. Some people are not going to be into homeopathy or intense diet interventions, and other people are not going to be up for needles. Whatever will work at the moment for each individual is what I will utilize in order to help them get back on track with their health. Obviously Chinese herbal medicine has to be used though because it so effective. It’s a lot like symphonies in music. You are trying to organize and arrange treatment modalities like notes of a melody in order to make it sound appealing, pleasant and not just overwhelming utter chaos. Some people need homeopathy and others need IV therapy. Some people need 5 acupuncture needles and others need 10. You need to find the balance with each individual and I feel like my training has definitely helped me to understand how to approach the true art of medicine.

FBU: What do you feel is the most rewarding part about being a healthcare professional?

Sarah: Honestly, I really do it because I feel like it is a calling. It’s my way of carving out my little piece of fighting the good fight and helping people get back in their bodies and understand how to eat, how to pick out good food that isn’t poisonous and grown by a company that is destroying the environment, and how to reconnect with themselves. A lot of times I hear people tell me stuff like, “oh, you know, well, I can’t eat that because my family doesn’t eat that.” That’s when I tell them that this is a good time to try something different in order to have a sort of ripple effect on their health. So, it’s really about how do we help save the world person by person. Just helping people be healthier, more connected, enlivened, disillusioned and to get away from all of the gunk that is clogging up everyone’s sensory organs. Haha… the “phlegm” as Chinese medicine says. For me it’s a mission. There are a lot easier ways to make money and be successful than to choose the path of medicine, but I feel like it is extremely rewarding, even if it is an uphill battle the whole time in order to learn more and more to help those in need.

FBU: Tell us about a time during your studies at Five Branches where you had an Aha moment and things just began to click and come together.

Sarah: During my studies, and while working with my own health, one of my herbal professors really helped me break out of my biomedical background. She really helped me to integrate the physical, mental-emotional and spiritual aspects of Chinese medicine and to understand how important each of these components are to health. The interrelationships and interactions of these components are known in biomedicine, but I feel it too often gets brushed aside in favor of other treatment approaches that are not holistically focused.

FBU: Do you have any advice or words of encouragement for other healthcare professionals that are considering studying Acupuncture and TCM?

Sarah: You better like it! Hahaha… I get asked this question a lot and I feel like people are often surprised at my answer. Honestly, I think Naturopathy is a bit harder to explain to people and to make a career compared to Acupuncture. It really excites me to know that biomedicine is currently accepting the fact the gut health plays a crucial role in our psyche and overall health. This was not the case even 5 years ago!

I would say don’t go into just because you think it is a good job. I would go into it because you sincerely want to seriously dedicate your life to studying the art of Acupuncture and medicine in all of its forms. Definitely don’t have any illusions that you are going to become some kind of wizard or make a million dollars overnight or anything like that. Some people might become a little frustrated when they realize that Acupuncture and TCM are not something that you can learn over a weekend. It is a serious and in-depth medicine that one can easily devote their entire life to exploring and going further and further.

You have to be willing to look at this as more than just a job. It’s more than just being a practitioner. You have to let it soak into the very depths and crevices of your being. You have to become an ambassador of the medicine and of a new of way of living and be a model of health. It’s not the easiest of roads, but I say GO FOR IT! If you are going to do anything in life you might as well study philosophy and human physiology. They are kinda the coolest topics ever!

An interview with Caroline Wilkerson

admin — Fri, 19 Aug 2016 15:00:20 +0000

In this series, we meet with current students and alumni to get a deeper look into why they chose to study Chinese Medicine at Five Branches and dedicate their lives to being of service to those in need of high quality, holistic healthcare.

[Editor]] Hi Caroline, it’s great to meet with you today and learn a little bit more about you. Do you mind telling us a little bit about your background?

[Caroline] Hi, of course. My name is Caroline Wilkerson. I grew up Illinois. When I was 22, I joined the US Navy as a Crypto-linguistic analyst. I went to the Monterey Peninsula Defense Language Institute to learn Russian and then later Chinese. I moved to Hawaii to further learn Chinese language and culture with the Navy. While studying Chinese language and culture I fell in love with it. So many of my teachers were amazing. That was such a great experience. That was where I started digging deeper into Chinese Medicine and learning more.

When my dog was 8 ½ years old she had an accident and was paralyzed from the waist down. We found a veterinarian acupuncturist and we had appointments with her 3 times per week for 1 month and then once a week after that. She regained 75% mobility and lived another 4 years. We very happy and it was pretty exciting.

[Editor]] What did you do when you got out of the Navy and how did you discover Five Branches University?

[Caroline] When I got out of the Navy, I was trying to do decide what I wanted to do. Everyone was pushing me to choose a more conventional career path like as a government contractor because of my security clearance. It wasn’t very rewarding work for me though. So i thought, how can I use my skills, work with and help people? I had also fallen in love with Chinese culture. So I started looking into different acupuncture schools.

First I went to the Institute of Clinical Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ICAOM) in Honolulu, Hawaii. Before we start school we all think we know what Chinese medicine and acupuncture is, but we really don’t know until we actually start studying it and digging in deeper.

After studying at ICAOM for a little bit, I made the decision to transfer to Five Branches University. I chose Five Branches because they have an amazing program and a great reputation. It is also close to Monterey, where I had spent quite a few years of my life. I looked at the faculty and they had amazing credentials. So i decided to transfer to FBU in January of 2013.

Coming from 8 years in the Navy, where you must be alert at all times, almost walking on eggshells, where you are literally moving ships with your information, it was a lot of pressure to deal with regularly. My first day of acupuncture school here at FBU people were very friendly and were like “oh, you’re new here. Hi! Welcome!” None of the students were in competition with each other. They were studying with each other, helping each other out, sharing notes. It was like a huge weight had been lifted off of me that I didn’t even know was there.

[Editor]] Why did you choose the San Jose campus?

[Caroline] I chose the San Jose campus because I have a daughter, who was 4 at the time and was starting school soon. I wanted her to go to San Jose schools and I felt it was a great family environment with many activities nearby.

[Editor]] Chinese Language: Is it necessary to be fluent?

[Caroline] Part of our curriculum is one semester in Chinese language. I think being conversationally fluent in Chinese gave me a leg up. Knowing the names of the points and being able to read them helped me to understand their functions and why they do what they do. All of them have a name for a reason. This also applies to the herbs. There are also several Chinese sayings in regards to the theory that I was able to memorize easily and not have to translate them. It also helped with the Chinese professors that would get stuck on a word and not know how to translate it into English. I would give the translation and help the class to move forward.

Different people have different language abilities. There is enough stuff that is translated well enough and a lot of our instructors do a great job at translating and interpreting the material that you can make it through the program just fine without learning Chinese, but it really helps. I think it’s important. In order to see into the soul of another people you have to know the language, because the language and the words that you use to describe things really frames the way that you form thoughts about those things. So the more you know Chinese and study the grammar and how to put different words together to create thoughts and ideas, then it gets you into the mindset more of the great masters who created the medicine and that wrote it down and catalogued it.

[Editor]] Our culture and country is accepting natural medicine, especially Chinese Medicine, instead of Western Medicine more than ever. They are gravitating towards it. Even Olympians are utilizing its many benefits. What are your thoughts on this?

[Caroline] Exactly, it’s because we have so many health issues, especially with our aging population, and the high amount of pharmaceuticals that are being prescribed, which are very expensive and have lots of side effects. I think we are realizing that the way the West has gone, especially in American culture, we have created an environment that seems to breed mental and physical illness. I think that is why so many people like natural healing methods. The idea of prevention is so important. That is really the central pillar of Chinese medicine: prevention. By eating right, living right and keeping things in balance you can stay healthy and won’t need any treatment at all.

[Editor]] It’s almost time for you to graduate and get your license. What are your plans for the future?

[Caroline] Well, I have my primary plan and a contingency plan. Either way, I am going to Denmark to study at the John Bolls Acupuncture Center and learn the Acunova treatment protocols to treat eye disorders. My long term goal is to create an integrative ophthalmology center focusing on degenerative eye diseases with Traditional Chinese Medicine as the center and help people with early onset macular degeneration before it gets serious. Helping people have better vision and better quality of life is great, but I’m also very interested in it because it is very measurable and objective, unlike pain, which is very subjective. Chinese medicine can also treat glaucoma without any invasive treatments. My mother had a vitreous detachment and after 3 treatments it was completing gone. Now she only needs to go to weekly treatments to maintain her pure field of vision.

I’m currently trying to secure a job at Stanford’s international medicine department utilizing my Chinese language skills which would allow me to network with doctors at the ophthalmology center at Stanford. If I am not able to get this position, I will open my private practice a little earlier and continue to network with ophthalmologists and establish the integrative ophthalmology center.

This summer I started a lecture series at the San Jose Veterans Center focusing on integrative medicine techniques for female veterans. This series is to help them self-treat their PTSD and anxiety symptoms by giving them the techniques and skills they need in order to take back their life. I have invited several integrative medicine practitioners and fellow Five Branches students and graduates to offer classes on various topics. I plan on continuing this lecture series after I graduate.

[Editor]] Thank you so much for meeting with me today, Caroline. It is very exciting to hear your story and to learn about your interest in Integrative Ophthalmology utilizing Acupuncture and TCM. I look forward to working with you in the future and bringing Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine to Americans and the world.

[Caroline] Of course! Thank you for having me. Yes, we will definitely be working together towards helping so many people in need.

The Making of a TCM Doctor

admin — Tue, 24 May 2016 17:04:34 +0000

The first U.S. hospital residency, numerous clinical externships, and two university health centers train Five Branches University students to be the best primary care doctors.

“In addition to the clinical training at the Five Branches University health centers, we provide offsite acupuncture and Chinese medicine treatments to patients at the Mental Health Client Action Network, to individuals with HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C at the Santa Cruz AIDS Project, to elderly patients at the Akiyama Wellness Center, as well as onsite veterans and community clinics. These exceptional clinical externships have prepared us Highland Acupuncture Residents with the skills and training necessary to deal with conditions ranging from colds & flus, pain, chronic illness and degenerative diseases to stress, insomnia, mental health and reproductive health disorders.”

There is a new kind of medical training happening at Highland Hospital in Oakland, California. The first Acupuncture Residency program allows Five Branches University students the opportunity to train side-by-side with the best in Western biomedicine, while also providing medical residents, attendings, and faculty exposure to the dynamism of Acupuncture & East Asian Medicine.

It’s 7:55 am at Highland Hospital in Oakland, California. Originally built in 1927 as an academic teaching hospital, there is a new feeling in the air amidst the construction and recent dedication of the new Acute Care Tower here at Highland. I am sitting inside the Highland Care Pavilion’s third floor classroom, one of the more recent additions to this legendary hospital, waiting for the beginning of the morning report. As the medical students, residents, attendings, and teaching faculty pour into the classroom, my heart begins to beat slightly faster and my palms become a little sweaty. Everyone is here for the morning lesson as usual, except there are a few new faces in the crowd.

It’s not just the buildings that are new: my fellow Five Branches University colleagues and I are the first Acupuncture students and residents to be welcomed to this prestigious teaching hospital. I secretly wonder if we seem out of place, or if others will notice that our training and specialty is in Acupuncture and East Asian Medicine.

As the saying goes, “when in Rome, do as the Romans do,” so I act natural by drinking my morning coffee, preparing my iPad for note taking, and converse with my fellow acupuncture colleagues. Mostly we are commenting on our impressions of walking through the hallways of the hospital donning our white coats, the feeling of the academic environment and history, the warm and friendly smiles on everyone’s faces, and the palpable presence of excellence in education and patient care.

We are in the halls and classrooms of one of the most respected teaching hospitals in the United States. A hospital renowned for being the home of many firsts in medicine, and now, my fellow Five Branches colleagues and I are the very first Acupuncture residents to walk these halls. We are training within the Department of Medicine’s Division of Integrative Medicine, one of the first Integrative Medicine departments in the country, led by our Chief, Dr. Amy Matecki, MD, LAc.

It’s now 8:00 am and the lesson begins. The case study being presented is a 72 year old male patient admitted to the ER complaining of sudden nausea and vomiting. The medical resident presenting the case tells us that the patient is also experiencing dizziness and chest pain. The professor assisting the resident jumps in and asks the other residents for their immediate differentials based off of these symptoms and what they should rule out.

One student says, “We should rule out ACS (Acute Coronary Syndrome) and mesenteric ischemia.” “Great,” says the professor, “What would you ask next?” The student replies, “Have they ever experienced these symptoms before? Do they have a history of diabetes?” “Excellent,” says the professor, “Carry on with the vitals.”

The resident rattles off the patient’s presenting vitals and continues to explain the history of the patient’s present illness. What was initially diagnosed and triaged as a potential heart attack patient and sent to cardiology turns out to take a turn for the worse. A negative ECG and an unperformed full neurological exam have confirmed that this patient is not a typical presentation. The patient’s symptoms now included hoarseness, difficulty swallowing and a loss of the ability to sense changes in temperature. Now I understand why this case was presented as a teaching point.

“This case is a classic example of medical framing,” says the professor. “A patient presents with certain symptoms, in this case nausea and chest pain, and everyone thinks ACS. However, the patient was actually suffering from a stroke in his brain stem.” The patient suffered from lateral medullary syndrome, also known as Wallenburg’s syndrome, which affects the cerebellum and Cranial Nerve 8.

Unfortunately, this patient was not triaged properly within the correct amount of time to prevent permanent damage and debilitation. It is a stark and somber reminder of the importance in proper patient intake, a complete physical exam, differential diagnosis, and the willingness to always look for another cause of a patient’s symptoms. This is what it means to train in the hospital environment. This is the responsibility that is placed upon our shoulders as medical professionals. This was only the morning teaching point.

It’s 8:45 am and everyone begins to leave the classroom. It’s time to begin the inpatient rounds and start today’s education with fresh eyes and a further refined mind.

I am grateful for the clinical training I have received at Five Branches. It has prepared me to walk these halls confidently. As I pass the Outpatient Psychiatric Ward I am reminded of my externship training at the Mental Health Client Action Network (MHCAN) in Santa Cruz where I provided free acupuncture and East Asian Medicine to low-income and homeless individuals suffering from mental health disorders. Some of my fellow Five Branchers also provided medical services for individuals with HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C patients with the Santa Cruz AIDS Project, also at MHCAN.

The Veterans, gerontology and community clinic externships also available at Five Branches have prepared us Highland Acupuncture residents with the skills and training necessary to deal with conditions ranging from colds & flus, pain, chronic illness and degenerative diseases to stress, insomnia, mental health and reproductive health disorders. The academic and clinical faculty of Five Branches has prepared us for excellence in patient care since day one of our training. We are ready and eager to apply our knowledge in East Asian Medicine to the training and clinical presentations of patients here at Highland Hospital amongst the fellow medical students and residents. As I enter the classroom and meet the two residents and one medical student in my pulmonary rotation, I introduce myself and tell them I am an Acupuncture resident with the Division of Integrative Medicine. The resident looks up from his research articles on the latest procedures and standards for patients that are intubated in the Intensive Care Unit and says, “I didn’t know we had acupuncture residents here.” “We are actually the first in the country,” I said. “Hmmm…well, welcome,” as he looks back down at his research. After the Chief of Pulmonary presents today’s patients currently in the Intensive Care Unit under our care, he looks at my fellow acupuncture resident and I and asks, “Can acupuncture help improve any of these patients’ conditions?” My colleague and I look at each other, smile, and reply to him, “Yes.” And so begins the academic and medical training between East & West. About the Author: Chase G. Waters is a doctoral fellow in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine at Five Branches University and has a Masters in Traditional Chinese Medicine (MTCM).

Faculty Spotlight: An Interview with Janice Walton-Hadlock DAOM, L.Ac

admin — Fri, 22 May 2015 13:20:11 +0000

Janice has been teaching at Five Branches University since 1999. She received her Master’s in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Doctorate in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from Five Branches University, and her B.A. in Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Janice is the founder of the Parkinson’s Recovery Project, a non-profit organization that provides free information about the latest findings regarding the cause and treatment of Parkinson’s disease from the perspective of Asian medicine.

She is a founding member of the Parkinson’s Treatment Team of Santa Cruz, and a member of the European branch of the Parkinson’s Recovery Project, the Parkinson Stichting of Amsterdam, also a non-profit. Both the Treatment Team and the Stichting focus on treating people with Parkinson’s disease and training health care practitioners in the use of techniques she developed.

Janice is an active researcher in the field of Parkinson’s disease. Her findings have been published in many journals, including the peer-reviewed American Journal of Acupuncture, and the Journal of Chinese Medicine. Her analysis of a Parkinson’s drug study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine’s correspondence section. Janice is the author of four books: Trouble Afoot, a book about the underlying causes of idiopathic Parkinson’s disease and the effective treatment for this disorder (published by the Parkinson’s Recovery Project, 2008, 690 pages), Medications of Parkinson’s or Once upon a Pill (Parkinson’s Recovery Project, 2003, 650 pages), Tracking the Dragon, a classroom text on advanced channel theory (published by Fastpencil.com, 2010), and Yin Tui Na: Techniques for Treating Dissociated Injuries (published by Fastpencil.com, 2012).

Q: You have a BS degree in Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. What brought you to Chinese Medicine?

A: I was drawn to acupuncture because I had a successful treatment from an acupuncturist but he couldn’t explain what it was he was doing. My curiosity was aroused. So I studied acupuncture. I had no thought of changing careers at that time.

Q: Most acupuncturists work either as general practitioners or specialize in pain management or women’s health. What brought you to specialize in treating people with Parkinson’s disease?

A: I never decided to specialize in treating Parkinson’s disease. A few years after starting my practice I just happened to have treated several people with Parkinson’s. These people just happened to hear about me as a general practitioner and then happened to come see me. They all recovered, which I knew wasn’t supposed to be possible. Over the next few years, I found I was seeing quite a few people with Parkinson’s. They just happened to come to me. They didn’t know that I had seen people recover. They came for treatments for their other problems.

I asked a colleague what percentage of her patients have Parkinson’s disease. She said, “Have what?” She’d never seen anyone with Parkinson’s.

Eventually, the conclusion was forced upon me that, for reasons unknown, people with Parkinson’s were being attracted to my office.

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Q: How does Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) view Parkinson’s disease, and what was your original finding?

A: From a TCM point of view, the problem is Rebellious Qi (backward-flowing electrical currents). Many acupuncturists mistakenly think that the tremor of Parkinson’s must be Liver Wind (characterized by sudden, erratic electrical jolts, often associated with emotional strife or sudden blood vessel problems). Of course, it is not. Liver Wind causes irregular movements: Liver Wind “comes on suddenly and is unpredictable”, by definition. Liver Wind is a term that refers to stroke or sudden onset movements or paralysis. The tremor of Parkinson’s, which is rhythmic and steady, is driven by a tremor deep in the brain, increases over the years, and is more closely related to the tremoring that is defined as a Heart or Pericardium Qi deficiency (insufficient electrical or emotional support for the heart and area around the heart) – a fear-based problem, a problem that arises when a person is dissociated from somatic feelings, also known as dissociated from his heart. This dissociation can prevent a person from recovering from life-threatening trauma, a condition that correctly, and temporarily, causes Rebellious Qi in the Du [central-back] and Stomach electrical channels. My first observation was that all my Parkinson’s patients had Rebellious Qi in their Du and Stomach channels. This is extremely rare. I’d never seen it before. I didn’t even know it was possible for Qi to actually, tangibly, run backwards, even though I’d heard the phrase. I had assumed that “Backwards Qi” was a metaphor! From that finding, I worked backwards over many years and finally came to realize that the entire Qi flow pattern of severe traumatic shock was flowing constantly in people with Parkinson’s.

Parkinson’s tremoring is caused by Heart and Pericardium Qi deficiency. This is not a new theory. This is a very old theory, but few people, in modern times, study this aspect of Heart Qi deficiency. It’s more popular to just call it, incorrectly, Liver-Wind.

Q: Once you realized that you stumbled upon an interesting discovery, what were your next steps?

A: I had to wonder if other acupuncturists had noticed the backwards-flowing channel Qi. I posted my findings on the internet, asking for feed-back. I was dismayed to learn that most acupuncturists don’t even know how to feel channel Qi. I had always been able to feel it, and had just assumed that others could, as well.

Acupuncture is not used in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. The main focus of treatment is teaching people how to change their thought patterns so that they can move on from the incorrect neurological/attitudinal shifts they performed, years earlier, in response to trauma. Because acupuncturists are not allowed, by law, to do counseling, I do not do this work, which has a “counseling” feel to it. Instead, I have written up and published the type of cognitive behavioral changes that people need to do, and they do it on their own if they want to recover.

As a side note, most people with Parkinson’s (ninety-five percent) also have a foot injury that has failed to completely heal. This can also contribute to the backwards-flowing Stomach channel Qi that is present in people with Parkinson’s. A type of extremely passive holding treatment, which can be performed by anyone – a friend, a spouse, a child – can help correct the foot injury and allow it to fully heal. Then again, if a person is successful in changing his thought patterns, the foot injury will usually heal by itself and no foot holding is necessary.

In a small percentage of people with Parkinson’s, about five percent, there has been no neurological/attitudinal shift. These people have backwards flowing Qi that mimics the Qi flow pattern of trauma, being held in place by the foot injury. These people will recover simply by having their foot injury supported until the foot begins to relax and starts to heal.

In other words, no acupuncture is needed – only a mental change and some supportive foot-holding treatment. For that matter, acupuncture should never be used in channels that are running backwards.

Q: What would you recommend to prospective students who are considering studying Chinese medicine?

A: I would suggest that anyone trying to make a career decision sit quietly and let the mind grow still. Do this often, and for as long duration as possible each time. When, after learning how to grow still inside, and when true peace seems to be resting in your heart, then ask your heart whether or not you should pursue a specific plan.

Again, thank you for the interview. You can find out more about, Janice and her practice through her website at: www.pdrecovery.org

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Compassion Connects Medical Practitioners with Those in Need, by Margaret Shao

admin — Fri, 22 May 2015 13:16:06 +0000

Volunteer service is a rewarding and profound experience which has shaped much of my life. I began volunteering at the age of 13 for the San Francisco Zoo and continued on for many years as a docent, giving school and public educational tours. Later in life, my love for travel and volunteering, led me to a rural village in northern Ghana, West Africa as part of the Peace Corps Master’s International Program. I received a Master’s degree in Forestry, and later pursued a career in Utah working in Natural Resources management.

While living in Utah, I became a certified Qigong practitioner. My teachers were all acupuncturists and medical arts practitioners; they taught me that the basis of Qigong and Chinese medicine, is understanding Qi.

My curiosity in the fundamentals of Qi led me to the study of Traditional Chinese medicine at Five Branches University. While pursuing a Master’s degree, I concurrently trained to become a certified massage therapist. The study of massage broadened my knowledge of hands-on human anatomy and helped me tremendously in mapping the meridians and channels of Qi in the body.

After graduation, I became a licensed acupuncturist and began working part-time as a massage therapist and TCM practitioner, slowly easing myself into the profession.

Looking for an opportunity that would combine my passion for volunteering with the desire to heal others, I typed the words “acupuncture” and “volunteer” into an online search engine, and discovered the website for Acupuncture Relief Project.

I submitted an application online to practice Chinese Medicine in the land of the Himalayas, the country of Nepal. Two weeks later, after an interview with Andrew Schlabach, co-founder and president of the Acupuncture Relief Project, I was invited to volunteer with the Third World Medicine Immersion Program.

Acupuncture Relief Project is a non-profit organization which brings primary care providers, such as acupuncturists, physical therapists and massage therapists, to medical care facilities in rural Nepal.

For seven weeks myself, and a team of five volunteer acupuncturists lived in Bhimphedi, a village about 90 km south of the capital city of Kathmandu. We were accompanied by a team of young and energetic interpreters who were invaluable to understanding our patient’s needs and the unique culture of Nepal.

For the seven-week period, I recorded over 370 patient visits, treating a variety of patterns and diseases. Each practitioner was expected to write a detailed case study of one of their patients. I chose a woman who traveled almost three hours to come to our clinic. She was approximately 50 years old and was unable to work due to extreme wrist pain which I eventually diagnosed as De Quervain’s syndrome, inflammation of the tendons of the thumb through repetitive stress and hyperextension. After seven treatments, she reported a 75% improvement in pain relief.

Many of our patients suffered from pain due to repetitive movements. They were laborers and farmers who daily walked up and down steep terraced trails to access their fields, using their hands to collect grass and plants for their livestock. We cleaned infected wounds, checked blood pressure, tested blood sugar, and treated headaches. My confidence in diagnosing patients and using acupuncture increased dramatically, due to the number of patients we saw and roundtable discussions of cases with fellow practitioners.

We worked six days a week, with Sundays off to catch up on washing our clothes, writing in our journals, or hiking to a nearby village. The living conditions were simple and primitive. Auntie, prepared our meals, providing us with simple sustenance such as dal bhat, rice, and lentil curry. We shared rooms, and slept in sleeping bags (it was winter and quite cold with no heating). Laughter, music, dancing and movie nights balanced out our busy days.

The people of Nepal have a most generous and wonderful spirit. When walking to the clinic I was often met with smiles and greetings of “Namaste”. I truly felt accepted as a family member by the Nepali translators/interpreters we worked with daily. They called me “didi” or “ama”, the familiar term for sister or mother (since I was old enough to be their mother). I was humbled when my patients brought me an armload of mustard greens they grew, or a bag of beans or bananas as a thank you for treating them.

Toward the end of my time in Nepal, the weather warmed and the rhododendron trees were ablaze with red blooms. As I reflect back on this experience, I realize what I have gained: the opportunity to live for a short time in another culture, to re-establish the sense of community you experience working in an underserved country, and new and wonderful friendships.

I became a more confident practitioner during my time in Nepal. It was very rewarding to put into practice what I learned during my academic and clinical courses at Five Branches. My studies of herbs and formulas prepared me to prescribe herbal remedies to patients, while western biomedical courses reinforced my role as a primary care provider and the importance of educating patients on the indications and side-effects of prescribed drugs and pharmaceuticals.

In Bhimphedi at our final group meeting, after we said our goodbyes to our patients, our team leader asked “Did you make a difference while here in Nepal?” I believe I made a ripple. I provided acupuncture to patients who came to our clinic, for some, I eased their pain.

I share with you this excerpt from ARP’s Clinic Guide on the elements of service:

“I am thankful for each and every individual who comes to me seeking care. I recognize that the trust that is given to me is a precious gift towards the development of wisdom. I embrace each new challenge as an opportunity to grow as a medical provider and as a compassionate human being.”

Two months have passed since I returned to the US from Nepal. Six weeks after I returned a 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal, killing over 8000 people and leaving more than 250,000 homeless. The village of Bhimphedi was far enough from the epicenter of the quake that the residents did not suffer any major injuries or death. The colleagues I worked with and their families are safe and are assisting the foreign-aid groups in Nepal.

Acupuncture Relief Project is preparing to send teams trained in pain and injury management and PTSD, and is accepting donations for an earthquake relief fund to their sister organization, Good Health Nepal to assist with the rescue and aid of earthquake victims. If you are interested in volunteering or supporting this cause go to: http://acupuncturereliefproject.com.

Margaret Shao, L.Ac. is a licensed acupuncturist and herbalist specializing in women’s health and fertility. She practices at Nurture Acupuncture in both San Ramon and San Jose California. For more information go to: http://nurtureacupuncture.com

Faculty Spotlight: Po-Lin Shyu Specializing in Women’s Health and TCM Fertility

admin — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 13:03:55 +0000

The seed was planted early in his family’s herb shop in Taiwan. Young Po-Lin Shyu spent many weekends working there, observing the treatment of patients and the preparation of herbal formulas.

When he was 13, Po-Lin’s family moved to the United States. “It was not easy,” he recalls. After high school, following his parents’ advice, he enrolled at San Francisco State University where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Therapy in the late 1980’s. While attending the SFSU, he had the opportunity to take an elective course called Introduction to Chinese Medicine taught by Angela Wu. This was the beginning of a long term relationship with Angela who became his mentor.

Po-Lin asked for permission to apprentice with Angela, and quickly realized that with acupuncture and Chinese medicine he could treat many more musculoskeletal conditions and pain management cases than he could as a physical therapist. “I was also attracted to the fact that as an acupuncturist and herbalist you have more freedom, and you are not dependent on MD referrals for treating patients.” In 1993, Po-Lin made the decision to enroll at the Academy of Chinese Culture and Health Sciences to earn his graduate degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Upon graduation and earning his license to practice acupuncture, he resumed working with Angela at her private clinic and also opened a clinic of his own in San Francisco. Because of his physical therapy background, at the onset of his opening his clinic, he primarily worked with pain management and traumatology cases. Later, in 2002, while he was working on his Ph.D. dissertation, he chose to focus in women’s health and in particular in fertility. This was also influenced by his mentor, who treated numerous fertility cases. “The topic of my dissertation was to find out how Chinese medicine can help increase the fertility of women undergoing procedures such as IUI (Intro Uterus Insemination) and IVF (In-Vitro Fertilization). My research results showed that the treatments can double the chances of a successful IUI or IVF procedure if the couple arrived for treatments 2-3 months beforehand.”

The treatments Po-Lin uses not only include acupuncture, but also herbal medicine, as well as abdominal organ massage to increase the blood flow to the uterus and ovaries. Patients must receive treatments once or twice per week, depending on the severity of their condition.

“One of the most extraordinary conditions that I treated was 30 year old female who suffered from amenorrhea (absence of menstrual period),” Po-Lin recalls. “All of her medical exams were normal. After she did not respond to any conventional treatment, it was her OBGYN who ended up referring her to me. After four months of intensive treatments, she finally got her first period. A post treatment ultrasound showed that her ovaries looked much healthier. After three additional months of treatment, she conceived naturally, and delivered a healthy baby boy who is now three years old. In fact, this patient is now pregnant again and about to deliver her second child in a couple of weeks!”

Presently, most of Po-Lin’s patient base originates from word-of-mouth and MD referrals. His clinics are part of a select few that OBGYN’s feel confident in referring their patients to for acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine treatments, in conjunction with their Western medical treatments. Po-Lin believes this is due to his proven success rate.

Po-lin operates three clinics in the Bay Area; San Francisco, San Ramon and San Jose, together with his partners Angela Wu, Judy Tognetti, George Lu and Kathryn Cadwgan and others.

“Helping couples have a child is extremely rewarding. I think I made the right choice leaving the ‘traditional path’ and going into Chinese medicine. Simply said, I love what I do. What more can a person ask for?”

Po-lin Shyu has been a faculty member at Five Branches University since 2004. He teaches in both the Acupuncture and TCM Clinical Medicine and TCM Clinical Training departments.