Field Classes

Two days ago we took a trip to the Hospital of Traditional Medicine. This is a government sponsored organization that provides Vietnamese with an alternative option to modern medicine hospitals. It was very interesting to view becasue for all practical purposes the building was a modern medicine hosptial. They offered surgery, dialysis, internal medicine, had an urgent care center, and many other departments that one would see in other hospitals. The difference came with methods of treatment. As was explained to us at this hospital treatment is most of the time a mixture of modern and traditional medicine. in the case of a surgery modern techniques would be used for the actual surgery, but for recovery and any further ailments traditional remedies would be used. Within the hosptial there is a center where all these medicines are made. in the storage room are hundreds of containers of roots, leaves, herbs, spices, ect. Each person is individually evaluated and a treatment specifically for them is created. We observed a women with gangrene on her calf, the doctors told us that they had successfully stopped the spread of the disease and although much damage had been done there would be no further damage to this woman's leg. Patients at this hospital stay for anywhere from 1-3 weeks while they are treated. Another large area of this hospital is acupuncture, and methodical massaging. Both of these practices are very effective at restoring health to the patients in need. As in SA the amount of privacy that the patients recieve is much less than what is considered adequate privacy in the US. The group found itself in more than one awkward situation as doctors lead us in to rooms where patients were actively being treated. After a visit like this it is really interesting to reflect on how I view medicine and how other countries come at the same problem. I am completely unfamiliar with these practices yet in this culture it is believed to be more effective than any other treatments, and really who is to say that it isn't. most of the remedies used have been in practice for generations. I found this trip to be extremely valuable in helping to shape my view of how the world perceives medicine and treatment.