I used to visit a Chinese medical clinic every weekend to find the Chinese medicine practitioner Dr. It was a few weeks before that I caught a cold and went to see Dr. Wong again, in his little clinic in Fortress Hill. This experience is quite coherent to what I have learnt in lessons in the aspects of setting of clinic, patients' nature, doctor-patient relationship and the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) cure.
First of all, the setting of the clinic is quite different from a Western medical clinic, which can possibly draw the doctor closer to the patients, and also among the patients themselves. When I entered the clinic, I saw Dr. Chan right away, sitting next to the entrance. There were around 4 to 5 patients, sitting just a few steps away to queue for medical consultation. Dr. Wong kindly greeted me, and continued his diagnosis. After finishing his diagnosis, he started his multi-tasking by chatting with patients and writing the prescription at the same time. The pharmacy is also set inside the clinic, and the old pharmacist Mr. Ho also joined our conversation. After all, I feel that the setting and operation of this Chinese medical clinic is quite different from a western medical clinic in many ways. Since the doctor, pharmacy, pharmacist and patients could be found in the same room, which drew us closer. As a result, we as patients feel less distant with the 2 Chinese medical practitioners, and could gradually build up confidence towards them. This would rarely be found in a western medical clinic and it paves a way for a long-term mutual trust between patients and the doctor.
Next, the patients visiting Dr. Wong were mainly old people, which attributes to the fact that.
most Chinese who lack knowledge on Western Medicine (WM) rely only on TCM to cure.
diseases. It did not take long for me to realize that most of the patients in the clinic are old people. Most of them are apparently older than 60 years old, and I was the only youngster in the clinic.