Physician's Odyssey Chapter 519 - The Divergence of TCM and Western Medicine

Since the last phase of the selection would soon begin, Tan Luoyou left with a bitter smile because he knew that things wouldn't be able to smoothly proceed if he continued to chat with Su Tao.
Meanwhile, Su Tao misunderstood, thinking that he had qualms about the bystanders, so he did not continue explaining as well.
After all, the National Healer Selection would soon begin, and it's not appropriate for him to be too close with a judge.
At the same time, Tan Luoyou's condition was rather serious, since the lack of Yang in his body has resulted in sleep paralysis. Since TCM emphasises on finding the origin of the problem before resolving it, it wouldn't be easy to treat his condition.
A few minutes later, Mrs. Han entered with a smile and invited the five candidates to another room.
In that room, ten judges awaited them, and anyone could tell how strict this selection was from this formation.
As the chief judge, Helian Zhen looked at the five youthful faces and smiled. "Firstly, I would like to congratulate all of you for making it so far, which proves your capability. But then again, this will be a cruel selection. Amongst the five of you, two of you will be eliminated while the remaining three will join me as my fellow colleagues. Then again, this is a title that comes with responsibility, aside from honour."
At this moment, the deputy judge, Tan Luoyou, said with a grave expression, "Now, we will announce the process. There will be a total of three tests, and we will rate all of you with marks based on your performance before we rank the five of you. That also means that the top three in the ranking will receive the title of National Healer."
"The test consists of three different patients that we've prepared for you guys. The patients that we've selected are atypical cases, which you must provide appropriate treatment." The other deputy judge, Shen Bianrong added.
Although the three judges spoke so much, there wasn't "anything usual". It's just a typical competition between medical skills!
Seated in his seat, Helian Zhen turned to look at Tan Luoyou and asked, "I heard that you paid Su Tao a visit earlier?"
"I couldn't hold back my curiosity." Tan Luoyou sighed.
Nodding his head, Helian Zhen replied, "We will know in a while!"
As the five candidates sat in their seats, someone handed each of them a photocopied document and Helian Zhen announced, "For the first examination, we will be holding a medical consultation. Every so often, when we treat the leaders, we will conduct a consultation before we discuss amongst ourselves to gather suggestions from all parties and provide the most appropriate treatment. Please look at the documents. All of you have to make an analysis based on the data provided to you to tell what illness the patient has, and you only have fifteen minutes!"
Instantly, Ouyang De, Ji Donghe, and Peng Hanyi inwardly rejoiced in their hearts. Wasn't this a competition in their favour?
TCM personally treated the patient, while western medicine treated them through diagrams.
The formidability of western medicine's consultation lies in the apparatuses to detect and analyse the patient's condition.
On the other hand, TCM's four methods of diagnosis didn't consist of any apparatuses nor reports to decipher the patient's condition.
So for this section that required them to analyse the patient's condition through data was more beneficial to the western medicine candidates.
Then again, it was also reasonable. After all, the main force amongst the National Healers were western medicine doctors, so it was unavoidable for them to set questions according to their system.
At this moment, the three western medicine candidates were relieved. Only three people would make it through the selection. So if Su Tao and Ling Yu were both eliminated, then the three of them would be the winners.
Furthermore, both Su Tao and Ling Yu looked young. Thus, the three western medicine candidates couldn't treat the two of them as their opponents.
At the same time, they were feeling baffled as to why the judges allowed them through.
As Ouyang De swiftly read through the document, his brows started to lock together. When he looked at the examination report, his face became even darker.
But he wasn't the only one, the two other western medicine candidates also wore difficult expressions on their faces.
It's not because this report was complicated; on the contrary, it's too simple and even had missing parts.
The various indexes were within the normal range. Even if there were some fluctuations in a few areas, they were still within the scope of control. After all, the index would occasionally show some variation based on the patient's condition.
Trying to analyse the complicated content from a simple report with missing parts was undoubtedly a huge problem. It's just like a composition exam where the difficulty increased with fewer indicators.
Reading through the documents, Ling Yu maintained his composure, since he wasn't a stranger to western medicine, like Su Tao and Wang Guofeng. As the main focus of the Medical Dao Sect, he wasn't lacking in experience with western medicine. There were common points between TCM and western medicine, but it would be extremely difficult to study western medicine first before TCM. On the other hand, it would be easy to understand if you first learn the complicated and dry TCM before studying western medicine's theory.
After Ling Yu briefly locked his brows, he wrote down his answer, which didn't take him a long time.
As for Ouyang De, Ji Donghe, and Peng Hanyi, they pondered for a long time before they swiftly scribbled their answer.
Lastly, Su Tao studied the report several times before a bitter smile rose on his lips. When he wrote down his answer, he was the same as Ling Yu and did not take a long time.
After the allocated fifteen minutes passed, the five candidates submitted their answers.
After Helian Zhen read through the answers, he nodded his head in satisfaction and said, "All of you are truly specialists with unique and precise answers. But the answers are separated into two different factions, with Ouyang De, Ji Donghe, and Peng Hanyi indicating that there's a decrease in white blood cells. From the declining kidney functions, you guys managed to analyse that the patient must be taking medicine like Chlordiazepoxide and concluded that the patient must have a sleep disorder condition. On the other hand, both Su Tao and Ling Yu gave out the conclusion of the nightmare condition, which is also known as demonic suppression, or sleep paralysis in western medicine."
After a brief pause, he continued, "From accuracy-wise, the answer of sleep paralysis is more precise."
The meaning in his words was apparent, he meant that the two young physicians had the advantage.
Thus, Ouyang De, Ji Donghe, and Peng Hanyi's expressions instantly turned ugly when they realised that they had underestimated their opponents!
Then again, they were also feeling reluctance in their heart. Can it be that the two of them were just lucky?
After Helian Zhen finished, Tan Luoyou said, "I'll not keep it from all of you. This medical report is mine, and all of you are truly capable of analysing my condition, despite the missing parts in the report."
Hearing those words, Ouyang De, Ji Donghe, and Peng Hanyi looked at each other, while Su Tao and Ling Yu did not have any change in their expressions. Evidently, both Su Tao and Ling Yu already noticed that the report belonged to Tan Luoyou.
The report might be lacking, but the two of them could easily notice Tan Luoyou's condition from his complexion.
His complexion was yellowish and he made sluggish and unusually wide movements.
These meaningless pieces of information in the eyes of a doctor were informative to physicians to analyse that he's suffering from a lack of Yang.
At the same time, the decrease in white blood cells and decline in kidney functions that were indicated in the report, showed that there's a high possibility that the patient was taking hypnotic medication. Thus, they could surmise that the patient was suffering from a nightmare condition caused by a lack of Yang.
Standing up from his seat, Tan Luoyou bowed. "Next, I would like to ask the five of you to treat me as a patient and provide treatment for me."
At this moment, the five of them noticed that the analysis was just the appetiser, and this was the main course here.
At the same time, Su Tao now realised why Tan Luoyou would suddenly leave earlier, it's because he's the question for them to answer in this phase.
Although he knew Tan Luoyou's condition beforehand and was also prepared, he still had to put some work in the treatment method to provide a solution.
After all, Ling Yu had also showcased his outstanding eyesight, which was not at all inferior to his own.
Su Tao knew that he's not only competing with the three western medicine specialists, but he also had to contend with Ling Yu. Hence, he wrote down his answer after a brief pondering.
At the same time, Ling Yu also wrote down his answer.
A minute later, Helian Zhen's expression became weird when he looked through the five answers and fell into a brief silence before he shook his head and smiled. "I never expected that it would be the same situation again with two different factions. Ouyang De, Ji Donghe, and Peng Hanyi suggested several new hypnotic and calming medications, which I have also seen these medications from international medical magazines. Although the production of these medicines is low, the effects are extremely good without any side effects. On the other hand, both Su Tao and Ling Yu suggested stopping all medication!"
A huge divergence appeared!
Western medicine suggested new medication while TCM suggested stopping the medication.
Turning to look at the surrounding judges, Helian Zhen sighed, since they had two TCM specialists amongst the judges. It's common for a divergence of opinions between TCM and western medicine, and this year, it has also occurred.
But generally, the divergence was usually on the difference in medicine, since a physician would prescribe herbs, while a western medicine doctor would prescribe western medicine.
But the divergence this time was much more intense.
"What a joke!" Ji Donghe emotionally bounced up from his seat and laughed, "Not taking any medicine when you're sick? You want the patient to stop taking medicine? What a hilarious joke!"
Hearing those words, Helian Zhen frowned due to his dissatisfaction for Ji Donghe. But in his heart, he shared the same view as the latter. The treatment method suggested by Su Tao and Ling Yu cannot be taken seriously.
From western medicine's angle, medication was necessary when sick to intervene in time.
Earlier, when Ji Donghe heard the answers, he lost his composure. But it was mainly due to Su Tao and Ling Yu taking the lead, which made him feel extremely humiliated.
The three of them were candidates for western medicine, so he looked down on TCM the most.
The reason was simple, his family doctor company was now facing a formidable competitor who had some experienced physicians.
Physicians were general practitioners. Although western medicine doctors also had general practitioners, they're still in a disadvantageous position when compared to experienced physicians. To the general public, TCM was more popular, since its concepts revolved around preventive treatment.
The so-called "preventive treatment" meant nourishing and maintaining one's health through diet and daily activities to improve the body's resistance to illnesses.
Seeing that the judges were discussing amongst themselves, Su Tao slowly stood up and explained, "Stopping the medication doesn't mean no treatment, it means using other methods as a replacement, such as acupuncture or massage! I believe both Ling Yu and I have mentioned this in the treatment methods."
Although he did not look at Ling Yu's method, he believed that Ling Yu's treatment method wouldn't be too far from his own.
Hearing his words, Ling Yu nodded his head and felt a feeling of encountering a close friend.