I now want to delve into another facet of the difference between TCM and Western medicine. The area I will now discuss focuses on the actual manner of formulating and writing an official diagnosis. Not only do I feel that this discussion will highlight the most profound difference between the two but it also will serve to further solidify the science of TCM.

In standard Western medicine, clinicians are taught to base a diagnosis on strict guidelines. If they see a certain pattern of illness, they automatically revert back to administering a protocol(s) they learned. The notion of never having to divert from a learned treatment protocol(s) is forever engrained in their minds.

The point I just made becomes an issue more than one would ever think during treatment. For instance, if a patient presents with symptoms or reactions that are not totally symptomatic of the learned traits of an illness, the Western clinician will never deviate from administering the treatment protocol that he learned. Obviously, I am not talking about symptoms of anomalies that are very asymptomatic of the presenting ailment. I am talking about symptoms that just don’t quite fit how the illness is presented in Western medical literature.

In the scenario just noted, there is no room for the clinician to undertake his own critical discernment. He is just content to treat the illness according to the regimented norm if most symptoms present according to his trained knowledge base. Unfortunately, most of the times, the Western clinician will see any asymptomatic trait as an anomaly that doesn’t alter his diagnosis and subsequent treatment plan. The result of such treating is that the Western clinician treats only the presenting illness, not the patient. We all know that rarely do two different people present the exact same symptoms when having the same ailment.

This is not the case in TCM.