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Bilingual and well-versed in both Chinese and Western medical sciences, Ms Ong Yi Ting (above) and 58 pioneer graduates of NTU’s double-degree programme in TCM and biomedical science hope to bridge the East-West gap in medicine. POON CHIAN HUI reports
 Even non-Mandarin speakers now visit local traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) clinics. However, there are times when words get lost in translation.
At one TCM clinic, a woman who spoke only a little Mandarin was unable to describe her ailment to the physician, who is from China.
It took Ms Ong Yi Ting, 24, who was interning at the clinic earlier this June, to step up and help sort things out.
She is in the pioneer group of 59 graduates from Nanyang Technological University’s double-degree programme in biomedical sciences and Chinese medicine.
They are qualified to work as TCM physicians and will be able to take up posts in TCM clinics in hospitals and at other places of practice approved by the Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners Board.
The five-year course equipped them with knowledge from both TCM and Western medicine. They graduated in late July. The students were required to spend two years at the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (BUCM) in China.
On her experience as a bridge between the non-Mandarin speaking patient and the non-English speaking physician, Ms Ong recalled: “I helped the patient translate her symptoms to the physician.
“She was also unsure of the medication she was on but I recognised the drug’s English pharmaceutical name, so I managed to help the physician.”
Bilingual and well-versed in both Western and Chinese medical sciences, Ms Ong and her peers hope to help break the language and cultural barriers that have confined Chinese medicine mainly to Mandarin speakers here.
“Chinese medicine is not just for the Chinese community; it can benefit everyone,” said fellow graduate Ng Jin Ju, 24, a scholarship holder with Thong Chai Medical Institution and who is set to serve a three-year bond there.
She had interned at the institution, which provides free TCM medical consultations and medicine to the public, in 2007 and 2010.
Ms Ng recalled: “There were Malay patients who sought treatment there but some had problems communicating with the physicians.”
Her Western medical knowledge also comes in handy when patients come with medical reports and diagnostic scans like X-rays, which some Chinese physicians may not know how to decipher, she added.
The influx of Chinese nationals is another reason to have medical professionals proficient in both English and Chinese medical terms.
Ms Ong cited another instance when a Chinese national arrived at a TCM clinic with a medical report in English from a local hospital.
Again, Ms Ong was handy in explaining the report to her.
The graduates’ dual expertise has not gone unnoticed by potential employers. Bao Zhong Tang TCM Centre at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) is keen to hire them and organised an open-house event especially for the 59 graduates on Aug 25.
Mr Charlie Jiang, the centre’s chief executive officer, said he hopes at least two to three of them will join the centre after they pass their TCM licensing exam next month, which will enable them to practise here.
“This first batch, with their knowledge of modern science, represents the future of TCM in Singapore,” he said at the event which attracted 46 of the graduates.
“They will bring something new to the industry. This younger generation will, after all, be our successors.”
Similarly, Chung Hwa Medical Institution is open to hiring such graduates as well, said its chief operating officer Koh Boon Khai. The institution runs five clinics here.
“As long as they meet the requirements, we will consider employing them,” he said.
“Their Western medical knowledge will certainly help to further the field of TCM in Singapore.”
Course graduate Lim Min Yee, 24, hopes to do so.
“My goal is to educate the English-speaking crowd. There are few TCM teachers who use English in Singapore and in the region,” she said.
She has an overseas scholarship to pursue an all-new master’s course in Beijing that trains students to teach TCM in English.
The Singaporean is in the first group of seven students – all from NTU – reading the three-year course at BUCM. She will enrol there later this year.
The course was started to leverage on their bilingualism, said Ms Lim, who will also specialise in acupuncture. However, it remains to be seen if TCM can go mainstream.
Current Health Ministry guidelines do not allow hospitals to hire Chinese physicians as doctors.
However, hospitals here have embraced TCM in recent years. For example, they have roped in acupuncturists to work alongside doctors in areas like pain management.
Dr Kong Keng He, who heads the Complementary Integrative Medicine Clinic at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, noted that TCM is gaining acceptance.
He said that patient visits have increased from 15,000 in 2004 to 23,000 last year. Senior principal acupuncturist Cui Shu Li agrees.
“More patients are keen to try TCM. Even non-Chinese patients are now more receptive to acupuncture,” said Ms Cui, who sees about 30 patients daily at SGH’s Pain Management Centre.
“With Chinese medicine gaining more recognition among Western-trained doctors, more are doing research on TCM and getting themselves certified as acupuncturists. I believe there is potential for TCM to be accepted in mainstream medicine,” she said.
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