Looking back at a post I wrote several years ago, when I first stepped into the teaching clinic at the acupuncture school.
I found this old piece recently and was surprised by how clearly I could still remember that day.
“Today is my first day in the teaching clinic at the acupuncture school.
There were plenty of routine things to do: cleaning the treatment rooms and beds, restocking supplies, folding treatment gowns and towels, and keeping things in order. Surprisingly, I didn’t mind these tasks at all. I figured that as long as I checked everything when I arrived and before I left, the rest could simply be taken care of as I noticed it. Most things only took a few minutes.
But what I was really excited about was… to see patients.
After spending so much time studying theories and learning about diagnosis and treatment, I finally had the chance to see those ideas come alive in front of me.
When another senior intern was seeing a patient, I found myself quietly thinking:
What questions would I ask? What would I look for? How would I make my assessment?
When I observed one of the experienced practitioners, I listened carefully to the reasoning behind the diagnosis and treatment. Whenever something didn’t quite make sense to me, I made a mental note to go home and look it up in my books.
That process was exciting—not because I already knew the answers, but because I was finally beginning to connect what I had studied with what I was seeing in real people.
And then there was the herbal pharmacy.
I felt surprisingly comfortable there.
There was something beautiful about preparing Chinese herbal medicine. The herbs had different shapes, textures, colors, and aromas. Seeing them, touching them, measuring them, and putting together a formula made what I had been studying from books suddenly feel very real.
I remember thinking that next time, if I had the opportunity, I wanted to spend more time in the pharmacy—to review my herbal medicine books, look at the herbs again, and become more familiar with them through my hands and senses.
And then came the little milestone that made the day feel especially memorable:
I prepared my very first Chinese herbal formula. ”
Looking back now, it was only one ordinary day in a teaching clinic. But it was also the beginning of a journey that would eventually lead me from being a student to becoming a practitioner.
I’m glad I wrote this little note back then.
Sometimes an old post is more than a record of what happened. It reminds us of who we were when we first began.
Originally written in Chinese in 2023, during my first clinical internship. Revisited and translated into English in 2026.
“今天是第一天进诊所。
虽然有不少例行公事，比如清理诊室和病床、补充物品、折叠病服和毛巾等等，不过我觉得还好。每次到诊所的时候检查一遍，离开之前再检查一遍就可以了。其他时候看到什么需要处理的，顺手做了，大多也就是几分钟的事。
我最感兴趣的，还是看到形形色色的病人。学了这么久的理论，终于有机会在真实的病人身上去验证和思考，真的很开心。
看到其他 intern 接诊的时候，我会在心里想：如果是我，我会怎么问？会怎么看？又会怎么判断？
遇到老师接诊的病人，我就仔细听老师是根据什么来做判断的。有不明白的地方，就记下来，回家再翻书、再琢磨。
另外，中药房也让我觉得特别舒服。
在我看来，配中药是一件很有美感的事情。各种药材有不同的形状、颜色、气味和质地。看着、摸着、称着，再把它们一味一味地配在一起，书本上的知识突然就变得真实起来。
我想，下次如果有机会，应该在药房多待一会儿，温习一下中药书，多看看、多摸摸这些药材。
而今天，我也完成了一件对自己来说很有意义的小事：
人生中第一次亲手抓了一付中药。
圆满了！”
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