Welcome to TCM Focus

Abstract:

By TCM Focus Editiors– Joe Alban, L.Ac. and Michael Jabbour, L.Ac.

Welcome to Chinese Medicine Focus, a new online open access Chinese medicine journal and clinical resource. Our aim is to help the Chinese medicine practitioner and student by publishing high quality articles focusing on the clinical approaches, theory, and thought processes of Chinese medicine treatment. We hope this will illustrate approaches used in the real clinic.

Welcome to Chinese Medicine Focus, a new online open access Chinese medicine journal and clinical resource.  Our aim is to help the Chinese medicine practitioner and student by publishing high quality articles focusing on the clinical approaches, theory, and thought processes of Chinese medicine treatment.  We hope this will illustrate approaches used in the real clinic.

What makes us different?

There are an overwhelming number of clinical options for the Chinese medicine practitioner to learn and master.  Approaches to treatment vary from country to country, philosophy to philosophy, and doctor to doctor.  When we are looking to improve our clinical skills in general, or address a single patient, it can be hard to find useful information.  TCM Focus will now fill this void as an open access online journal of clinical acupuncture and Chinese medicine.

TCM Focus will serve as a journal and resource where clinicians can share their insights and exchange ideas about how to understand and apply Chinese medicine.  Our main goal is to elucidate the thought process of the clinician through essays and case studies.  We feel that there are already reliable journals for acupuncture and Chinese medicine trials such as Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine and the Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine. There are a small number of quality clinical journals, such as The Lantern and The Journal of Chinese Medicine. However, this is not nearly enough, and non of them are fully open access and fully online.

Case Studies

Case studies have been a significant learning and teaching tool throughout the history of Chinese medicine.  Removed from a clinical narrative, Chinese medicine patterns do not easily create a picture, rather the practitioner is left with a series of check boxes that can be confusing in treatment.  Case studies can shed light on nuanced questions of diagnosis and treatment, focusing our understanding on the principle behind a treatment.

The memorization of patterns, points, and herbs only serve as the prerequisite for clinical work.  The clarity of Chinese medicine principles and an understanding of how to utilize them is the key.  In an essay or case study, the clinician can show how they came to that diagnosis and treatment.  For example, we all know that when the liver invades the spleen, it can be from the spleen weakness allowing the liver to invade, or from the liver overpowering the spleen.  The symptoms can be the very similar, the clinician must understand the principle to know where to focus.  Is it the spleen or the liver?  Which aspect is the key to make a decision?  The tongue? The complexion of the face? The fleshiness of the palm?  Digestion?  Fatigue?  The pulse?  This is where a case study can help reveal the nuances of diagnosis by pattern identification revealing the principle of treatment.

This is not to say that all great clinicians use the pattern diagnosis.  Of course, many don’t.  Whatever system, the greatest of clinicians create a central principle of treatment which is their focus for the patient.  The clinical essay and the case study will provide a platform for the many excellent clinicians in our community to share their experience and skills.

Online Open Access

The internet is having a significant impact on how people research and use information. The abundant amount of information and ease of access allows for the the easy and open exchange of ideas. Open access give all practitioners and student an opportunity to learn regardless of academic affiliation or economic means.  On the other hand, the internet also creates an environment for poor information to proliferate due to the ease of publishing.  A reputable resource must stand up to the scrutiny of the community it serves, which we believe we will do.

The internet also allows for flexibility in publishing. Ideas can be presented, compared, and reviewed as time goes on.  Rather than being etched in stone or ink, like printed material, web publishing allows for a give and take.  This flexibility matches the fluid characteristic of the medicine giving readers the ability to focus on their particular interests.

Peer Review
The editors of TCM Focus hope to develop a peer review process with transparency and integrity that is appropriate for the Chinese medicine clinical community. Peer review is a complicated and involved process, and varies from journal to journal and community to community. If you would like to get involved with developing our peer review process, please contact us.  At the moment, our editors, Joe Alban, L.Ac.and Michael Jabbour, L.Ac. will review each submitted article.

Be a Part of TCM Focus
We invite you to become a part of this project as it develops by signing up for our e-journal which will be mailed once or twice per month.  Also give us feedback by commenting on our articles as well as giving us feedback about the site in general.  And, of course, we invite you to share your clinical wisdom with us by writing articles and case studies.

We hope that the clinical case studies and essays will help inform clinicians, researchers, and decision makers about the potential usage of Chinese medicine.

Joseph Alban, L.Ac. practices in New York City. He can be contacted at Joseph Alban, L.Ac. 57 West 57th Street, Suite 1109 New York, NY 10019 917.887.4946.