Starting your Internship
Lawrence J. Ryan, Ph.D.
Next to the excitement of graduation, there is nothing quite as satisfying as they day when a Yo San University student enters internship service in the YSU Community Clinic. The day that the fourth year student enters clinic internship service is a significant and unforgettable milestone in the path to becoming a Traditional Chinese Medicine healer. Entering clinic internship service represents the successful completion of numerous theory and practice courses and qualifying examinations including the rigorous pre-clinical examination. More important than the academic preparation and qualification is the expression of commitment and motivation of the student to continue in the path of training and supervision in order to make a difference in her/his own life, as well as in the lives of countless others who will benefit from Traditional Chinese Medicine. Throughout the internship experience, whether at the on-campus Community Clinic or at one of the five externship sites, each Yo San trainee works under the gentle and vigilant guidance and mentorship of expert clinical supervising faculty.
The supervisory relationship is close and intense. It includes the opportunity to discern and further develop both the science and the art of providing Ni Family inspired Traditional Chinese Medicine to promote wellness and to restore health and balance. After so many years of applying dots in training for needling, after so many student-to-student practice sessions, observations and other “dry run” practice procedures, the intern is face-to-face with a real person seeking treatment. In the vital moments of meeting and interviewing the patient the intern connects with the energy of the patient and engages the years of study and training to generate hypotheses from the details of patient’s life history, life style, symptoms, and Qi status.
After consultation and deliberation with a seasoned clinical faculty supervisor, the intern arrives at a diagnosis and crafts a course of treatment. Each experience with a patient enhances the knowledge and skills of the intern and strengthens the mentorship relationship with the supervisor. I am told that the ultimate reward comes to the intern when it is learned that a patient has made another appointment. What could be more satisfying?
The administration, faculty and staff of Yo San University salute all of our current interns as well as all of our first, second and third year students who continue to develop their knowledge and skills in preparation for advancement to internship status.