(From reporter Lei Xiangping, China Radio International)

Dr. Amir Hooman Kazemi, who comes from Iran, is going to attend the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations held in Beijing. In the interview on May 7, he said that he had never regretted switching to TCM after eight-year study on Western medicine. In fact, Hooman gains great prestige interiorly with polished technique of acupuncture. He also mentioned that he wished to help more patients through continually studying on and making progress in acupuncture treatment.

　 Hooman received his doctorate in western medicine from the Medical College of Iran's Lorestan province in 2002. He started to study TCM systematically in Beijing University of Chinese Medicine in 2005 and earned his doctorate in acupuncture in 2010. He was then the first foreigner to obtain a doctor's degree in acupuncture. He now teaches acupuncture at Tehran University of Medical Sciences and Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. In addition, he often applies acupuncture treatment to Iranian patients at traditional medicine clinics affiliated with TUMS.

 Hooman said that he would like to master a new kind of treatment after graduating as a Medical Doctor, and the decision to learn TCM proved to be correct now.

 “I believe that more methods can help more patients, and then studying TCM occurred to me.” He said, “The first step is somewhat difficult, because it is hard to have faith in TCM owing to its theory which is different from modern medicine. Amount of time passed, the studying for TCM made me more suspicious. However, I found its curative effect was remarkable in clinical practice, so I chose to continue. After a few years, the good effects of TCM on my many patients confirm the correctness of my choice. TCM is admirable in its treatment.”

 Now, Hooman has a full schedule every day except Friday. In the morning, he will teach Iranian students theoretical knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine at the university and from 4pm to the night he has to see 70-100 patients per day on average. He said that the patients came from all over Iran, and many patients who suffered from a stroke, brain paralysis, neurological diseases and other ailments were willing to wait in long lines for acupuncture treatment. Also, he said that some Iranian patients were initially afraid of acupuncture treatment, but gradually embraced it because of its effectiveness.

 Undoubtedly, Hooman loves his job. With an eight-year doctorate in western medicine, he has been engaged in TCM acupuncture treatment and teaching for more than ten years, which often causes the colleague's perplexity, even the criticism. Even so, Hooman said he never regretted for what he had done.

 Hooman said: “Many western doctors around the world are now interested in acupuncture treatment and TCM because of communication. I teach most people through communication, for example, I once met an American oncologist on a plane and he asked me what I specialized in. I replied that I am a western doctor but I study and teach TCM in China. He felt a pity and asked me why I did like that. Then I told him that I didn’t feel regretful and I talked to him about the effectiveness of acupuncture treatment and a lot of research about that. Ten minutes later, he said that he was interested in studying acupuncture which showed he had changed his mind. I have a lot of such stories that some western doctors criticized me at first but because of the communication, their minds begin to change. Communication may seem simple, but it can actually change a person's mind.”

 Except teaching and being a doctor of TCM, Hooman also serves as Vice President of World Federation of Acupuncture-Moxibustion Societies. He is also invited to attend the first Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations which to be held in Beijing. He said that he would communicate with his profession on the relationship between TCM and Chinese culture and the development of TCM in the world at this conference. Hooman told reporters that now he is more and more interested in and more believes in TCM, and he is also interested in Chinese culture. And what pleased him is that more patients will benefit from his teaching on techniques of acupuncture to students from different countries.

 Hooman said: “It’s hard to acquire the knowledge of TCM if not knowing about Chinese culture, so I must learn Chinese language and culture at first. The more I study TCM, the more interested I become in Chinese culture, which causes that the more affection I hold in learning TCM. Actually, the both always connect instead of separating. I teaching others acupuncture. Meanwhile, I study it without the possibility of stop for the rest of my life. I keep studying on all kinds of acupuncture, and gaining more experiences about diagnosing and treating more patients. In this way, I will have greater capability of treating diseases to benefit more patients.