Personal Statement
Applied Program: Physical Therapy

I am a MS candidate in the renowned Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Looking back on my brief journey in academic pursuit, I recapture more happiness brought about by successes than hardships I have undergone in the course of struggles.

So far, I have published three research papers on acupuncture & moxibustion. In February 2002, as the sole author I published an article entitled “Summary of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Treating Hyperplasia of Mammary Glands” in the authoritative Journal of Clinical Acupuncture and Moxibustion. In July, as a coauthor I published a research report entitled “Clinical Study on 30 Cases of Internal Hemorrhoids Treated with Cutting-needling Yinjiao Point” in another kernel journal Chinese Acupuncture & Moxibustion. Also, two of my monographs on traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture & moxibustion---Methods of Taking Nutritious Food as Tonics in Four Seasons and A Collection of Experiences in Acupuncture & Moxibustion Practice---have been published by People’s Medical Publishing House. These achievements, on the one hand, are rewards for my painstaking efforts; on the other, they have reinforced my determination to make further studies in acupuncture & moxibustion.

I study and research in the field of acupuncture & moxibustion started when I entered college. Throughout five years’ undergraduate studies, my feelings towards acupuncture & moxibustion had undergone three stages. At first I found it mysterious; next I gradually acquainted myself with it and understood it; and then I had to marvel at the wonders it had done. As an old yet ever-growing branch of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture & moxibustion are characterized by their simple and convenient treatments and marked curative effects. They have particular curative effects in treating certain acute and chronic pains, nerve system diseases and damage, osteoporosis and other illnesses. Researches have shown that acupuncture & moxibustion have curative effects on 307 kinds of diseases, including conspicuous results on over 100 kinds of diseases. Early in 1980, World Health Organization has recommended 43 indications of acupuncture & moxibustion. Fascinated by the mysterious appeal of such an extensive and profound branch of traditional Chinese medicine, I am stimulated to explore its mysteries.

Such a keen yearning for knowledge originates from the peculiar theories of acupuncture & moxibustion. To me the human body is just like a map of a strange realm. The task of acupuncture & moxibustion is just to locate on this mysterious map magic spots---acupuncture points, which is the very essence of acupuncture & moxibustion. Through taking specialized courses such as Techniques of Acupuncture & Moxibustion and Therapeutics of Acupuncture & Moxibustion, I learned that after several thousand years of accumulation, encyclopedic knowledge concerning acupuncture points has been acquired and modern acupuncture & moxibustion has established involved correspondence between the acupuncture points and various diseases. While amazed by the marvelous internal connections with human body, I also realized that more laws underneath these connections are to be explored and studied by modern medicine.

However, what have really inspired my enthusiasm to explore the secrets in acupuncture & moxibustion are not the theories but the observations and reflections I had made during clinical practices. For instance, I noticed during a clinical practice that after receiving acupuncture & moxibustion treatment for several times, a patient of motor aphasia was able to talk again. Witnessing the wonderful curative effect of acupuncture & moxibustion, I was stimulated to work even harder in my studies. Thanks to keen interest and unremitting efforts, I had acquired the highest academic results in my department and had won scholarships for five consecutive years.

After I graduated summa cum laude, I decided to further my studies in this field by taking a MS degree program in acupuncture & moxibustion. I have chosen to conduct experimental studies on the topic of “Effects of Combination of Acupuncture & Moxibustion and Traditional Chinese Medicines on Estrogen and Progesterone Receptors in Treating Hyperplasia of Mammary Glands”. In my experiment report, I first studied the relations between hyperplasia of mammary glands and estrogen and progesterone receptors. On this basis, I examined the laboratory significance of treating this disease by means of a combination of acupuncture & moxibustion. Finally I discussed the possibility of taking the determination of estrogen and progesterone receptors as the reference indexes to choose priority therapeutic schedule in clinical practice. According to the experiment results, I put forth the novel concept of “receptor-receptor disease-receptor regulating treatment” which has won approval from relevant experts. By studying the receptor level, my concept has provided an original approach to the treatment of hyperplasia of mammary glands with the combination of acupuncture & moxibustion and traditional Chinese medicines. Besides, I have also taken part in two research projects sponsored by the university and the Ministry of Public Health respectively.

Due to excellent academic records and outstanding research results, in each year of my graduate studies, I have been awarded “Federal Medical Scholarship”, which is designed to encourage and reward brilliant students in key medical universities around the country. In addition to academic pursuit, I have worked hard to improve my overall qualities and foster my sense of social responsibility. Throughout my seven-year undergraduate and graduate studies, I have participated in free medical consultation activities on more than one occasion and have been awarded various honorary titles, such as “Model Volunteer” and “Model Youth Volunteer of Guangdong Province.”

Through seven years’ hard work in acupuncture & moxibustion, I have mastered the fundamental theories and methods in this field. I am fully aware that as an old and young branch of medical science, acupuncture and moxibustion has its own extensive and profound system; in the meantime, there is still much room for the improvement of its combination with modern medical theories. Also, as a means of passive physical therapy, its application in international medical practice is far from enough. If we can combine acupuncture & moxibustion and traditional Chinese medical theories with physical therapy of modern Western medicine, I believe we are sure to exploit even greater latent potentialities of acupuncture & moxibustion for the treatment of diseases related to nervous system and brain. For all the above-mentioned reasons, I determine to conduct advanced studies in the field of physical therapy. University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill has long enjoyed a high academic reputation in this field in the world. I long to fulfill my academic pursuit in your prestigious university. Meanwhile, I believe my previous accomplishments in acupuncture & moxibustion will add to the variety of your university with respect to physical therapy.