Chinese Medicine Helps Nurses Stay Healthy

San Francisco, CA –National Nurses Week is May 6–12. This year’s theme is Nurses: Caring Today for a Healthier Tomorrow.

Nurses have many roles – from staff nurse to educator to researcher, and often find themselves working in varied environments such as emergency rooms, clinics, and homeless shelters. Long known for their boundless compassion and ability to take care of others, nurses are at one of the highest risks for illness due to stress and infectious disease. Traditional Chinese Medicine is a great tool for nurses and other health care professionals to take care of their own health, so that they can continue to care for others.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) encompasses a variety of preventative techniques that help health care professionals stay healthy. These include manual therapies, such as acupuncture and massage; exercises like tai chi and qi gong, whose gentle movements and low physical impact are ideal for all ages; and Chinese herbal medicine.

Each of these techniques are based on the same principal of health, which has been used effectively in Chinese medicine for approximately 3,000 years. According to TCM, there are 14 major pathways, called meridians, in the human body. Chinese medicine practitioners believe that these meridians conduct qi, or energy, between the surface of the body and internal organs.

It is qi that regulates spiritual, emotional, mental and physical balance. When the flow of qi is disrupted through poor health habits, aging or other circumstances, pain and/or disease can result. Acupuncture, massage, tai chi, qi gong and herbs help to keep the normal flow of this energy unblocked, thereby reducing stress and boosting the body’s immune system.

For more information on how Acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine can help nurses remain healthy, please call American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine at (415) 355-1601 x12.


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About American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine
American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ACTCM) has provided affordable, quality health care to the public and trained professionals in acupuncture, massage and Chinese medicine since 1980. In addition to its graduate curriculum, ACTCM offers continuing education, public education, community outreach and clinical services in acupuncture and herbal medicine. ACTCM has been the recipient of many awards for its curriculum, faculty and clinic, and has been voted “Best of the Bay” by both the San Francisco Weekly and the San Francisco Bay Guardian. ACTCM is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine and is a private, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.