Why Publish Research?

For me, the single most important reason for publishing is, as you say, to share knowledge with my peers. Given the relative infancy of CM in the West, I feel an ethical obligation to share whatever I find that I think might be a valuable addition to the English language literature.

That being said, in my experience, publishing is the high road to professional advancement in this field. It is only through publishing that one gains the name recognition which then leads to request for teaching seminars and giving classes. While it may seem like publishing is just giving valuable information away for free, it is that very act which creates one credibility as an authority in the field. Whenever practitioners come to me asking how they can become professional speakers and teachers in this field, I tell them to publish as much as they can in as many forums as they can find. In the end, the investment in time and energy will have been well worthwhile.

Dan Bensky, Ted Kaptchuk, Giovanni Maciocia, Craig Mitchell, etc. are only "household names" today within our profession because of what they published. It was only after they began publishing theat they began to receive invitations to teach here and there. As a for instance, I began publishing after five years of studying and practicing CM. In those early years, I made a point of publishing an article in every issue of the American Journal of Acupuncture (USA) and the Journal of Chinese Medicine (UK). Those were the only venues we had at the time (early 80s). As more journals came on-line, I published regularly in each of these, and, yes, all these articles were free. But it was because of that that I began to be invited to teach all around the world at what was, at the time, big bucks for me.

Just my two cents.

I am in complete agreement with all of what has been said above. However, it is not only important to be able to read Chinese, write eloquently and in a scholarly and yet clinically acceptable manner BUT also equally important is to be a seasoned clinician. We have all too many "wanna-be's" that may be "book brilliant" / "scholarly writers" ....but being a blend of the above + also a seasoned clinician that can also speak from experience is also a very important asset and element in this equation. Reading the literature in the language of origin is an asset, a skill, but being able to interpret the information in a clinically applicable manner is also part of this equation.

SUCCESS is a combination of many SKILLS coupled with clinical EXPERIENCE.
Moving forward into the future and seeing our profession mature, grow, develop + also at times challenge us to our limits is one of the most rewarding things in the field of CM....pushing us to our limits...and then some. Thank you Bob.

Thank you for your comments. I agree. However, I would like to point out, that experience comes with practice. In clinic, writting, and experience. Also, testing your own theorys or others, and writting about what you have observed can valuable for everyone, even if you are a new practitioner. You may come to your own conclusions, and others may come to different ones from the information you have presented. It is always important to scrutinize all papers carefully.

Thank you again for your input.