From Athens to Beijing: Studying Chinese Medicine in China with Dr Jonathan Chang
EIIHS graduate Kamil Qandil reflects on studying Applied Channel Theory in China, learning from the clinical tradition of Dr Wang Ju-Yi, and discovering how mentorship can shape a practitioner's journey beyond graduation.
For Kamil Qandil, a graduate of the European Institute of Integrative Health Sciences (EIIHS), completing his formal studies did not mark the end of his education. Instead, it opened the door to a new chapter of clinical discovery, one that would take him from the classrooms of Athens to the busy treatment rooms of Beijing, for studying Chinese medicine in China.
After completing his studies at EIIHS, Kamil travelled to China for more than two weeks of intensive clinical observation and learning alongside Dr Jonathan Chang, an EIIHS professor and specialist in Applied Channel Theory.
An inner apprentice of Dr Wang Ju-Yi, Dr Chang continues to practise and teach an approach to Chinese medicine that places channel examination, palpation and clinical reasoning at the centre of diagnosis and treatment.
For Kamil, the journey was an opportunity to build upon knowledge introduced through his EIIHS education, deepen an existing relationship with an experienced teacher and experience Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) within the healthcare system and culture of its country of origin.
We spoke with Kamil about his experience, the lessons he brought home and why he believes the most important part of becoming a practitioner is learning how to think.
From the EIIHS Classroom to Applied Channel Theory
EIIHS: How did you first encounter Applied Channel Theory, and what interested you about Jonathan's approach?
Kamil: I believe my first introduction to channel palpation was through Benjamin Saez's class at EIIHS. Jonathan's teaching then took this much further, introducing us to Applied Channel Theory and the classical approach revived and developed by Dr Wang Ju-Yi.
What interested me was that channel examination, although rooted in classical Chinese medicine, is not particularly widely practised today. It offers another valuable diagnostic tool alongside the more familiar pulse, tongue and questioning methods.
Palpating the channels can help confirm or refine your initial diagnosis, or sometimes challenge it altogether. I found that particularly fascinating.
EIIHS: What motivated you to travel to China specifically to continue learning with Jonathan?
Kamil: I really appreciated Jonathan's teaching, both online and during the workshop organised by EIIHS in Athens.
After completing the required courses, modules and exams at EIIHS, I wanted to consolidate what I'd learned and develop more confidence and precision in my diagnosis, particularly through channel palpation.
China also felt like a natural place to continue learning Chinese medicine, in the country where it originated and remains so deeply embedded in everyday life.
And having the opportunity to learn directly from Jonathan in his own clinical environment was a big motivation.
Inside a Busy Beijing Chinese Medicine Clinic
EIIHS: Where did you spend most of your time, and what was the clinical experience like?
Kamil: I spent most of my time at the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine Guo Yi Tang Clinic, shadowing and learning from Jonathan.
Three other practitioners, all practising in Australia, had also travelled to Beijing specifically to study with him in person.
The university clinic itself left a strong impression on me. It seemed to bridge two worlds: traditional wooden furniture and a distinctly Chinese clinical atmosphere, alongside the pace of a busy contemporary practice.
Treatment rooms typically contained three or four beds, separated by curtains, and there was a constant movement of patients throughout the day.
Our days were intensive. Over roughly twelve hours, we could observe, shadow and discuss 20–25 cases. Between patients, we practised channel palpation, compared what we were finding and went progressively deeper into the clinical application of channel theory.
EIIHS: How was learning with Jonathan in a busy Beijing clinic different from learning with him at EIIHS?
Kamil: The pace was completely different! We had three or four treatment beds in the same room, often seeing three patients an hour and sometimes as many as 25 throughout the day. It was a chance to see the theory applied to a huge variety of real cases, observe how Jonathan approached each patient, and discuss the clinical reasoning as we went along. It was an incredibly rich experience, and I think it'll take me weeks, if not months, to properly digest everything and gradually put it into my own practice.
Learning to Examine, Question and Reassess
EIIHS: What did working with Applied Channel Theory teach you about clinical diagnosis?
Kamil: What made this particularly valuable was that the theory was constantly being tested against what we could actually feel in the patient.
Channel examination was considered alongside the interview, pulse and tongue diagnosis, helping us build a fuller diagnostic picture and understand the case through the relationships between the six channels.
Treatment frequently drew on the Five Shu, or transport, points, often He-Sea points, together with Xi-Cleft, Yuan-Source and Luo-Connecting points. We also observed bloodletting techniques and different methods of needle stimulation.
Importantly, the examination did not necessarily end once the needles came out. In many cases, we palpated the channels again after treatment, or when the patient returned on a subsequent visit, and could clearly feel changes, often fewer palpable abnormalities in the channels.
Experiencing that repeated cycle of examination, treatment and reassessment made Applied Channel Theory much more tangible to me.
Chinese Medicine as Part of Everyday Healthcare
EIIHS: What surprised you most about experiencing Traditional Chinese Medicine in China?
Kamil: What surprised me most was not simply the scale of Traditional Chinese Medicine, but how deeply familiar people are with it.
Patients often came to consultations with a good understanding of TCM concepts and were remarkably engaged in their own treatment.
Many followed their doctors' advice closely. Some studied Chinese medicine out of personal interest, asked detailed questions and even practised techniques such as moxibustion themselves at home.
It gave me a different perspective on what it means for Chinese medicine to be embedded not only within a healthcare system, but within everyday life and culture.
EIIHS: You also visited other healthcare facilities. What did those experiences reveal?
Kamil: On other days, we visited the Beijing Chaoyang District Laiguangying Second Community Health Service Centre, a newly established community health facility in Chaoyang.
What struck me there was the degree to which Chinese and Western medicine were integrated within the same clinical environment.
Modern diagnostic equipment, Western and Chinese herbal pharmacies, TCM treatment rooms and departments dealing with areas such as gynaecology, sleep and internal medicine operated alongside one another.
Rather than Chinese medicine existing on the margins of the healthcare system, here it was simply one part of healthcare.
Another day took us beyond Beijing into Hebei Province. We travelled by high-speed train to Gaobeidian East to visit a TCM hospital led by Dr Bai, another inner apprentice of Dr Wang Ju-Yi.
There we observed both inpatient and outpatient care, including treatment of musculoskeletal conditions and rehabilitation following stroke.
Seeing Chinese medicine being used in a hospital environment, particularly as part of longer-term rehabilitation, added another dimension to what we had been seeing in Beijing.
We also observed different moxibustion techniques and practitioners who relied heavily on Tuina.
The Value of Learning from an Experienced Teacher
EIIHS: What does having access to teachers like Jonathan mean to you as a developing practitioner?
Kamil: It's quite a unique opportunity.
Jonathan is incredibly knowledgeable, but also humble, funny and a little quirky, which makes learning with him very enjoyable.
What I particularly appreciate is his ability to explain things from different angles.
He can start with a small clinical finding and connect it to a much bigger theoretical picture, or work the other way around.
He draws logical connections and often brings the discussion back to the classical texts rather than simply relying on empirical point combinations.
For someone still developing their clinical reasoning, that way of teaching is extremely valuable.
It's not just about learning what points to use, but understanding why you're using them.
EIIHS: Did you have opportunities to learn outside the clinical environment?
Kamil: Yes. On some days, we gathered in a park, working through channel pathways, channel pathology, diagnosis and the reasoning behind different treatment strategies.
Those quieter sessions gave us the opportunity to question, palpate and discuss, and then return to the clinic and see the same ideas applied to real patients.
That combination of discussion, examination and direct clinical observation was particularly valuable.
Bringing the Experience Home to Athens
EIIHS: How has your experience in China changed the way you approach clinical practice?
Kamil: More than two weeks in China changed the way I think about clinical practice.
What I brought back was not simply a larger collection of acupuncture points or techniques.
It was a more systematic way of approaching the patient: examine, palpate, question, treat and reassess, and remain willing to reconsider your original clinical picture according to what the body is showing you.
I am now back in Greece, beginning to build my own practice in Athens, and that experience is already influencing the way I examine patients and think through diagnosis and treatment.
EIIHS: Do you hope to return to China to continue your studies?
Kamil: Absolutely.
I am looking at opportunities and scholarships that could allow me to return to China, continue learning under Dr Jonathan Chang and deepen my understanding of the clinical tradition developed by Dr Wang Ju-Yi.
Graduating from EIIHS gave me a foundation from which to practise.
China showed me how much further that foundation can be developed through observation, palpation, clinical experience and continued study.
Rather than feeling like the completion of my education, those weeks in Beijing and Hebei made me feel that I had entered the next stage of it, one that I hope will continue to take me back to China and, above all, continue to shape the way I treat patients for years to come.
Beyond Graduation: The Lasting Value of Mentorship at EIIHS
Kamil's journey illustrates something we believe is fundamental to education in Traditional Chinese Medicine: the relationships formed between students and their teachers can be as valuable as the knowledge acquired in the classroom.
His introduction to channel palpation through Benjamin Saez's teaching at EIIHS laid an important foundation. His subsequent studies with Dr Jonathan Chang, both online and during an EIIHS workshop in Athens, opened the door to a deeper exploration of Applied Channel Theory.
That educational relationship continued beyond the formal curriculum, ultimately taking Kamil to China to observe Jonathan's clinical practice firsthand.
It is a reminder that the value of an international faculty extends beyond qualifications and academic expertise. Experienced teachers bring their own clinical traditions, professional relationships and ways of understanding medicine. For students who remain curious and committed to their development, those connections can become pathways to continued learning.
Kamil independently pursued this opportunity for professional development, building upon the mentorship and educational relationships he had established during his time at EIIHS.
As an institution, we take particular pride in seeing our graduates continue to seek out rigorous clinical learning, engage with the traditions underlying their practice and develop the confidence to question and refine their own clinical reasoning.
We congratulate Kamil on his initiative and dedication, and look forward to seeing how his experience continues to shape his work as a practitioner.
Begin Your Own Journey in Traditional Chinese Medicine
At EIIHS, education is about more than completing a curriculum. It is about building the clinical foundation, professional relationships and intellectual curiosity that support a lifetime of learning.
Our international hybrid programme combines flexible theoretical study, weekly faculty-led classes and intensive supervised clinical training in Athens, Greece.
Students learn from an international faculty of experienced practitioners, gaining exposure to diverse clinical perspectives and traditions within the comprehensive system of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Whether you are considering a new professional direction or seeking a rigorous foundation in Chinese medicine, we invite you to discover what makes the EIIHS educational experience distinctive.
Your journey begins with a conversation.
Book an Admissions Call to explore studying Traditional Chinese Medicine at EIIHS.
Comments