Navigating through the sea of medicine

Most new patients at the hospital, regularly ask for an explanation of  Chinese medicine , so that they understand how the treatment works. In the United States, the religious, or those with a background in science are often very suspicious of a system that is being frequently advertised as the product of  vague eastern practices , or is  surrounded by mystery  and/or encompassing  near occult methods.   Many of my acupuncture students, sometimes also find it difficult to come up with a clear definition that doesn’t include the keywords:  qi, energies, yin and yang, five elements , and  5000 years of TCM history . An attempt to explain it as a method of using needles to stimulate  “channels and meridians” , or using herbs to access the internal organs according to  ancient experiences  of the Chinese people, again doesn’t sound scientifically convincing.    From my experiences in a hospital setting, when the religious or the scientifically knowledgeable patients hears such explanations