“Many Hmong, particularly those in the older generation and recent arrivals, have little confidence in Western doctors and avoid going to them. As a result, Hmong with preventable complications from a host of illnesses have been showing up at the emergency rooms of the local hospitals.”

“To turn the tide, Mochel and Hmong community leaders, including shaman and health-care professionals, reasoned that teaching the culture's healers about Western medicine could reduce fear within the community and help the shaman and doctors better understand how they can work together to heal people. Although hard to quantify, their efforts have paid off. To date, 89 shamans have graduated from a shaman-training program that requires 40 hours of Western medicine classes. After graduation, shamans are given hospital badges that allow them unrestricted access to the local hospital to visit patients. It's now more likely, program leaders say, that doctors and shamans in Merced view each other with respect rather than bewilderment.”

“And although nobody would welcome the news from a doctor that they need an organ or part of the body removed, for Hmong, it also has religious significance. It means that in their next life they'll be born without that organ or body part. Hmong are also wary of surgery because one's soul could wander away while they're under anesthesia.”

“But both sides agree that the training has led to more contact between shaman and doctor in-patient care.”