Qiological Live
Illuminating Clinical Failures

Successful case studies illustrate the critical importance of appropriate diagnosis and suitable treatment strategies. But can unsuccessful clinical interventions offer something as well? In this live discussion we will explore recent case studies from the Saam acupuncture tradition that failed to produce clinical results. These explorations will examine errors ranging from missed opportunities to misinterpreted symptoms and signs.

Throughout the discussion a special emphasis will be placed on navigating the tension inherent in assigning clinical weight to each symptom and sign. Complicating the clinician’s task of assigning appropriate clinical weight is that it must necessarily be done in real time and for high stakes. Three case studies will illustrate significant clinical missteps using the Saam tradition.


In this real time event we will discuss
  • Exploring the types of routine clinical errors
  • Strategies for navigating the tension inherent in assigning each symptom clinical weight
  • Clinically reliable reasoning
  • Avoiding missteps in your clinical work

You’ll have lifetime access to the recording of this Qiological Live seminar

Event fee $35, length 90 minutes

“For every complex problem, there is a solution that is clear, simple, and wrong.”
H. L. Mencken

Your Instructor For This Class

Toby began studying Chinese medicine in 1997 with Sunim Doam, a Korean monk trained in the Saam tradition. He earned his master's degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine in 2002 upon completion of training at the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in San Francisco and Chengdu University in China.

During his four years of training in San Francisco, he interned with the prominent acupuncturist Dr. Angela Wu and learned to apply the lofty theories he was studying in school into the pragmatic setting of a busy clinic. In 2013, he developed the Chinese Nutritional Strategies app to provide digital access to the wealth of Chinese dietary wisdom. 

In 2016, he completed a PhD in Classical Chinese Medicine under the guidance of 88th generation Daoist priest Jeffery Yuen. In 2021, he developed the Chinese Medical Characters app to enable direct access to foundational Chinese medical terms and concepts. 

For the past three  years he’s been teaching the Saam method as it was taught to him by his teacher.