Dr. Brendon Fegan, DAOM, L.Ac, Dipl. OM

About Dr. Fegan

Dr. Fegan, DAOM, LAc. graduated with his bachelor’s degree in Social Relations and Policy and Comparative Cultures and Politics from Michigan State University James Madison College. He opted against law school to attend acupuncture school in pursuit of a childhood passion and family tradition of herbal medicine. He attended Bastyr University in Washington state where he was awarded a Master’s and later a Doctorate in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. During his schooling he created an IRB-approved herbal medicine protocol for dementia. He received training at Shuguang and Longhua hospitals in Shanghai, China as well as at the Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of TCM (speciality of facial paralysis), Fang Hui Chun Tang Old-Town Clinic (a several hundred years old continuously operating acupuncture clinic), and Su Ke gynecology clinic in Hangzhou, China.

Back in the states, he was an intern for two years on the Acute Pain Service at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. This service was an integrated program with Acupuncturists, MDs, PharmDs and others to help alleviate pain that did not respond well to medication or surgery. Harborview is a Level 1 trauma center and the primary trauma center for the Pacific Northwest region, including Idaho and Montana. It is also the hospital that the T.V. Series Grey’s Anatomy is based on.

Dr. Fegan graduated with a focus in Integrative Pain Management and specialty training in numerous areas. His practice specializes in the treatment of orthopedic, sports medicine, and neurological conditions. He also treats Internal Medicine and Dermatological conditions. In Washington state, he additionally had specialized training in acupoint injection therapy, prolotherapy, and cold laser therapy.

Dr. Fegan is an avid practitioner of Qigong and meditation and has a special passion for “Yang Sheng”. Yang Sheng is a Daoist term that translates as “nourishing life”. The goal is to not only relieve pain and dysfunction but to maintain and increase a person’s vitality.

Q&A with Dr. Fegan

What are you most passionate about professionally? Personally?

Existence is Pain. My role is to help people understand that pain and thereby comprehend the meaning and beauty inherent in the universe.

What three traits define you?

Contemplative, Grounded, Intellectual

What would you do even if you didn’t get paid to do it?

Landscape architecture

What are you surprisingly good at?

Learning languages

What’s the biggest proof that you’re good at what you do?

My patients trust me to help with their health and return to care if or when other conditions prop up. My patients often refer their friends and family to me after successful resolution of symptoms.

What’s the weirdest job you’ve ever had?

The first job I ever had was shoveling horse poop on a farm.

How does your education connect to your professional career? What about personal experiences?

I had the option of going to law school for free but decided instead to become an Acupuncturist. I felt this would be a more rewarding, less stressful career. I grew up with stories of my ancestors, who were Native healers in New York, and the herbs that they would gather out in the woods. This inspired me as a child to teach myself the native herbology of Michigan. It also kept me away from the opiate epidemic that swept through my town. Unfortunately, most Native American medical knowledge has been lost or is inaccessible. Chinese Medicine shares many similarities to American medicine and has a very well developed herbal medicine tradition which made it a natural choice for a career. I strive to honor both the past and the present with what I do.

What problems do you consistently solve for your clients?

I consistently solve the “we don’t know what’s wrong with you” problem, as well as saving people from unnecessary surgeries.

What are you complimented on most in your work?

I am often complimented on helping people achieve greater peace of mind.

Who is your ideal client and why should they connect with you?

Someone with an honest desire and commitment to improve their health.

In your work or creative process, what concepts are sacred? Which rules have you made, which ones do you follow?

Chaos will always create order and order will always create chaos. Alternating from one to the other produces creativity and beauty, but only an equal balance of both can endure through time.

Don’t take yourself too seriously.

What do you do for fun in your spare time? What are your hobbies?

Soccer, Bouldering, Hiking, Music, Fishing

Share something unique that most people don’t know about you.

I can speak (poorly) Chippewa language. Also known as Anishinaabemowin, it is the language in which many Midwestern place names – like Chicago – have their roots.