We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Josh Geetter. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Josh below.
Josh , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.
The defining moment is every time I walk into the clinic and close the door to start a session with a patient; it is every time I pick up an herb to start a formula; it’s anytime I interact with a customer in the front of the house, and all of these moments we define and redefine our practice and how we serve.
From these defining moments, come at least a dozen books now written within me from a quarter-century of clinical practice.
Practicing Asiatic medicine in the western world at this time in history means that as one becomes a journeyman in their career, they have not just little slivers to contribute to the body of medicine, but large slices as oriental medicine continues to emerge in the west.
Forthcoming books; a partial list:
* Genius Baby, Happy Baby, Buddha Baby: oriental medicine, in utero and how to do a real “blessing way.“
* Hysteria, wisdom of the womb: women’s health in a man’s world from an oriental medical perspective..
* An apple a day keeps the doctor away”
Colloquial sayings and the astounding medical truisms behind them, a truth telling exploration.
* Streetwise, Gangster as Fxxk, Vipassana & Shamata for the masses, or the single most important teaching for realizing wellness.
* To immunize & vaccinate, or not; A seriously centrist, solid & tangible perspective for a murky debate.
* Life is in the Liver! The most pivotal and overlooked key to robust health, longevity, and vitality that you’ve never heard of before.
…. and many more. The thing about these articles and books coming out of defining clinical moments is that these are epiphany moments for the patients over and over and over and over again. Publishing about these subjects allows me to benefit far more people than I ever could “one to one” in the clinic. Frankly, all journeyman clinicians are called to make their contributions to the greater body of medicine for the sake of humanity.
Josh , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Planetary medicine, Oriental medicine, common sense medicine, your medicine; how it all ties together.
I hold a degree in Oriental Medicine (MSAOM) and a licensure in Acupuncture (LAc). In Western society acronyms describe the scope of the practitioners work. In Oriental medicine within Western society, the degree and the licensure fall far short of the job description or scope of practice. As a general practitioner of oriental medicine are utilize multiple modalities to treat all populations throughthe complete lifecycle. The breath and depth of my practice is remarkable. Some of my specialties include epidemiology, men’s health, women’s health, reproductive health, geriatrics, psycho, emotional health, orthopedics, oncology, autoimmune and degenerative diseases, preventative, anti-aging and wellness medicine.
To be clear, I’m extremely old school meaning that everything I say or do in the clinic I have a citation for. I’m old-school because “ Old’s cool!” in this way, my practice is solid “nuts and bolts“ oriental medicine, which in practice is profound. The basics are often profound.You could say that I’m “old school“ in Oriental medicine, but “ Old’s Cool!” Thus, my clinic and my work are known to be unusually effective, impactful, and relatable to the western population.
In that I really practice basic, foundational, nuts and bolts medicine, it ironically, gives me no pleasure that my clinic is considered remarkable.
I wish this level of solid natural medicine were available on every street corner. The day that I’m be out of work will be the day that there’s no more suffering. Until that day, there’s enough work to kill me on any given day. So, it makes me sad that people consider my practice to be unusual or remarkable. Everything I do is in the books and none of it is particularly special. We just need a lot more of it at this time in this world.
I work on Alzheimer’s to zygote health ( A-Z). I treat from before birth through after death. Women’s health, men’s health, pediatric, geriatric, sports performance, injuries, oncology, degenerative disease, epidemiology, psycho, emotional disorders, existential issues, prevention, rather than reactive crisis management, optimal health rather than allopathy; these are some of the terms which can be used to describe the scope of practice.
Oriental medicine’s five formal branches of acupuncture, herbs & diet, moxibustion, bodywork and meditation (Qi Gong, Tai Qi & Gong Fu) can be practiced independently or together by the doctor or practitioner of said medicine. These five branches coming from the same root theory, philosophy, knowledge from the defined body of oriental medicine. If we multiply that addition by eight countries and some 5000 years, we get an incredibly vast and deep body of knowledge.
Americans classically cull the best from a number of different cultures and amalgamate the essences into a uniquely brilliant and artful American format. Being a general practitioner of Oriental medicine in a small town, I use all five branches and eight countries and 5000 years to navigate around finding the right tool kit for the patient in front of me. I could use Qing Dynasty herbalism plus bodywork from Japan plus a meditation from the Daoist priests, an acupuncture prescription Sun Si Miao and a Moxibustion protocol from the Song dynasty Tai Ping Academy of imperial court doctors to curate a custom plan for an individual patient. My clinic is known for a multiple modality, nimble and adaptable approach, demystified, made clear and delivered to the patient powerfully yet with subtlety and respect..
Our clinic has had major successes in arenas not known to be treatable. Many miracles happen here daily, weekly, monthly annually and through the career. We hardly have a moment to reflect on it though because here comes the next case and three more after that one.
I’m supposed to be publishing and blogging and lecturing and publishing some more because in that way I could benefit far more people than I ever can one to one over the treatment table. However, as a journeyman, I’ll keep one foot in the clinical stirrup, while more people clamor for the work than I can possibly see.
I treat captains of industry, heads of state, superstars, doctors, pharmaceutical executives, indigent mothers, homeless, and everyone in between with the same level of care. That is to say, I treat them all like royalty. I must first of all, however, take care of myself in order to be worthy of caring for others. Hippocrates demands this when he says “physician heal thyself.”
Go ahead, ask me any question. Ask any question at all. I don’t know about too many things, I know what I know if you know what I mean, do you? I don’t know very much, but I have over a quarter century of dipping into an endless well for answers. In this way, I can honestly say that I’ve almost never had a patient whom I couldn’t benefit in some way with the tools at my disposal. That’s a phenomenal thing to say, and it’s true.
In this way, it’s not me helping them. It’s the medicine. I didn’t write the news. I just deliver it. Go ahead, ask anything.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Resilience in medical practice has many faces and many facets. At the beginning, the training is rigorous. This is intended and meant to cull the herd, to make sure those who graduate and get licensed have the wherewithal for the path of a medicine provider.
Embarking upon a career of oriental medicine in western society necessarily requires resilience. Straight out of the gate, it’s an uphill battle, wherein some of the finest, scholarly and compassionate medicine in the world is denigrated and derided as being less than… It takes resilience to gently, with humanity and with humor illuminate the merit while never having anything to prove to anyone particularly out of some presumed place of inferiority.
Running a small, private medical practice in the United States in the 21st-century is a fraught proposition. In the past quarter century, many medical practices have been amalgamated by larger institutions and hospitals. This is an alarming trend across our country in the modern era of the medical profession. Opening, operating and prospering with an independent natural medical practice in the United States in these times is anything but easy.
Particularly, in the past half decade with Covid, economic instability, now tariffs on a business which receives most of its supplies and products from Asia, and in the days of modern insurance, malpractice and the expense side of the balance sheet stacked against you, resilience is core to running this kind of business.
A notable rite of passage happened with the advent of Covid. First year, oriental medical college teaches the nuts and bolts work to address respiratory pathogens, epidemics and pandemics. China has experienced 300 documented respiratory epidemics just since the year 1 CE. There are entire schools of medical philosophy & practice, ample case studied & documentation supporting the efficacy of the Oriental Medicine in treating such issues.
During a pandemic, the Acupuncturist necessarily puts down the needles as social distancing demands, and picks up the bag of herbs. Apology is the defined preferred toolbox to use in the case of respiratory epidemics. Dsseminating herbal meds as powerfully, cheaply and effectively as humanly possible is what we did at Medicine Ranch. In 2008, the FDA ruled that it is illegal to make a medical claim on any herb. Preferring herbal medicine at this most important moment in western history for oriental medicine without running a foul of federal legislation was a very delicate balance.This took some resilience.
A lot of my colleagues shut their doors and ignored this most important moment for oriental medicine’s emergence in the west in human history. At Medicine Ranch, we ended up supporting our local front line, stakeholders andmedical first responders, such as our Medical Center, the EMTs, police, sheriff, and government workers in our town.
This all had to be done with tact and intelligence in order to benefit our community without running a foul of the 2008 FDA ruling.
We did so without laying off a single worker in our business. We took out a government loan and paid back immediately. We did not tax the US economy while we benefited our community and survived Covid. This is resilience, public health, and social and economic responsibility in action.
Immediately, subsequent to Covid, we experienced not one, but three catastrophic floods, resulting from Short Term renters above our medical office. The office and retail shop and online business were closed for months at time repeatedly during this half decade. Flood Insurance payment was paltry, and the integrity of the originating owners was even worse.
To compound the duress on the business, a business partner drained the bank account, took the URL and website and online business in its entirety and split at that very time..
From March 2020 through April 2025, this business has taken hits which closed our doors totaling over a calendar year of the past five years, incurred over a quarter million dollars of hard losses and expenses, and untold losses in terms of opportunity cost, not to mention the grinding stress of it all.
We have emerged in the autumn of 2025 still alive and thriving although carrying debt to see us through. We are still providing top quality, inexpensive, approachable, natural medicine for the masses. We still have our health and our sense of humor and it’s been a wicked half decade, let me tell you.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
My father was a Vietnam surgeon; Captain Albert Geetter of the eighth Army, chief of surgery Na Trang field Hospital in Vietnam 1967 and 1968. Through the Tet offensive and all that jazz, he built his medical practice on word-of-mouth and reputation. He basically told me that medical practices are not made by marketing but by word-of-mouth. I added on that one loudmouth patient can make a medical practice successful.
However, this goes deeper. My father quotes one sage professor; Dr. Alan Callow at Tufts University school of medicine in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Callow taught my father about the “three A’s” for a successful medical career. Dad then taught me “ The three A’s” required to build a successful medical practice.
First, one must be “Apt.” One must have real chops, skills, competence, and ability in the work. This seems obvious, but so often we find inept, feckless, and poorly skilled practitioners in any field.
Secondly, one has to be “Affable.“ The definition of affable goes far deeper than the skin deep social construct of being easy to talk to at a party. Affable really means that one needs to be trustworthy and full of humanity and approachable, able to listen well to others, hold in confidence their truths and be worthy of People’ placing their eggs in your basket for health.
“Availabile” is the third “A” precept. This means that at least during your first five years of practice, you are available 7: 24: 365 if need be in order to establish yourself. It means that you get licensed and get some acronyms behind your name. You pay Insurance, rent and expenses for a brick and mortar establishment, and you commit to answering the phone , emails and being there for people, selflessly, for as long as it takes to establish the practice.
The three A’s are requirements throughout one’s career. They are absolute in establishing practice, and afterwards are still the stations of the cross, the touchstones, the anchor points from which of practice is built.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.medicineranch.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/Medicine_ranch
- Facebook: Facebook.com/Medicineranch
- Youtube: Youtube.com/@medicineranch5092
Image Credits
Joshua Geetter, Medicine Ranch, J Geetter, World Pro Fun Tour