The Acupuncture Poll's question for August 2003 was:
"How long did it take you to pay off your student loans?"
Results are as follows:
These results are based upon 117 responses. As this is a voluntary, non-scientific survey, caution should be used in generalizing the results. Here is a sample of the comments made by those who took the survey and how they voted:
More than seven years: I was paying off my loan rather comfortably until the clinic I worked for had their Blue Cross/Blue Shield providership terminated because of unscrupulous billing practices. This was all done without my knowledge, but I was also held responsible. I lost my practice and have been struggling to get a cash practice going, which has been challenging. My advice is to never let anyone else do your billing for you. I learned the hard way. Now I can barely pay my monthly payment.
Also, I know new graduates who are getting out of school with $80,000 in debt. I certainly wouldn't want to be in their shoes.
Less than two years: At the time, I was so concerned about having to pay back student loans while starting a new practice that I continued working a 40+-hour high-stress job for the three years that I was in school. Hopefully, the stress I had during school counteracted the stress I didn't have paying back the loans after school.
More than seven years: I am still paying, and paying, and paying.
Acupuncture, a key pillar of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has been practiced for thousands of years to promote healing and restore balance within the body. However, with rapid technological advancements reshaping health care, acupuncture is entering a new era. The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics is revolutionizing diagnostics, treatment precision, education, and research – enhancing patient outcomes like never before.
Interestingly, although lots of attention has recently been given to the role psychedelic medicines employed in therapy could play in healing PTSD and trauma generally, new research has just been published showing acupuncture can also be of significant help in alleviating this widespread disorder, and may act similarly to psychedelics on a particular quality of our brains to heal and remodel themselves: neuroplasticity.
Long COVID has challenged conventional medical paradigms. There is certainly a growing need for therapies that bridge traditional pharmacology with integrative strategies. Among the more unconventional options, nicotine – delivered via low-dose transdermal patches – has surfaced as a potential tool. While the idea may sound wacky, emerging evidence and clinical anecdotes suggest it warrants exploration.
