Save the dates and plan to attend this year's conference of the Society for Acupuncture Research (SAR), co-sponsored by the University of New Mexico Medical School, to be held Oct. 21-23 in Albuquerque. Since its inauguration in 1993, the annual conference has reflected SAR's role as a focal point for practitioners and researchers interested in conducting, improving, and disseminating research on acupuncture, herbal therapy, qigong, and related modalities. The meeting affords clinical and basic science researchers a unique opportunity for sharing their cutting-edge research contributions with practitioners and educators. Beginning researchers are especially encouraged to attend to network and obtain advice from those more experienced with research design and interpretation.
A record number of abstracts have already been submitted for this fall's conference from university research centers, acupuncture and Oriental medicine schools, and practitioners in the United States, as well as those practicing abroad. The keynote speaker will be Iris Bell, MD, PhD, director of research for the program in integrative medicine at the University of Arizona, whose topic will be, "Are Complex Adaptive Systems and Network Theories the Foundation for a Science of Whole-Person Healing?"
For detailed conference information and registration, please visit SAR's Web site (www.acupunctureresearch.org).
A student stands over a patient, needle poised. They have a “perfect” prescription: a textbook combination of points harvested from a lecture slide on chronic lower back pain. But as the needle meets the skin, the student hesitates - the symptom of a quiet habit that has taken hold of our profession. We routinely say we “prescribe” points. It sounds efficient. It echoes the authority of biomedical culture and fits neatly into the insurance field. But vocabulary is never neutral; repeated long enough, it dictates behavior.
Acupuncture can be highly effective in cases of nasal congestion so common in allergy presentations; so much so that I often treat such issues using acupuncture protocols alone. In cases of seasonal allergies with highly predictable causes such as obvious elevations of environmental allergens, I use a skeleton acupuncture prescription that can easily be fleshed out to target potential underlying patterns and effectively customized to the patient.
The field of acupuncture in the U.S. continues to grow in visibility, patient demand and clinical effectiveness. Yet behind the curtain, many acupuncturists are quietly struggling to keep their doors open. While the profession is rooted in centuries of healing tradition, modern economic pressures – particularly those driven by insurance limitations, low reimbursement rates and job-market saturation – are making it increasingly difficult for licensed acupuncturists to thrive.
