SCU Launches Smoking-Cessation Program Using Acupuncture
Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU) in Whittier, Calif., has started up a smoking-cessation program that utilizes acupuncture. The primary initial reason for developing this program was to help SCU employees and students quit smoking. However, the school plans to expand the program to offer help for the community at large.
Smoking damages multiple system functions including the respiratory system, the heart and circulatory system, and the nervous system. It is one of the main factors causing cancers, chronic bronchitis, cardiac syndromes, stomach and duodenal ulcers, and liver cirrhosis. Smoking increases the death rate related with those disorders.
In traditional Chinese medicine theory, the poisonous substances in cigarettes cause an imbalance of yin and yang following long-term cigarette smoking. It also can cause dysfunction of the zang fu organs, qi and blood.
For the smoking-cessation program, acu-points are punctured that will help eliminate the habit of long-term smoking of nicotine-containing cigarette products. During smoking cessation, symptoms can include lower energy, restlessness, belching, reduced taste, heaviness in the chest, anxiety, depression and lack of sensation. By accessing these specific points, acupuncture can help patients rebalance their yin and yang, harmonize their zang fu, and help people to quit the habit of smoking.
For more information on the program at SCU, or to schedule an appointment, contact the University Health Center at (562) 943-7125.
Well-Known Integrative Medicine Doctor Was "Unconventional"
Honolulu dermatologist Cyrus Loo, who was a pioneer in integrating Eastern healing practices with Western medicine, died Jan. 27 at the age of 91. According to the Honolulu Advertiser newspaper, he was one of the first Western doctors to explore the possibilities of acupuncture. One of his more famous patients was applying what he had learned to thousands of ailing patients, including former Brigham Young University quarterback Jim McMahon.
Loo's daughter Chalsa said her father was initially skeptical about acupuncture, once telling a friend that he was foolish for allowing someone to stick needles in his skin. However, that changed when Loo was one of the first to travel to China after it reopened to visitors in 1972. He went to lectures on acupuncture and eventually completed studies in AOM.
He initially integrated acupuncture into his dermatological practice but later found it useful for a host of other types of conditions. Loo's studies led him to identify what was later dubbed the "Loo Point," an acupuncture point believed to help relieve spinal problems. Loo also developed a form of electrotherapy for acupuncture.
"He had a strong commitment to healing pain and suffering," Chalsa Loo said. "He was very inquisitive. If something worked, he wanted to understand what about it worked."
OCOM Accepting Trustees Scholarship Applications
The Oregon College of Oriental Medicine (OCOM) Board of Trustees will award $12,000 in scholarships for the 2010-2011 academic year, which begins September of 2010. Twelve scholarships of $1,000 each will be awarded to seven entering master's students, three continuing master's students, one entering doctoral student and one continuing doctoral student. Scholarship winners will be selected based on their response to the essay topic: "The mission of Oregon College of Oriental Medicine is to transform health care by educating highly skilled and compassionate practitioners, providing exemplary patient care, and engaging in innovative research within a community of service and healing. OCOM's mission statement speaks of the 'highly skilled and compassionate practitioner' who provides 'exemplary patient care.' Please describe the attributes of such an individual and how you can develop these qualities while you are a student at OCOM."
In order to be eligible, an individual must be either an OCOM applicant or accepted into the master's or doctoral program for Fall 2010 or enrolled as a master's or doctoral student (half-time or greater) for Spring quarter 2010 with intention to be enrolled for academic year 2010-2011.
Scholarship applicants must complete a typed, double-spaced three-page (or 750-word) essay, without a name or other identifying information, and a scholarship application to the college front desk by 5 PM on Friday, April 30, 2010. Applicants will be notified of the results before June 30, 2010.
For more information and a link to the scholarship application, please visit the OCOM Web site.
