AIG Posts another Loss
In February, Acupuncture Today reported on the financial difficulty American International Group (AIG) was undergoing. AIG, among other things, underwrites malpractice policies that are provided to acupuncturists. The company has just posted another quarterly loss of $8.9 billion and warned that it may need additional government support in order to help pay back taxpayers after a $182.3 billion bailout.
The insurer stated in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that without additional government support, "In the future, there could exist substantial doubt about AIG's ability to continue as a going concern."
Malpractice insurance for health care providers has been sold under "Lexington" and "National Union," both AIG affiliate companies. This latest loss raises more questions as to AIG's capability to provide proper coverage to policy holders. Acupuncture Today will continue to follow this story and provide updates.
ACAOM Moves Forward on First Professional Doctorate
The Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM) announced that it decided to move ahead with planning toward its controversial first professional doctorate, according to a statement from the accrediting body following its February 2010 meeting.
The agency, which is charged with providing educational requirements and accreditation for schools of acupuncture and Oriental medicine, which reviewed more than 3,000 letters and comments on the issue of first professional doctorate, concluded: "Based on this review the Commission, in its exercise of professional judgment, is satisfied that there is sufficient support to justify the further development of first professional doctoral standards. Accordingly, the Commission voted to authorize the ACAOM Doctoral Task Force to complete its work in developing standards for accrediting first professional doctoral programs in AOM for the Commission's review and consideration. In taking this action, the Commission does not take any position on whether or not the first professional doctorate should be the educational requirements for professional practice in AOM, which is the prerogative of state legislative and AOM regulatory authorities."
The ACAOM plans to reconvene its task force to refine the first draft of its proposed standards. These will then be sent out to the AOM community for review. Several groups have spearheaded opposition to a first professional doctorate, led by the Community Acupuncture Network.
Trudy McAlister Scholarship Fund Announces 2010 Winners
Since 2007, the Trudy McAlister Fund has awarded scholarships to deserving students of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. The recipients this year are Patrick Kelley of Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in New York and Ian Koebner from the New England School of Acupuncture. Each student received a $1,000 scholarship.
The nonprofit Trudy McAlister Foundation is a fund established for the support of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine students in the United States studying in an accredited program (ACAOM), and for the support of research and related activities that promote the advancement of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.
Members of the Scholarship Committee are Gene Bruno, William Pettis, Pamela Lee and Rhonda Wilbur. These advisors make the recommendations for final approval of scholarships. The advisors encourage colleges, individuals and organizations to make donations to the Trudy McAlister Foundation. For more information about the Trudy McAlister Fund, contact Gene Bruno at DrGeneBruno@gmail.com.
ACTCM Celebrates Its 30th Anniversary
On April 18, from 2-5 p.m., the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ACTCM), located in San Francisco, will celebrate its 30th anniversary. It will be held at the San Francisco War Memorial Building and admission is free.
Highlights will include a variety of performances, including a presentation by monks of the Shaolin Temple, Chinese folk dancers and a traditional lion dance.
To RSVP, please contact Rebecca Wilkowski, ACTCM Director of Communications, at media@actcm.edu or (415) 355-1601 x12.
Chronic pain afflicts over 20% of the adult population. Sadly, most MDs have essentially no education in treating pain, beyond offering a few toxic medications. Then they tend to steer people with pain away from those health practitioners who are trained. This puts the acupuncture community on the front lines for addressing this epidemic.
When the body is going through a stressful event, the sympathetic system is activated. This activation will help the body with a life-threatening situation. If this state is activated for prolonged periods of time, it starts to consume energy. These traumatic events that generate stressors in the autonomic nervous system (ANS) will eventually become internalized.
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One of the things that makes acupuncture so difficult to measure is that the medicine actually does contain some esoteric aspects. There have been numerous studies that demonstrate the neurochemical reasoning behind why acupuncture points stimulate the autonomic nervous system to enact change However, not all the benefits of TCM can easily be measured by randomized, controlled trials. But does that make them fundamentally and definitively untrue?
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