The month of May brought many interesting activities. As I have said in many previous columns this year, this profession is moving in a very exciting direction. Make sure you are getting involved. If you're not, you just might get left behind.
I had the privilege of attending the Southwest Symposium in Austin, Texas, in early May. This event has been going strong for some time and always provides wonderful opportunities for networking with peers and seeing what is new with various acupuncture companies as well. Conferences like the Southwest Symposium really do offer attendees many professional advantages.
First and foremost, it is a place where others in the profession get together and share stories, successes and just get to renew old acquaintences and meet many new others in the profession. The head of the Harvard University MBA program has stated that,"All successful businesses are built on rich personal relationship." Society, cultures and groups are changing almost everyday. Families move an average every four years. It is a positive position for an acupuncturist to know other professionals around the United States. It helps patients with referrals when a family member or friend lives in another city, town or location and they want to find an acupuncturist for them. It is also an opportunity to see other speakers and vendors that you may not have seen before. For more information, visit Southwest Symposium.
Importance of Connections
The Council of State Associations is endeavoring to create some of these relationships. There are many similarities between states and their issues. These can range from dry-needling to legislative challenges. Scopes of practice may be different, but also the same in many aspects.
Attending a school or state association sponsored convention or seminar also helps those entities raise some money and, as an attendee, you fulfill your continuting education requirements for your state licensure. These conference and seminars are also a wonderful opportunity to see what new products are out there and what new ideas your peers are implementing. You might just find the practice solution you were searching for. I certainly hope to see you at the next event.
I also was in attendance at the seminar of the American Association of Medical Acupuncturists in Saint Louis. This group was wondering if Licensed Acupuncturists would like to attend. The sharing of knowledge would be a boon to both professions, as well as a way to get to know each other. It was interesting to listen to how these professionals explain and talk about the medicine. I listened to David Miller, MD, LAc, talk about his practice and how he sees this medicine. I want to thank Dr. Miller for living and sharing in both worlds. Next year, the conference will be held in Orange County, Calif. This is my back yard and I would like to see our profession well represented.
News In Brief
The Oregon College of Oriental Medicine (OCOM) recently announced the selection of Trustee Deborah Howe, PhD, FAICP as Interim President, pending the retirement of current President Michael Gaeta, EdD, after his 10 years of service to OCOM. Dr. Howe has served on the OCOM Board of Trustees since 1998 and brings visionary leadership, extensive planning and development experience to her new role. Howe also has 30 years of experience in higher education, during which she served in both administrative and faculty positions at Temple University and Portland State University.
"I am looking forward to returning to a wonderful, cosmopolitan city," said Dr. Howe. "As an urban planner, my professional and scholarly work focuses on creating healthy communities with an emphasis on planning for an aging society and creating built environments that allows for active, healthy living. Portland is the epitome of a healthy community and as such is a wonderful setting for OCOM. The college's downtown campus contributes to the city's livability."
For more information about OCOM, visit www.ocom.edu.
Governor Gavin Newsom has retracted the proposed budget cuts to the Medi-Cal acupuncture program for low-income Californians for the 2024-2025 budget year. This decision marks a significant victory for health care providers and advocates who have long championed acupuncture as a vital component of comprehensive medical care.
There’s no doubt that many of your patients visit your practice because they are in pain. And there’s certainly no doubt that curcumin from turmeric (Curcuma longa) can be incredibly effective in stopping that pain, whether due to chronic conditions like arthritis or acute pain from intensive workouts. But your patients may also benefit from curcumin for other reasons.
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Fair and appropriate wages in health care are typically based on economic evaluations. A simple literature review illuminates that acupuncture is missing economic evaluations; which implies you are either underpaid or overpaid. The complexity of services provided by most American acupuncturists, which they are trained and certified to provide, must be reimbursed fairly.
