Mark Kosta, RN, ADN, MSAOM

Mark Kosta has been in the medical profession since 1977; first as a corpsman in the United States Navy, then as an LPN, and now as an registered nurse (RN). He has worked in a wide variety of positions in the medical community, including risk management, continuous quality improvement, and director of personnel of a 120-bed facility. He is a recent graduate (MSAOM) of the Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture University. As of 2020, he was working three 12-hour shifts a week in a 24-bed surgical ICU treating active COVID-19 patients.

Previous Articles

TCM for Primary Dysmenorrhea
February 2021 (Vol. 22, Issue 02)
Putting PPE Into Practice
September 2020 (Vol. 21, Issue 09)
Trending
Acupuncture & Acupressure
It’s Time to Stop Prescribing Points
It's Time to Stop Prescribing Points

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.

Bruce W. Park, DACM
Acupuncture & Acupressure
Open the Orifices: Point Combinations for Allergy Presentations
Open the Orifices: Point Combinations for Allergy Presentations

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.

Craig Williams, LAc, AHG
News / Profession
Profession at a Crossroads: What Must Change
Profession at a Crossroads: What Must Change

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.

Shabnam Pourhassani, LAc, QME, DACM