education

An Acupuncturist Goes to PA School

An Acupuncturist Goes to PA School

My last major update was during the early months of the pandemic in 2020. Much has changed since then. When I closed my practice in February 2020, I thought I was going to continue as an acupuncture practitioner. The pandemic forced a change in those plans, as it made so many of us confront new realities and reassess our priorities.

Here I explain a bit about how I got to where I am now, studying to become a Physician Assistant (or PA, also known as a Physician Associate), and where I hope to be headed next.

Best Books for Learning About Acupuncture

Best Books for Learning About Acupuncture

Whether you’re a patient or another medical provider, you’ve heard the benefits of acupuncture, maybe even experienced them yourself, and want to learn more. You don’t have to spend four years in a masters program the way an acupuncturist does and you don’t have to dig deep into the theory, though that may interest you as well. This collection is in response to one of the most common questions I’m asked: “What can I read to better understand acupuncture and Chinese medicine?”

Here are four very different book options (with a few bonus suggestions) that I recommend to anyone who wants to explore this beautiful and effective medical system as it works in and beyond the treatment room.

Avoiding Bruising During IVF Injections: Tips from an Acupuncturist

Avoiding Bruising During IVF Injections: Tips from an Acupuncturist

I’m an acupuncturist who has been supporting fertility patients for the last several years and I recently finished my own first round of IVF. Having gone through the onslaught of multiple daily injections, I realized I may have an approach to injections that the average fertility patient may not know could help them. So here’s how I avoided bruising during my treatment and you can too.

The basics? Palpate, ice, alcohol swab, let the alcohol dry, distract, inject, sustained pressure, ice again.

Let’s go over this in more detail including why these steps are helpful:

Treating Stress, Anxiety, and Depression with Acupuncture

Treating Stress, Anxiety, and Depression with Acupuncture

Positive Vibes Only? Definitely not. Negative emotions are natural and can signal a need to change our relationships, environment, or behavior. It’s when negative emotions become chronic and feel like they arise without cause, that you turn to guiding practitioners like therapists and acupuncturists who can help you figure out what forest of feelings you've wandered into and how you can find your way back out again.

Whether your depression, anxiety, and stress are chronic or not, tamping down negative feelings or denying them in favor of only positive feelings is neither realistic nor helpful. What is helpful and what acupuncture helps facilitate is giving all your feelings a space and distance from yourself to be acknowledged, fully felt, and then allowed to pass. That can be an extended grieving period and or as short as a few minutes to recognize that you're getting frustrated and need to breathe deeper and take a walk.

Understanding what you're feeling, giving that feeling space, and then letting it go is essential in our modern world. With these skills, you can begin to move past the thicket of a bad stretch. And when you have one bad day, you'll realize that's part of being human, not a sign that you're broken.

Understanding Acupuncture Through Children's Books

Understanding Acupuncture Through Children's Books

Whether you're shopping for a child or looking for a good way into the world of acupuncture yourself, these children's books are worth checking out. Here are my takes on each of the children's books on acupuncture I've encountered so far:

MAYA AND FRIENDS VISIT THE ACUPUNCTURIST

By Samara White, L.Ac. and illustrated by Troy White

Children's books have to streamline concepts and so are often unexpectedly helpful in explaining complicated ideas simply and clearly. This book has been a big hit in my waiting rooms and at health fairs. In it, a little girl named Maya wakes up with sniffles and sneezes, then listens to the advice of her friends, Ellie the Elephant and Bobby Bear, and goes with them to visit Dr. Meow. I love elephants so Ellie totally won me over (so cute when she gets cupping!). Dr. Meow also sends a very important message for children (and adults!) when she makes it very clear that nothing happens to your body without your consent. And how can you resist a teddy bear marveling at meridians?

Spring Gleaning: Education Update

Spring Gleaning: Education Update

One of my favorite aspects of the acupuncture profession is its requirement that you be a lifelong student. And because I get excited when I start looking at potential classes, I've somehow found myself anticipating the remainder of my required classes (continuing education units) for the year all in the next month! Of course that doesn't mean I won't take more just for fun...

Last week I attended a lecture on Working With the Heavy Cannabis User with medical herbalist Paul Bergner as there is so much to learn about the effects and side effects of cannabis whether used for medical or recreational use. We set politics and legality aside and just dealt with the cases. I now have a much better understanding of the effects of cannabis on body systems, side effects to watch for and make patients aware of before they consider using it for a given condition, and how to approach weaning off of medical use if side effects become unmanageable. As an acupuncturist I can't prescribe cannabis, but I did feel it was essential that I expand my understanding of the way its use as a medication or recreational substance might affect my patients so we can do our best work together.