AOM Day Proclaimed by Portland Mayor Charlie Hales
In an official proclamation by Portland Mayor Charlie Hales, all city residents are encouraged to understand, "the long and rich history of traditional medicine that has been used for thousands of years to diagnose and treat illness...[and] those in need of medical services [seek] the full realm of treatment and seek competent and professional care." AOM Day is observed internationally on October 24 as part of an effort to increase public awareness of the medicine.
OCOM celebrates AOM Day with an Open House: Friday, October 23
5:30 PM to 6:30 PM, "Demystifying Chinese Medicine," presented by faculty member Greg Livingston, PhD (China), LAc.
Complimentary group acupuncture treatments from 3:00 to 5:00 PM (4th floor Group Treatment Room).
The OCOM Herbal Medicinary and the college's bookstore will feature tea sampling, Chinese herbal displays and free giveaways on the first floor from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
OCOM Alumni give back! Join their campaign today
This fall, OCOM's amazing community of alumni are joining together to make a BIG IMPACT through their generous charitable contributions in support of OCOM's programs. The campaign is already off to an incredible start, with all funds directly helping transform health care one student and one patient at a time.
Thank you to those alums that have already made a donation! If you haven't had the chance yet, you can still join the campaign and give online today!
When you shop at AmazonSmile, Amazon donates 0.5% of the purchase price to Oregon College of Oriental Medicine. Bookmark this link and support us every time you shop.
Research Updates
Trustee Charles Elder, MD Recent Study Sparks Conversation
People with chronic pain commonly seek acupuncture care, but many don't tell their physician about it, Elder reveals in a new study. In his report in the American Journal of managed care, he was surprised to find that of 6,068 chronic pain patients who responded to a questionnaire, 32 percent said they used acupuncture, but approximately one third of those patients didn't tell their doctor. Learn more about this study based on members of Kaiser Permanente Northwest, a group model health maintenance organization based in Portland.
Faculty member Lee Hullender-Rubin, DAOM, LAc on Infertility
"Impact of whole systems traditional Chinese medicine on in-vitro fertilization outcomes" is now available for download. This article detailing her retrospective cohort analysis of patient charts involving 1,231 women who went through IVF treatments between 2005 and 2010, 119 of whom received "whole-system traditional Chinese medicine intervention" as part of their prenatal care. Hullender Rubin discovered this approach was associated with more live births and fewer "biochemical pregnancies," which she defined as testing positive but with virtually no likelihood of the embryo being viable. "This is good preliminary evidence that suggests TCM as it's practiced in the real world may positively impact IVF outcomes," Hullender Rubin said in an interview with straight.com. "And we don't have a lot of evidence about that." Find the full study.
Acutrials Upgrade
AcuTrials has been improving searches for acupuncture research since 2010 thanks to its comprehensive catalogue of AOM keywords. Now with a new virtual interface for easier use!
Ben Marx, MAcOM, LAc, Research Associate, represented OCOM at the inaugural conference for the PROMIS Health Organization in Philadelphia. This multiday interdisciplinary forum examined aspects of assessing and using patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in research and clinical settings. Among Chinese medicine schools, OCOM has been a front-runner in integrating the collection of patient-reported outcomes into its intern clinics. In 2009, OCOM added three PROMIS questionnaires to assess the effects of acupuncture and Chinese medicine on our patients' health. Read more.
SAR Conference
OCOM is a proud sponsor of the 2015 Society for Acupuncture Research Conference in Boston, MA. "Reaching across Disciplines to Broaden the Acupuncture Research Network," will culminate in a day of programming hosted with two other organizations: the Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) and the Fascia Research Society (FRS). Read more and register today.
Continuing Education
The Treatment of Gynecological Conditions
with Essential Oils and Herbs - Module I
with Peter Holmes, LAc, MH
14 NCCAOM PDAs available |15 California CEUs available
PREREGISTRATION IS REQUIRED
November 7 and 8 (Saturday and Sunday); 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM, both days
OCOM campus, 75 NW Couch Street, Portland, OR 97209
Gynecological disorders make up a large part of a modern practice. Today, many of these conditions are not based on simple complaints, such as menstrual pain, but are based on a Western diagnosis, such as estrogen or progesterone dominance or deficiency. Because Chinese medicine excels at treating larger patterns of disharmony, it can help us today to recognize specific hormonal, endocrine and tissue state syndromes. This integrative, systemic, functional approach gives us several important advantages in clinical practice. First, knowing the endocrine dynamics of a condition can greatly enhance our treatment strategies and produce better results. Second, it provides us with a much larger range of treatment options, including hormone regulating essential oils such as Geranium, Clary sage and Black spruce oil in addition to acupuncture treatment. Finally, educating our patients about their condition from this integrative perspective will greatly increase their confidence in a positive treatment outcome.
Save the Date! The Annual Alumni CE Event is June 4, 2016.
Save the Date: April 16, 2016
OCOM's June 27 Cherry Blossom Gala was a resounding success, bringing together 180 alumni, students, staff, faculty and community partners for a unique "night market" experience. Contributions from our Lotus sponsors ---- NW Natural, The CHP Group, The Oregonian/ OregonLive.com, Elizabeth Wakeman Hendersen Charitable Foundation ---- helped fill three floors with magic, music, a photobooth and spa treatments. In addition to enjoying a great party, attendees helped the college raise $39,535 for OCOM and those it serves. Photos can be viewed on OCOM's Facebook page or by following these links to the Panda-monium photobooth and event photo albums: link and link.
If you missed the fun this year, save the date for the fourth annual event, to be held on OCOM campus the evening of April 16, 2016.
