Poll Results - April 2002

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Poll Results for the following Question:

If you had to do it all over again, would you still become an acupuncturist or doctor of Oriental medicine?

Results:

Yes
60.4%
No
39.6%

Total Respondents: 437

Comments:

Note: These comments are reproduced as written by visitors to this Web site.
They have not been edited for content, grammar, or spelling.

Anonymous
Yes It is the only career of the three I've had that I enjoy. I know I make a difference in others' lives and I have the opportunity to continually grow as a professional and as an individual.

acunick@hotmail.com
Like Chinese Medicine I can not answer yes or no. If I may add my two cents, the medicine is great and that aspect if wonderful. However, in terms of politics, being such an upcoming field there is way too much disarray. Each state is different with laws, some don't even have any, people have all types of education some good some terrible, medical doctors can take a 200 hour course and use acupuncture, not only that but people think that because they are a medical doctor that they know what they are doing when it comes to TCM. You can see this field has lots to work toward. On top of that, we can't even seem to get people of the same profession together on may issues. It is pathetic, we need unity and power in numbers in order to make a change! As you can see, yes and no is not quite enough. Best of luck!
Dominic Sembello, L.Ac., Dipl.Ac.

Anonymous
Yes I am so very grateful for my acupuncture practice where I have the freedom and honour to be a witness to healing in a very profound way.

alonzoh@zahav.net.il
Yes hay.
my name is alon harel and i need your help with information about crohn`s ,cupuncture point ,herbs ,and diet.
i`m asking for this information becoues i didn`t find any information in books.
thank you for tha help.
alon harel

Anonymous
Yes what a wonderful life!

Anonymous
No The education within this country is not worth the time and money. I tried two different TCM schools and I looked at many more. The education is substandard and the programs are all essentially the same. There is no spirit left in the medicine. It is not wholistic. It is cookie-cutter medicine applied to a set of presented symptoms. I wish I could say that I would go to China or Japan instead of attending school in the US. The problem would be the shame I would feel still being associated with the current level of practice within this country.

drjvis@yahoo.com
Yes I would do it again, but it has been a wild ride and, to date, not one that has given me the recognition for my work or the status and income that my 20+ years of work and service call for.Then again, I was not then (at the beginning) looking for a career, but was called to do this for the adventure and for the opportunity to serve. I only wish that the society would allow us to serve more fully...

Anonymous
Yes yes, but i would have chosen a school that teaches more useful clinical tools. my school ignored or barely gave an effort in teaching me practice management, western drugs and their role in tcm, and differentiating modern illnesses.

gentleht@earthlink.net
Yes Absolutely! I love what I do. This medicine which I
stumbled across years ago, has the possibility to give
many people in this country compassionate care and
effective results for many ailments that are killing
people in this country. Asthma is a good example.
Western treatments exist but the mortality rate is
rising. I have successfully treated and read about
others successfully treating this problem. Someday
soon we will have educated to our western counterparts
what we can do for their patents to improve overall
heath care in this and other countries.

Anonymous
Yes I am very proud to be a part of this profession. It is a great service to the community. There is always more to learn. It is very important to have work that is meaningful. This is very satisfying.

jeanettef@gorge.net
Yes Yes, I love doing acupuncture. However, I feel the profession is still not doing enough to promote the education & awareness among the public in order to recognize us as a valid profession. It is very hard to pay back the student loans when you have to constantly struggle with marketing & dealing with insurance companies who refuse to pay.

Anonymous
Yes I graduated two years ago and am having trouble starting a practice and have a crippling school loan to repay. I am working a full-time job-not doing acupuncture--just to live and pay my loan. So why I would do it over again is beyond common sense. But I still love learning about it and when I do treat a patient successfully it is a good thing. I am from Illinois and law is not great here but I hope that one day it will open up.

Anonymous
Yes Yes I would, but with qualification.
This field has been a long hard road with a lot of responsibility without support. It has been a rich, rewarding study; and a somewhat lonely path.
It has nourished my mind and heart. The profession though is too divided and offers little support and respect which makes it difficult to continue.
I have a successful practice through sheer will, persistance, and dedication...but feel the profession
hasn't supported the practitioners. Often organizations are closed circuits awarding themselves with titles...often the beauty and the art of the field are lost.

Anonymous
Yes Studying TCM is very hard in the way that you mature through the years. it has taken a lot of me and has given me much more as a person.

donnamcadams@cox.net
Yes This is a challenging and exciting time to be starting as an acupuncturist. Little by little, providers of traditional western medicine are becoming more curious about what we can do to improve the health of our patients. Hospitals are opening CAM centers because their patients are asking for it - and we must be ready to discuss our medicine, its history and theory and have proof (i.e valid research) to demonstrate its effectiveness. It will be a while before we're "main stream" or before we earn the respect we deserve from the western providers. Thankfully our patients make it worth the wait.

acudocfritz@yahoo.com
Yes Yes I would do it all over again, but knowing what I know now I would ask much more of my school. The schools are teaching minimum competency in Acupuncture and Chinese Herbals. What I need now and am having to pursue on my own is anatomy, physiology, and basic western understanding of the body. I also recieved insufficient preparation of setting up a practice. In many Dental and Chiropractic schools practice development and managment cources are taught. The one I recieved in gradschool was just an introduction and has proven to be insuffiecient. Compentancey in practice is more than just diagnosing and treating. It is being there over time for your patients.