Don't You Dare Call Me a Backpacker

ME

Is there anything I should be doing or reading to help me prepare for school? 

ADMISSION

Take a vacation.  Don't read anything related to Oriental Medicine.  Don't even think about it.  You're going to spend the next 3 years of your life in a highly intense medical program so... Take a vacation.

I'm finally done with A&P II (Woke up to the words: oogenesis and glomerular  filtration wheeling around in my head.  Post-Traumatic-Stress Disorder?); and I'm off to Nicaragua hasta manana for a WHOLE WEEK!  True, compared to my 2-years of traveling, a week is a blink but I'm so done traveling with a one-way ticket that a week-long holiday... A VAY-CAY... Is just fine with me. 

I don't have to worry about getting dengue (again!) or being dropped off in the middle of nowhere with vultures trying to steal the little stuff I have because... I'm taking the freakin' tourist shuttle! 

Also, I can relax and not have to stress about finding the cheapest guesthouse (Even if it has cat-sized rats & heroin addicts running around who bite you in the middle of the night.  The addicts, and occasionally, the rats.) because...

I will be staying here...

And doing this...

And much-needed this...

Devouring this...

Which will fuel me up for this...

It's been too long since I've done these...

Stoked to see if I can do this...

But I'm really looking forward to doing this...

And giving gratitude to this...



More Than Sticking Needles: 1st Year Classes

How freakin' adorable is my school's mascot?!

1st Year Classes (Fall - Spring)

• TCM Theory I, II, II

Foundation in theoretical concepts of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

• Oriental Medicine Research

Introduce a set of competencies for the research literate practitioner.

• Community Outreach Practicum

Develop skills and experience in educating and informing the general public about TCM.

• Point Location I, II, III

Lecture and hands-on practice to accurately locate points and channels.

• Qi Gong I, II, III

Direct application of the medicinal benefits of qi gong.

• 

  Medical Tuina massage

  Tuina I (II, III, IV)

Chinese massage.

• Shiatsu I (II, III, IV)

Japanese massage.

• Medical History East & West

Historical and cultural perspective on the changes within the health community by tracing the historical developments of both Oriental medicine and modern biomedicine.  Emphasis on the cultural, environmental & socio-political interactions.

• Respectful Touch

Skills of self-care, boundary settinga dn communication.

• Living Anatomy

Understanding the bony and soft-tissue structures of the body through external palpitations.

• Introduction to Chinese Herbs

Herbal medicine series of individual herbs, substances and herbal formulas.  Discussions of preparation, formulas, precautions, problems with herbs and relevant research.





Herbology


• Chinese Herbal Medicine: The Pharmacopoeia

Study of approximately 300 of the most commonly used medicinal substances in TCM. 

• Observational Skills

Clinical introduction and studying non-needling acupuncture techniques (moxibustion, cupping and gua sha).

OCOM requires all graduate students to complete 3,400 hours of educational training. 

On top of that, we  need our pre-med requirements all sorted out (Biology, Chemistry, Anatomy I & II, Physiology I & II and Psychology)

(Note: Western Pre-med: Biology, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, A&P and Physics.)


Mr. Gladwell, does studying count towards the 10,000 hours?

Typically, the graduate program takes 4 years...

 I'm doing it in 3-years. 
(Ya, dang right, Namaste, fo sho!)

There are a few differences...

For example, 3-year program students are required to immediately take 6-weeks of Tuina and Shiatsu in the fall; then choose one as a concentration.

Another difference is, 3-year program students are apparently, masochists.

I wanted to share the educational requirements needed in order to become a licensed Oriental medical practitioner.  At first, I was really hesitant in studying OM (TCM) because I wasn't sure if I had to compromise my own personal beliefs in health - A complementary system. 



Tim Daly plays an OM on ABC "Private Practice"


Fortunately, most TCM schools want their students to have a solid foundation in Western sciences; and as OM becomes more widely accepted, we need to have a Western biomedicine background in order to just talk to our other health colleagues - Especially, if we score a job at a "Private Practice" in Santa Monica with a recently divorced dcotor who looks a lot like Taye Diggs!

The biggest misconception about OM practitioners is that we take a couple of classes and receive some Cracker-Jack certification.  When in fact, we take pre-med classes THEN instead of heading off to John Hopkins for medical school -- We go to OCOM.

I remember during my first visit to OCOM, the Dean mentioned this was medical school. 

Intense and empowering... And a shit ton of work. 

(My words, not his - But I'm sure this is what he meant)

We have our own diagnostic tools; and are required to work clinical rounds both as interns and externs.  Unlike our Western medicine colleagues, we spend the first year of our school
learning a vastly foreign concept of the human body; and trying to find some way of making sense of it. 

I've received a fantastic advice from a current 1st year student whom I met while visiting the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ACTCM):  

Stoked to learn about sports medicine.

...  The concepts are going to feel really overwhelming at first, and you'll feel behind, that maybe you should've come in knowing more (because they just kind of dive into the material), but that's normal and everyone feels that way. ... It's hard to see the bigger picture and to feel like you can't put the pieces together. But this is normal, and don't stress out and like I said, everyone says it all starts to come together after you've been in school about a year.  

Like a Virgin



Beginner: Yogi



"If you carry the child within you... That's what works."

- Barry Cunningham, Publisher of Chicken House Children's Book

Last week, a friend of mine (I'm re-considering this term, as we speak) gave me shit for not being a "good surfer". 



I was confused by this word, "good" ; and in complete honesty, hurt by his intention. 



Beginner: Fitness model



I trekked all the way out to Far Rockaway, taking 7 transfers in 104 degree heat just for mediocre waves that were 2 feet.  It was a journey.  Like all journeys, I met an incredible cast of characters from the train conductor who talked about his surf experience while helping me get Miss Charlene (my board) to the train; to the nursing student who always wanted to learn how to surf but his inability to swim was holding him back; to Jillian, a badass chica who learned how to surf on her 40th birthday and was getting married to her fiance of 15 years that weekend when the monumental same-sex marriage bill was be instated.

And that was just the ride TO the Rockaways.




Beginner: Tea Fields Hiker

When I finally arrived, I was warmly embraced by a community of locals who allowed me to catch a ride on their turf.  We exchanged friendly chats about our boards, howled, "PARTY WAVE!" when we all caught it; and hooted when we watched someone else go for it.  I was pretty stoked at myself for being able to paddle out, sit on my board and even catch a few.  I hadn't gone all summer and just went out twice last year so you bet I was high-five-ing myself for this.  Plus. an old mate from way back, just bought a board; and I forgot how much fun it is to just be in the ocean with one person you know. 


Then it hit me, I'm not the type of surfer who's out there wanting to show off some tricks.  I don't necessarily want to get "good".  I'm a beginner; and with that title, I realized I still have this naive innocence about the whole thing.  I go out when waves are 2 feet.  I go out when there's no power behind the swells.  I go out when the winds coming for the West.  I go out when I'm wearing the wrong bikini bottom and I end up mooning the entire East coast.  



Beginner: Thrill Seeker

I go out to laugh, laugh and laugh. 

I go out because it makes me happy.

I go out because it's the most absurd thing to do.



Beginner (unlicensed): Hell's Angel



In the past 5 years, I've gone through some major difficult moments in my life.  When I look back, I can't believe I've actually survived.  I can't believe it so much that I can't stop laughing about the whole thing.   I cry, I still get emotional but humility is one of the few things in life that can make me laugh and cry at the same time. 

It's impossible to go through Darkness without it bitch-slapping you in the face; and making you realize (as cliche as it may sound), Life, really is, too short to take it all that seriously. 

It's sad when we limit ourselves from new experiences because of our unrelenting fear of looking like a goofball. 

I hear it all the time:

Beginner: Ocean lover



"Oh, I'd love to travel but I can't right now."  "Yeah, I want to dance but not right now."  "I've always wanted to learn how to play the guitar but I don't have the time."

Sure, I have my moments of can'ts, don'ts and won'ts:

"I'm too old to be wearing low-riders."  "I'm too old to be dating a 19 year old." 



Beginner: Cave Woman

I'm gonna stand by these can'ts, don'ts and won'ts because I can't breathe properly in skinny jeans; and the thought of kickin' it with someone born in the 90's sounds... Slightly illegal. 

But...

I'm not too damn old to be doing a lot of things; and people like George, an 88 year-old farmer I met in Kauai,who ziplined (for the 2nd time!) through the mountains and waterfalls of Hawaii, all the while, hitting on our 45 year-old guide, reminds me it's important to remember to live fearlessly like a kid... Or at the very least, a horny 15-year old.

Either way, I'm guaranteed to have some good fun.

On a side note:  This "friend" doesn't even surf.  Doesn't even travel.  Doesn't do much but get high, get arrested and talk shit.  Lately, I've been heavy into the concept of Intent.  Clearly, his intent was to get a rise (as he always likes to do).  In our 20's, this was funny.  We're now in our 30's; and I've noticed that his shit talking ways just doesn't get by anymore.  No one laughs; and it's actually uncomfortable.  I've been feeling for his situation as of lately; but I can't keep being positive for someone who continues to be negative.  Any kid knows that's totally f-ed up.

Beginner's Luck I found this place...