International News

• The WHO “Beijing Declaration” Could Mean Greater AOM Acceptance in U.S.
• Links to International AOM Articles

• Report from ASNY

National AOM Issues

• Integrator Blog News & Reports

• The Key to Higher Performance – Get On the Same Page!
• Trust Your Teammates: Everyone Wins

AAAOM Activities

• Chinese Advisory Council Appointments
• Interview with Joe Chang
• First Professional Doctorate Survey

• November Links

Continuing Education and Events

• Research Education Project at Northwestern Health Sciences University Aims to Improve the Practice of Complementary and Alternative Medicine
• Free Teleclass Wednesday December 10, 2008 at 5 PM Pacific Time

• An Eye-Opening Conference!
• Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): The Disorder, Its Diagnosis and Treatment

• Dear Prospective Advertiser:

Greetings AOM Members and Colleagues:

Thanksgiving means reflecting on how rich our lives are. So we, at AAAOM, thank you for all the support you give to the profession. We thank you for your membership in the AAAOM. We recognize that our association’s strength directly connects to each one of you who has chosen to join. And we thank the AAAOM-SO members who represent the largest increase of members in the AAAOM. It may sound like a graduation cliché to say “you are the future,” but this is a fact for the AOM profession. We thank the AAAOM-SO for its passionate engagement in many activities and issues. Good things are visible on the horizon for the profession and our ability to work together to achieve common goals.

We can think of no better time to meditate equally on those less fortunate—on those among us facing struggles of a larger order. On that account, this issue of the Qi-Unity Report features an interview with Joe Chang, a pioneering acupuncturist who works currently to integrate AOM protocols to treat PTSD in the military. His ongoing effort represents an unparalleled opportunity to relieve suffering. The specter of PTSD is far larger than we may realize, as the condition afflicts more than 30% of all soldiers that have served in Afghanistan and Iraq. Joe Chang discusses how AOM can ameliorate this enormous problem and what his work represents in terms of practitioner opportunities.

Jim Pastore, AAAOM-SO vice president, contributes a study of PTSD to accompany the interview; this is an exhaustive but concisely written summary designed to educate those wishing to better understand the disorder. In addition, AAAOM-SO Vice President of Communications Elisa Behnk contributes her reflections on what the recent AAAOM conference in Chicago means from a student’s perspective.

You can read a slice of the ASNY newsletter from New York and investigate the best of the AOM internet articles through the domestic and international links we have gathered for you. But don’t stop there! John Weeks contributes integration-based articles from his Integrator Blog, a selection that always takes the pulse of the integration trend and encapsulates a vision of where the profession stands—as well as where it is going. What about international events and what they mean for health care policy in America? Charles Ignacio Roman looks into the WHO “Beijing Statement” and what this may imply for integration in the U.S.

Look to the Qi-Unity Report for information on the issues that affect your life and practice in AOM.

The AAAOM is interested in your feedback. We invite you to use our General Feedback page to let us know your opinions and insights.

International News

The WHO “Beijing Declaration” Could Mean Greater AOM Acceptance in U.S.

http://www.aaaomonline.info/qiunity/08/11/1a.html

Links to International AOM Articles
Check out these links to recent international AOM articles.

http://www.aaaomonline.info/qiunity/08/11/1b.html

State Legislative Activities

Report from ASNY
This excerpt derives from the ASNY newsletter and is printed here with ASNY permission.

http://www.aaaomonline.info/qiunity/08/11/2a.html

National AOM Issues

Integrator Blog News & Reports
As an on-going monthly feature, the Qi-Unity Report continues to feature articles of interest from the Integrator, edited by John Weeks. The articles for November and the beginning of the Obama era focus on politics and policy: A look at Obama appointments who appear excellent for integrative practice with some questions from the “health freedom” community, A move to a coalition promoting wellness in reform – is this a direction for AOM?, Comments on NIH NCCAM research priorities and a more meaningful agenda for our fields, and A perspective on why integrative practice is missing from the health reform debate.

http://www.aaaomonline.info/qiunity/08/11/3b.html

Practice Management

The Key to Higher Performance – Get On the Same Page!

http://www.aaaomonline.info/qiunity/08/11/4a.html

Trust Your Teammates: Everyone Wins

http://www.aaaomonline.info/qiunity/08/11/4b.html

AAAOM Activities

Chinese Advisory Council Appointments

Ann Y. Wang, Chair
Christine Chang, Co-Chair
(Board of Directors for CAC) Johanna Yen
Co-Chair Doreen Chen, LAc, OMD
Council member Shen Ping Liang, LAc
Council member Brian Loh
Council member Jing Chen, Treasurer

Interview with Joe Chang
Joe Chang, MAOM, DiplOM, LAc, works with Med-National, a company that contracts with the military for its healthcare needs. Recently Joe has been setting up ambitious projects designed to treat PTSD with AOM at military bases. This interview explores this trend and what it may mean for practitioners, for their military patients, and for government health-care expenditures. His work could lead to opportunities for AAAOM members.

http://www.aaaomonline.info/qiunity/08/11/5b.html

First Professional Doctorate Survey
The AAAOM is gathering information from the AAAOM membership to assess opinion on the First Professional Doctorate issue.

An explanation of the general terms involved and the accompanying survey have already been sent to the membership, via an action alert on November 21, 2008. If you have not already participated in this survey, please do so now. Responses are due on December 31st, so we request your immediate attention to this process.

http://www.aaaomonline.org/pressroom.asp?pagenumber=48280

Links

November Links
Here you will find a set of links to various AOM articles of note found on the web.

http://www.aaaomonline.info/qiunity/08/11/6a.html

Continuing Education and Events

Research Education Project at Northwestern Health Sciences University Aims to Improve the Practice of Complementary and Alternative Medicine
http://www.aaaomonline.info/qiunity/08/11/7a.html

Free Teleclass Wednesday December 10, 2008 at 5 PM Pacific Time

http://www.aaaomonline.info/qiunity/08/11/7b.html

AAAOM Student Organization

An Eye-Opening Conference!
Elisa Behnk offers a student perspective on the AAAOM conference.

http://www.aaaomonline.info/qiunity/08/11/8a.html

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): The Disorder, Its Diagnosis and Treatment

http://www.aaaomonline.info/qiunity/08/11/8b.html

Products, Services, and Member Savings

Dear Prospective Advertiser:
Take a moment to examine advertising opportunities in the Qi-Unity Report and The American Acupuncturist.

http://www.aaaomonline.info/qiunity/08/11/9a.html

In closing.

As always, your feedback serves as a useful lens through which we may look at how well we are serving our members. Please take a moment to express your thoughts to us.

General Feedback

In Health,

Rebekah Christensen, Executive Director

Douglas Newton, Managing Editor