acupuncture: New member

Sarah (

screamsosoft) wrote in

acupuncture,
@ 2008-05-05 17:27:00

New member
Hi everyone! I am interested in possibly pursuing a career in accupuncture. I am currently employed full-time as a mathematician (so...not related to accupuncture/wellness really at all!). I have been interested in accupuncture for awhile, but I am stuck living where I am right now (Maryland), and didn't think there were any schools around here offering degrees in accupuncture. Well, I just found out that Tai Sophia, which I can see from my office window, is actually a Wellness Institute offering degrees in accupuncture! Very strange and serendipidous. I don't want to get too excited, though, without getting some opinions on this place. Anyone have one? I'm going to attend an open house next week to get some info - just wondering if anyone has any strong opinions one way or the other.

Thanks!

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brynndragon
2008-05-05 10:03 pm UTC (link)

My decision to become an acupuncturist (I'm currently a first-year student) stemmed from a conversation I had with the mother of a friend who went to Tai Sophia. It is a 5 Elements school (IIRC it's the premiere 5 Elements school in the US), which places more emphasis on elemental associations than Traditional Chinese Medicine does (my school, the New England School of Acupuncture, is TCM-based). It's a stylistic thing, neither type of practitioner is better from what I can tell. She rather likes the school (she did convince me to give it a go, after all), but she seems to have had some problems with the licensing exams since they are more TCM oriented - she had to retake one of them.

I know what you mean about being excited and nervous by such serendipity - my school is located one town over from where I've been living for years. I ended up deciding it was the right one for me for various reasons, not just the location, but it was terribly convenient ;).

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	screamsosoft 2008-05-05 11:29 pm UTC (link)
	Hmm, thanks! Great feedback, and something I'll bring up (the emphasis on elemental associations vice TCM) if I end up speaking with an admissions person. (Reply to this)(Parent)

stillwell
2008-05-05 11:48 pm UTC (link)

I've heard good thing in general about TS, and the 5 Element style of practice is a really rich one. Because the licensing exams are all based on TCM every school is required to teach it, even if they have other traditions as their foundation. (I'm in a similar situation because I go to a Claasical Chinese Medicine school - CCM as opposed to TCM.) It might help to get TCM exam guides and tools when licensing time comes.

And hey, my teacher Jeffrey Yuen who started my school has an advanced degree in Mathematics, so I bet you'll find connections between these endeavors :)

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	screamsosoft 2008-05-06 01:56 am UTC (link)
	Thanks! This is great advice to consider. Hah! I bet I would enjoy a conversation with him. And I agree - there are probably some philsophical connections between the two disciplines. Thanks! :) (Reply to this)(Parent)

muppetk
2008-05-06 01:42 am UTC (link)

:) Welcome! I switched to Acupuncture from database programming, so that big a switch is certainly not unheard of. And I find that when talking to new patients, coming from a scientific background gives you more credibility.

Besides, I can now make my favorite (that I came up with) geek joke at you: Allopathic (western) medicine is health in Base 10. Acupuncture and chinese medicine is health in base 37 -- it looks weird as hell, but it's internally consistant and it works. :)

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	screamsosoft 2008-05-06 02:01 am UTC (link)
	Interestingly enough, as I navigate through this quarter life crisis of sorts, I seem to find more and more technical people migrating toward decidedly non-technical interests. It always helps to feel I'm not alone :) Hah! I like that. And I believe it too! (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	muppetk 2008-05-06 02:05 am UTC (link)
	YES! FINALLY SOMEONE WHO UNDERSTANDS MY JOKE! WOOHOO!! :) (Well, technically, I've met one or two other people who understood it, but I don't think they actually believed it.) Good luck with your schooling! (Reply to this)(Parent)

	muppetk 2008-05-06 02:06 am UTC (link)
	Except that I so should've used this icon... (it's possible that my sense of humor is a wee bit off-kilter.) (Reply to this)(Parent)

	zammis 2008-05-06 10:33 am UTC (link)
	I'm a current Tai Sophia student in acupuncture. While it is a 5 element school, we do get some TCM, plus a review course to help with the boards. We have all kinds in my class- liberal arts folks, scientists, programmers. I was a software tester, and my undergrad is in English. Feel free to drop me a message if you want to ask questions. :) (Reply to this)(Thread)

	screamsosoft 2008-05-06 01:37 pm UTC (link)
	Dropping!! (Reply to this)(Parent)

sharpstick
2008-05-08 12:27 am UTC (link)

Your background is really not that unusual... I have an MS in math, then I worked as a database programmer for many years before I went to acupuncture school.

The best piece of adivse that I got when I was trying to decide if I should transfer from The New England School of Acupuncture to the Academy of Oriental Medicine at Austin (where I graduated from) is that you should go to a school in the state you intend to practice because that school will be sure to have a program that will fulfill the requirements to get a license in that state. It does you very little good to spend 4 years in a program only to graduate and find out that you won't be able to get a license in your preferred state without a lot of hoop jumping.

Also, carefully consider the price tag associated with the schools you are interested in (not just the tuition but also the cost of living where it's located). You just will not make that much money fresh out of school, and having $80K in debt will be very different from having $120K in debt.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	screamsosoft 2008-05-08 05:39 pm UTC (link)
	Oh my, I'm glad you mentioned that. I am not planning on staying in MD! I plan to move to Oregon, but I can't move for a few years. (Reply to this)(Parent)

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