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"The National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM^®), ... has just released the results of its recent milestone national Job Task Analysis (JTA) survey,the 2008 Job Task Analysis: A Report to the Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AOM) Profession which is available via the NCCAOM website, www.nccaom.org. 

The primary purpose of the JTA is to provide a blueprint for the development of the NCCAOM certification examinations, which serve as gateway and prerequisite for entry-level practice of AOM in 43 states, plus the District of Columbia. The JTA survey identifies the importance and frequency of tasks performed by NCCAOM Diplomates from various regions of the country, in different practice settings, as well as at different points in their AOM career. These results serve to validate the knowledge, skills and abilities, i.e., competencies, performed by an entry-level AOM practitioner in the United States.  

The AOM profession is evolving all the time; therefore, it is extremely important to continually review and update the content of the NCCAOM certification examinations. Best practices in validation of examination content is to perform a JTA a minimum of every five years. This report serves to provide the examination content validity verification for the years 2009 though 2013."

The study showed that 57.9% of the respondents were certified in Acupuncture, and 23% were certified in Oriental Medicine. A massage therapy license was also held by 7.3% of the respondents, and 5.2% are Registered Nurses. Women hold 69.7% of NCCAOM certifications, and men hold 30%.  

The primary style of practice taught is Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) at 83.9%. The mean student loan debt of Diplomates who responded was $45,891, and 70% of the Diplomate respondents said they earned less than $60,000 a year, while 21% earned between $60,000 and $121,000 a year. Their earnings depended on hours worked and years of experience, with higher earnings reported from Diplomates who received their certification in the last 11-15 years. 

91% of the respondents were self-employed, and 30% are both self-employed and working for someone else. 58% of the Diplomates who are not eclusively self-employed in solo practice work in a multidisciplinary group practice with other health care providers or with other AOM practitioners. 

CCAOM Offers New On-Line CEU Course!! 

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            By: Billy Shonez Singh, M.S., L.Ac., Dipl. C.H. (NCCAOM)

                                          www.zenohs.com  ©2010

 

A 69 year old woman came into my office in October 2009.  Her main complaint for the past eight years has been multiple joint pains in her body due to Rheumatoid Arthritis.  Since her diagnosis, she was placed on thirteen different medications.  Four of them were for treating joint and muscle pain associated with her main complaint.  The other four of the medications were used in lowering her cholesterol and her blood pressure.  The side-effects of the medications were headache, bone pain, jaw pain, muscle weakness, swelling of the ankles and feet, and joint pain- among other things.  The last five of her medications were unrelated to her main complaint but were used in treating the side-effects.  She described her joint pain as severely sharp and stabbing variety located in her neck, lower back, knees, feet, shoulders, wrists, and fingers.  The pain would get exacerbated by damp, cold, and rainy environments as well as walking up a flight of stairs.  In addition to this, I noticed that she had swelling along the fingers and toes.  The swelling was due to the inflammation in the joints and had fluid build-up (edema) in both her ankles.  In her previous history she mentioned that she was a pack-a-day smoker but quit smoking fifteen years ago.  Lastly, she consumed two to three cups of coffee a day.  After treating her with acupuncture for seven months at once a week intervals, we both noticed dramatic improvements in the signs and symptoms.  The swelling in her fingers and toes had decreased.  Her ability to walk with more fluidity and speed was noted as well without any stiffness and debility in her knees and ankles.  It was also indicated that her handwriting appeared less rugged and more fluid after the swelling was alleviated in her fingers and hands.  In any case she now visits me every other week for maintenance-style treatments.  After all the progress we had witnessed together, here is what she had to say:

 

                         "I have been suffering with severe Rheumatoid Arthritis for about eight years.  After researching alternative methods of pain management I came across Billy Singh's web site and was impressed by his credentials.  I have been seeing him for acupuncture treatments for several months with excellent results.  The treatments have given me great relief from the inflammation in my knees, feet, and shoulders. 

            I am thrilled with the results I am getting from the treatments and would highly recommend them as a compliment to conventional medicine."

-          Janet M.

 

In my humble opinion, after getting a testimonial like this, all I can say is that I am sorry but decrease in severity of signs and symptoms of a disease is one of side-effects of East Asian Medicine.

 

 

 

Billy Shonez Singh is a licensed acupuncturist and a board certified Chinese herbalist by the NCCAOM.  He is currently practicing in Commack, NY.  His primary focus with East Asian medicine is stress, pain management, diabetic complications, and treating chemotherapy side-effects. 

                       By: Billy Shonez Singh, MS, L.Ac., Dipl. C.H. (NCCAOM)

                                 http://www.zenohs.com ©2009

 

Reading the title of this new article, you are probably thinking, "How is that possible?"  By treating something as simple as back pain with acupuncture and Chinese medicine, you are taking a preventative measure against cancer.  It may sound unlikely, or even impossible; but on the contrary, it's quite feasible.

            It all starts with an injury.  Let us say a 25-year-old man gets into a 30-mile-per-hour car accident.  He survived the accident and now has minor upper and lower back pain due to the concussive force of the crash.  Over time, the pain comes and goes but the concussive force remains, therefore leading to impeded blood flow to the connective tissues and muscles.  In a great amount of time, impeded blood flow in this case leads to lack of oxygen to the surrounding tissues, which is known as ischemia.  Ischemia leads to another process known as cell death, because no oxygenated blood is going to the tissues.  Eventually, the severity of cell death turns into necrosis because cell death has now spread into other tissues surrounding those affected by the concussive force. Over time, the surrounding necrotized tissues go into a cellular process known as cytotoxicity, which is much more severe than necrosis.  Toxins build up in the surrounding and localized muscle tissue, which later leads to cancer, which spreads into tissues.  How many times have you heard about people dying of cancer, despite the fact that they did not have cancer in their family health history? 

            A perfect real-life example of this theory is the case of Sosai Masutatsu (Mas) Oyama.  He was born in 1923 and was the founder of Kyokushin karate.  He trained under harsh environments and conditioned his hands, legs and feet by striking rocks and trees.  He challenged 300 fighters in Japan and fought all of them in a three-day kumite (which in Japanese means "free fight").  In short, he pushed himself beyond the limits of human endurance.  Yet despite his physical and spiritual strength, he died in 1994 of lung cancer as a non-smoker.  Now this is where the theory of concussive force comes into play.  As a fighter in his time, martial artists did not have protective equipment to shield their bodies as we do now.  When you are fighting the way Masutatsu Oyama did, most of the concussive force coming to your body comes from your opponent's strikes to your ribs, among other body parts like the head, groin and stomach.  Despite his physical strength, he was taking concussive force to his body (in his case, specifically the rib cage), which resulted in ischemic tissues, which over time resulted in his lung cancer.

            Chinese medical practices like Gua Sha can help treat musculoskeletal problems before they can eventually turn into potentially life-threatening issues.  Gua Sha is a modality that incorporates the use of a Chinese soup spoon, or any other hard device, to scrape the surface of the skin until there is bruising and redness.  It can be used as a stand-alone treatment or it can be used with one's acupuncture treatment.  The theory behind scraping the surface of the skin until it is very red is to bring up any stagnated blood and toxins to the surface of the skin.  The stagnated blood and toxins that have been built up cause pain and eventually lead to other problems at a cellular level.  Since there is bruising involved, capillaries are destroyed and allowed to regenerate, thus bringing in a fresh supply of nutrients and oxygenated blood to the connective tissues of the body that have been affected by injuries involving concussive force.  The bruising and redness that occurs fade away within four to five days.  If you want to see this technique done in action go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOF9kvjDPsk.

          

 

Billy Shonez Singh is a licensed acupuncturist and a board certified Chinese herbalist by the NCCAOM).  He is currently practicing in Commack, NY.  His primary focus with East Asian medicine is stress, pain management, diabetic complications, and treating chemotherapy side-effects. 

                         By: Billy Shonez Singh, MS, L.Ac. (NCCAOM)

                                        http://www.zenohs.com ©2009

 

 

            There have been many misconceptions about acupuncture that many people in the Western world have inferred. When I see and hear all of these misconceptions, it causes me to start rolling my eyes in disbelief. So it is time to set the record straight.

           

The first misconception is that it is used for dealing only with stress.  Now this statement is misleading because while certain people do use it for stress, it is not the only reason.  We do look at stress as being the cause of some diseases but not all of them.  If you look at certain diseases such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome or chronic fatigue syndrome, the root cause is stress.  However, certain conditions that acupuncture can treat such as sinusitis or diabetes, the root cause is not stress obviously.  Usually the cause of certain diseases can be environmental, genetic, dietary, or psychological.  Another misconception that caught my attention a couple of years ago was on Oprah Winfrey's talk show with Dr. Oz.  The subject on her show was about acupuncture and the acupuncturist treating Oprah was asked, "Do you need to be sick in order to receiving acupuncture?" The practitioner's answer was, "no."  Now, I find this to be not only a misconception but a dangerous answer to give because there are cases from East Asia that shows that acupuncture to be a useful medical tool.  Furthermore, the World Health Organization states that acupuncture is useful in the treatment of immune system issues up to the side-effects of chemotherapy.

 

Next is the subject of health insurance covering acupuncture treatments is another misconception.  Health insurance companies are only going to cover diseases treated with acupuncture by a medical doctor who is a certified acupuncturist.  I must say again that medical doctors practicing acupuncture have only three-hundred hours of acupuncture training.  Whereas, licensed acupuncturists are not covered by health insurance companies despite having two-thousand hours of training than certified doctors practicing acupuncture. 

 

Lastly, a misconception is that acupuncture is considered unscientific by the Western allopathic community.  Furthermore is that they feel that acupuncture is more of a mystical, intuitive, and an exotic art form of medicine.  The misconception of East Asian medicine being unscientific is also based on false postcolonial assumptions that date back to the 18^th and 19^th centuries regarding Eastern cultures by European imperialists according to Edward Said, the author of Orientalism.  What people fail to realize is that the Western medical viewpoint grows out of the scientific model.  The majority of individuals unfortunately fail to realize that science is a point of view without any more purchase on truth than the world views.  This gives Western medicine an air of certainty which it does not necessarily deserve anymore than acupuncture and East Asian Medicine does.       

 

            This concludes some of the many misconceptions about East Asian Medicine that have been circulating within the country.

           

 

 

Billy Shonez Singh is a licensed acupuncturist and board certified Chinese herbalist by the NCCAOM.  He is currently practicing in Commack, NY.  His primary focus with East Asian Medicine is stress, pain management, diabetic complications, and treating chemotherapy side-effects.

Hello everyone, my name is Billy Shonez Singh and I am a licensed acupuncturist and board certified herbalist. I am presenting to you what is acupuncture, what its used for and how a needle is inserted into the body. If you want more information just go to my website at Zehohs Acupuncture in Commack, NY. Take care and we'll see each other next time.


About Billy Singh, L. Ac. & Zenohs Acupuncture in Commack, NY

Zenohs Acupuncture's lead Practitioner and founder of the Center is Billy "Shonez" Singh. From a young age, Billy had always revered ancient Chinese wisdom. He began firstly practicing martial arts. Years later, Billy's interest in Acupuncture and ancient Chinese healing grew organically from there. Billy received training from the New York College of Health Professions in Syosset, New York, where he was a student in the Massage Therapy program.

Moving forward from this knowledge base, Billy obtained his Masters Degree in Acupuncture, and is board certified as "Diplomate of Acupuncture" and "Diplomate of Chinese herbology by the NCCAOM (National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine). Billy has also been fortunate enough to train under noted acupuncturist and author, Virginia Doran, LMT, M.Ac., L.Ac., from whom he obtained certification in Facial Rejuvenation Acupuncture.

Billy Singh attended the New York College of Traditional Chinese Medicine for his certification in Chinese herbology and trained with highly esteemed herbologists, Dr. Libang Zhang and Dr. Yongshun Bei.

Billy is an active member of the Huntington Chamber of Commerce and the Long Island Association.

Interesting discussion on Ling Shu's famous quote in Richard Goodman's Blog.

"While working on selecting texts for Volume Two of Classical Chinese Medical Texts, I found some interesting information on what constitutes a superior physician. There is also some information on what constitutes an inferior physician. I have picked three texts to look at. These three texts do not necessarily represent all that has been written on the subject, but as they are three of the older texts in Chinese medicine, namely the Ling Shu, the Nan Jing, and the Jin Gui Yao Lue, I consider them great models for one who strives toward becoming a superior physician.

Ling Shu Chapter 55

The superior physician treats that which is not yet ill. The inferior physician treats that which is already ill.

This is a fairly famous statement, which is often interpreted to be a call to preventative medicine. Modern physicians often complain that patients come in with specific complaints and it is impossible to treat what is not yet ill. I find this stance strange, as if we are to believe if someone has a disease which has already become manifest, the practitioner is prevented from treating what is not yet ill.

At any rate, the following quote from Nanjing has a completely different interpretation of the above passage:

Treating what is not yet ill means that when one sees illness in the liver (for example), this (can be) transmitted to the spleen. First fill (shi2) the spleen qi so that there is no way for it to accept the liver's evil qi. This is what is called treating what is not yet ill.

As you can read, the writer of the Nan Jing felt that the meaning of treating what was not yet ill did not mean some psychic rendering of signs and symptoms, but a way of treating a person who comes with a specific complaint. One might go so far as to suggest that when the superior physician sees that one zang-organ has been afflicted by evil qi, the zang-organ in the control/destruction (ke) cycle of the five phases needs to be supported."

read the complete article  "Superior & Inferior Physicians" on Richard Goodman's blog

CONTACT CONGRESS NOW!!!

Send letters to your senators and representative using AAAOMs fast and easy letter-writing tool at http://www.aaaomonline.org/hr646

The AAAOM is issuing a call to action letter writing campaign in support of HR 646. We are at the forefront of a momentous change in U.S. healthcare, and acupuncture and Oriental medicine is an important part of this crucial transition. In supporting and passing HR646, we are creating a firm foundation for our profession to propel from alternative medicine to mainstream, and we need everyone's voice to make it happen!

WHAT IS HR 646 AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

This is a decisive moment for acupuncture and Oriental medicine. HR 646, also known as "The Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act of 2009," amends title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage of qualified acupuncturist services under part B of the Medicare Program, and to amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for coverage of such services under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. The passing of this bill will open acupuncture and Oriental medicine (AOM) to many more patients who could benefit from its effectiveness. For practitioners and students, it will open the doors to new patients to serve. It will provide us all with more affordable healthcare choices and create a firm foundation for further integration into U.S. healthcare.

WHAT CAN I DO?

Write a letter to your Member of Congress. If you are a patient, practitioner, student or professional partner in the integrative health fields: Write a letter in support of HR 646! Ask each family member, friend, classmate, colleague, and, most important, each patient to write a letter to their Members of Congress.

CONTACT CONGRESS NOW!!!

To have your letter hand-delivered by AAAOM's lobbyist in Washington, D.C., go to http://www.aaaomonline.org/hr646

Website:	http://www.aaaomonline.org/advocacy
Office:	National Government Affairs Committee
Location:	909 22nd Street, P.O. Box 162340 Sacramento, CA