In a Nutshell: Spring Term 2013

Hard Classes

It is times like this where what I don’t write in my blog posts is as telling as what I do. Looking back on last term, I only wrote a few entries, so let me fill you in on what it was like. It was pretty hard. I had difficult classes, I was trying to study for the comps, and I definitely worked too much.

I have to say the two Western classes that I took, Western Clinical Medicine and Pharmacology, took up a great amount of my study time and brain space. I won’t go on about it too much, but let me just say that Pharmacology was the hardest Western class that I’ve taken so far, and I was extremely grateful for Dr. Shaheen’s merciful grading structure. I knew in my heart that I would have at least passed, but some of those drug names would just not stick in my head. I never thought I would say that I prefer Chinese Pin Yin herb and formula names (I found them so confusing at first), but by the end of Pharmacology I was missing them.

I also finished up Formulas, and while I will miss Dr. Wen’s class (I adore Dr. Wen!), I will not miss memorizing a handful of new formulas each week. The highlights of last term were beginning Techniques class, and doing observation in Clinical Theater. I am now needling my partner (supervised, in class of course) on a regular basis, and it’s quite fun. There’s nothing like starting needling to really make it feel like you are moving along in the program. In fact, with any luck (and a lot of studying for the Preclinical Exam), I will be working in the school clinic in a term or two.

Another class that I began was Clinical Theater, which is extremely interesting because we have a patient come in, and the class gets to ask him/her questions. Then the supervisor comes up with a diagnosis and treatment plan, and we watch as the supervisor treats the patient right in front of us. It is very cool and sometimes it can even seem like a magic show when the patient shows immediate improvement. It is a win-win situation: the patient gets a free acupuncture treatment, and we get education and experience. (If you are interested in a free treatment in the Clinical Theater program, contact the Yo San University Clinic for an appointment.)

Student Lounge Makeover

So as President of the Student Association, I organized redecoration of the student lounge. It was a lot of fun, but it was also a lot of work, and I ended up making many trips to at Yo San over my break. However, in the end, it was completely worth it. I love the transformation, and I have been getting such positive and appreciative feedback from everyone at school that it made it all worth it. Here are before and after shots of the two sides of the lounge, so you can get an idea for yourself of the change.

The lounge before spring break.

The Yo San University Student Lounge now.

100% Pass Rate at CALE

I just wanted to say a quick congratulations to everyone from Yo San who took the most recent California Licensing Exam. We had a 100% pass rate! This is a great testament to the students’ hard work and dedication, as well as to the teachers at Yo San and the infrastructure set up by the administration. It definitely takes a good team to make that happen!

As for me, I also recently took my first big official test at Yo San: The First Comprehensive. It is a test that Yo San students take after finishing most of the core classes that prepare us for our Clinic Internship, and it serves as a gauge to help us prepare for the next big exam: The Pre Clinical.

I have friends who took the Pre Clinical this term as well, and I have been observing how much time they have been studying for it outside of their regular classes. I know I will need to do the same next term, and so I’m mentally trying to prepare myself to buckle down even further. Oh, and congratulations are also in order for those who passed the Pre Clinical! I really admire the amount of work they put in.

The one that I took, the Comp, was challenging, and I know for certain that I need to spend more time on Herbs and Formulas. However, I actually did better than I thought I would. So I just need to make sure I stay on the same track next term.

Yo San’s Got Talent!

As I mentioned in my previous post, as the President of Yo San’s Student Association (YSUSA), one of my main duties is coordinating the annual Chinese New Year Celebration. It was a lot of work, but it turned out really well. Special thanks to all of the YSUSA officers and other volunteers who helped make this event a smooth success!

Here is a little something I wrote about the event for the Clinic Newsletter:

“This past Sunday (Feb. 10th) the Yo San community brought in the year of the Snake with a festive celebration on campus. As part of the program Dr. Mao Shing Ni and Dr. Daoshing Ni led a Taoist Renewal Ceremony in front of their family shrine. There were also performances by students and faculty in Tai Chi, music, TCM-themed stand up, and the grand finale was a troupe of traditional Lion Dancers. In his forecast for this year, Dr. Mao said that because the Snake is a much smaller serpent, there will be less volatility than in the previous year of the Dragon.  He shared two themes that are important to the Snake: transformation and flexibility. May you experience much transformation and flexibility in your own life in the upcoming year!”

I am very thankful to my fiance Jarrod for helping me take video and photos of some of the performances. Here are some images and links to the fun and festivities from the 2013 Year of the Snake celebration.

Dr. Gu, a Clinic Supervisor and Faculty member shared his talent for the accordion:

JP O’Hara, a recent Yo San graduate performed a hilarious stand up comedy set:

Alec Bridges, a third year student, performed guitar and vocals:

Edward Sullivan in the Year of the Snake Sketch.

Dr. Mao Shing Ni performs Tai Chi Fan.Lion Dancers from the Shaolin Temple Kung Fu School.

Chinese New Year Coming Up!

It’s week five already, and I’m just trying to keep my head above water between school, work and other duties. One thing that I haven’t written about yet is the fact that at the end of last year Student Government elections were held, and I am now Yo San University Student Association President. President King, it has a nice ring to it!

One of the main things that the student association is responsible for is organizing the annual Chinese New Year Celebration at Yo San. The intention of the event is to build community within the school, as well as with the community at large. This year is will be this Sunday the 10th, at 10am. So, that is one thing that is keeping me busy. There are lots of details to take care of! Highlights include:

A Daoist renewal ceremony to participate in
An energetic forecast of the upcoming year by Dr. Mao
Tai Chi Fan demo by Dr. Mao
Lion Dancers from the Shaolin Kung Fu School
Competition 42-form Demo by Dr. Ming Dong-Li (this encompasses Yang style, Chen style, Sun style, and two Wu styles)
A Year of the Snake Sketch by our beloved Edward Sullivan
Stand-up Comedy by JP O’Hara
Song stylings by Alec Bridges
A Potluck smorgasborg (everyone brings something to share)

Last year I really enjoyed arranging the flowers for Chinese New Year. Here is a link to my blog post of some photos of that from last year:

http://yosanlife.wordpress.com/2012/02/06/flowers-for-chinese-new-year/

Wrapping Up 2012

So finals happened last year. Then supposedly there was a three week break. And now it’s week two of the Spring term. Already?  I can’t get over how quickly the time went by.

I guess this stuff is old news now, but I still feel I should post some pics from last year after finals. In my own life I am generally not very  good about taking photos and documenting events, but my schoolmates think very differently of me I’m sure. Now if I take a photo of someone or something at school, I’m always asked whether I’m going to blog about it. Anyway, I have a random assortment of photos taken with my blog in mind, so here goes.

Here we celebrated the end of finals with some raw vegan desserts at Cafe Gratitude in Venice. Lemon Cheese Cake for me, Tiramisu for Paloma, and a Chocolate Nugget for Mary.

Happy Hour at Oldenfield’s, a cool bar on Venice a few miles from Yo San.

Ellen’s non-acupuncture school friends threw her a surprise birthday party at Cafe Boogaloo, a Cajun themed bar in Hermosa Beach, and invited us to help celebrate. A lot of our schoolmates were out of town already for the holidays, but Chloe, Paloma and I made it out for the festivities.

We randomly happened to run into Ron Weasley at Cafe Boogaloo. He makes magical herbal formulas at Hogwarts; we make magical herbal formulas at Yo San–we have so much in common!

Aside from celebrating the end of the trimester, one other thing I wanted to mention is the Student Association Toy Drive for the Venice Family Clinic. It was a great success, and Marka (Building Mama) was especially helpful because for her birthday, she asked that her friends bring toys for the drive in lieu of gifts for her. In the end I counted over 60 toys! Thank you so much to everyone at Yo San, including staff and students who contributed. Also thank you to my family, friends, and coworkers at the spa where I work at who also made donations. It was wonderful for me to be able to take such huge bags of toys to the Venice Family Clinic, knowing that they would benefit children from low-income families during the holidays.

Marka with a load of the toy donations from the drive.

Finals Week

Because some classes have both a written and practical portion on different days, finals actually started for me last week. I had the written for Western Physical Assessment, and my final Points exam, which was cumulative for three semesters.

Today I had my Tui Na final in the morning, and in the afternoon I had the practical location portion of Points. Points has been pretty intense to study for, because I’m reviewing three terms worth of material. Today while I waited for my Points test, I sat in the library surrounded by other earnest scholars and felt like I should be studying too. But I could not focus. I think I got to a point where I had reviewed everything already, and so my brain was rejecting further input.

So instead of doing this in the library:

Studious Steve.

I did this:

“Studying” Nutrition.

And luckily I found an accomplice to take these photos for me. Thanks Paloma.

And now I am at home and happy to announce that I passed my Points practical, and am officially moving on to Techniques next term, where I will begin to learn to needle. Can’t wait! However, after an entire year with Dr. Li in her points class, it does feel like an era is over. I will miss Dr. Li and her tough love. She is exacting and demanding, but she does it because she really wants us to learn.

I have two more finals on Wednesday, and then one on Thursday. Almost there!

Considering Acupuncture School?

Have you ever wondered, “Should I go to Acupuncture School?” I love getting messages and comments from people who read my blog. I recently received the following correspondence from Sha Ren (yes I’ve changed her name into an Aromatic Damp Draining herb), and I thought I’d post it here in case it is helpful to any prospective acupuncture students considering Yo San or elsewhere.

FROM SHA REN:

So glad I stumbled upon your blog, I’m considering Yo San …I have had the chance to visit it (I’m not from cali I’m an east coaster) & so far I’ve fallen in love, especially with the people…my  problem is with the housing, tuition, fin aid and how all of that works, whether they have a program where they assist you after you graduate in order that u may be able to find a job or not etc etc.
(I don’t want to graduate, jobless and in debt…I’ve read so many unsuccessful stories & I wish I hadn’t lol)

Anyways, maybe you can give me some hope, i hope lol…I would love to hear back from you!

Thank You,

Sha Ren

MY RESPONSE:

Hi Sha Ren,

Thanks for writing. I’m glad that you’re considering Yo San, I obviously love it.

The financial aid is not difficult to apply for and get. Frankly I was surprised at how easily I was given money for school. That said, and not to sound dramatic, I will definitely graduate, “jobless and in debt.” The debt is the inevitable price of four years of professional training, and the difficult thing about acupuncture is that there are not a ton of jobs waiting for you when you get out of school. That’s not to say that there are none, there may be some opportunities to work for a medical office or some place, but the truth is that most practitioners start out small and build their practices.

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I know it sounds daunting, but I trust that because I love the medicine and I really want to share it with others, and I know myself to be a powerful person who can accomplish whatever goals I set for myself, that I will be able to find my way in this field after graduation. I think if you are willing to be entrepreneurial and you are good with people, you will be fine. It just won’t be instantaneous, like it is for MDs who can apply to work at a number of private practices or hospitals.

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And as for the debt, I have tried to minimize it as much as possible by working while I am in school. I only take out loan money to pay for tuition, and I live on what I earn, so that helps me to keep my overall debt down. Also you asked about housing, and for that you will have to come out and look for a place as the school does not arrange for housing. I am sure there must be someone in the the administration who can talk to you about looking for rentals. When I first moved to LA from San Francisco, I used westsiderentals.com and found a roommate situation there. In fact I believe they  have a Westside Rentals account available to new students.

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There are many people at school that I know moved to LA to attend Yo San, and they have all managed to set themselves up comfortably. It is definitely doable. If you feel drawn to study Chinese Medicine, then Yo San is a wonderful place to do so.

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Please let me know if you have any further questions, I am happy to help.

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Sincerely,

Emily

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