The American Association of Oriental Medicine will hold its largest annual conference ever at the Disney Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Fla., over the weekend of Nov. 14-16. The weather will be perfect (we hope!); the seven tracks of continuing education will be enlightening; the 50+ vendors will be charming; the banquet will be exciting; and best of all, the company of our fellow professionals will make it all the more rewarding.
The AAOM has grown too big for single hotel venues, as was shown by the cramped feeling at last year's conference in Washington, D.C. This year, the meeting will be at the beautiful Coronado Springs resort, a conference facility that meets everyone's needs and has room to spare. Come see old friends, meet new friends, and share experiences with colleagues and masters.
The AAOM is famous for its banquets, which are not only rewarding for the insight into what is going on in our profession and who is doing it, but also for fantastic food, a relaxed attitude, and just plain fun!
The AAOM is sure this will be its biggest and best conference ever, and the association even got a fantastic rate for the rooms at this A+ resort. You cannot afford to miss it. By the way, if attendees bring family members, Disney resort hotel guests are allowed to enter Disney World an hour earlier than the public, so there will be fun with no lines. There also are discounted airfare rates and a chance to win a three-day Royal Caribbean cruise to the Bahamas with each conference.
Regarding policies and politics, attendees will be able to give their input into national choices in education, accreditation and legislation. Additionally, your input will be needed on herbal regulations; Oriental medicine research; ethics requirements; and a host of other issues that will strongly affect your future! You will not get a better chance to participate in your future than at the AAOM conference. Given the number of critical issues that are affecting our profession at this time, your opinions and insight are needed to help us direct the future our profession will take.
Conference Details
On the evening of Friday, the 14th, there will be an open forum with a "town hall" atmosphere, where acupuncture and Oriental medicine's Vision Task Force will hear our profession's input on where we hope to go as a profession over the next 10-100 years. After receiving the information and opinions, and using a process that has worked for countless Fortune 500 companies and communities, the task force will develop a vision that will be a rallying cry for the future of our profession. Do your part and speak your mind. It is an open house with no fee for attendance, so we hope you can make it.
On the evening of Friday, the 14th, there will be an open forum with a "town hall" atmosphere, where acupuncture and Oriental medicine's Vision Task Force will hear our profession's input on where we hope to go as a profession over the next 10-100 years. After receiving the information and opinions, and using a process that has worked for countless Fortune 500 companies and communities, the task force will develop a vision that will be a rallying cry for the future of our profession. Do your part and speak your mind. It is an open house with no fee for attendance, so we hope you can make it.
Friday morning, in our first track, Margaret Naeser, David Rindge and Jennifer Blahnik will provide the first course in a certification program in "Clinical Use of Low Power Laser." This will be followed by courses on Friday and Saturday, including a certification examination. This course, taught by the foremost low-power laser experts in the country, lets you prove you are competent in using low-power lasers.
Della Lawhon, librarian for the New England School for Acupuncture, will help those who are Internet proficient (and those who are not) in "Using the Internet to Conduct Oriental Medicine Research."
John Chen, pharmacist and herbalist, will provide the latest information in "Herb-Drug Interactions," showing not only which herbs have specifically been found to interact, but helping to gain an understanding of why they interact, so that one can use that information for new drugs.
In a special set of classes that will be useful to both Five Element practitioners and those who practice other styles, Tim Chapman, Thea Elijah and Lorraine Jones will provide a stylistic "Introduction to the Five Elements" thought process that will be sure to change how you think about your interaction with patients and the development of your treatment plan.
Starting Friday morning and lasting all weekend, there will be a class for the Chinese medicine professionals in their native language, with no interpreters! Speakers will include Li-Chun Huang on "Auricular Medicine"; Andrew Wu on "Heaven Man Taiji Communion Resonance For Constitution Enhancement and Cancer Prevention"; and Dao-Fang Li speaking in two classes: "PMS and Menopause Syndromes" and "Treatment &Chronic Gall Bladder Disease and Treatment." Up to date information, in Chinese, will also be posted on www.aaom.org.
In one of the newest and most exciting modalities of Oriental medicine, Sue Wadden will speak on "Sound Healing Regarding Oriental Medicine and the Cosmic Mysteries: The Immortal Body."
In another two-part seminar, Connie Koshewa from Alternative Link will get participants up to speed on ABC Coding procedures, which have received approval from the Department of Health and Human Services for a pilot project on alternative medicine coding for our services. As the AAOM is registered as an association participant, and as AAOM members are considered "business associates," our members can have access to the ABC code pilot project past the cutoff date, if they haven't previously registered.
The AAOM will have a number of panels that bring the best and brightest members in our profession together to discuss the latest information and where we are headed. Space allows for only the moderator's names here, but the entire list of panelists is on our Web site. The panels will include:
- Oriental Medicine and the Diagnosis and the Treatment of Cancer --
Moderator: William Pettis; - Oriental Medicine and Research: New Developments in an Old Science --
Moderator: Bill Prensky; - Ethics to Control Your Destiny --
Moderator: Robbee Fian; and - Are Herbs in Your Future? --
Moderator: Will Morris.
Another two-part seminar will feature two of the best auricular medicine practitioners in the country. Part one will be taught by Stephen Meeker on "Auriculotherapy and Auricular Medicine for Fast and Effective Pain Management," and will include information on electric stimulation equipment, while in the second part, the incredible auricular clinician Li-Chun Huang will focus on "Auricular Diagnosis and Treatment," emphasizing point formulae for answering diagnostic information.
A special meeting on Oriental medicine and homeopathy will be held during the conference, along with three classes that will stimulate you to use this OM modality in your practice. The classes will discuss homotoxicology, with discussion of the Six Phase correlation to this style of complex homeopathy, followed by a class on point injection. Speaking of diversity, the third class, taught by Martin Kane, will discuss "Five Elements Meet Five Miasms," with links between Chinese medicine and classical homeopathy.
Another set of classes will revolve around Oriental physical medicine, and will apply toward a program and a national board that is developing around this most popular aspect of Oriental medicine, with a meeting scheduled to continue the organization of this process. David Wells will give a two-part class called "Oh! My Aching Back!" while Alon Marcus will provide attendees with an incredible understanding of musculoskeletal disorders, which will supply them with the information needed to effectively treat pain and tendomuscular disorders.
Joel Rossen will teach the first of a series of classes that will lead to a certification in the use of microstim and electrostimulation. If you think you understand how to use electric current to treat your patients, attend this program and come out enlightened. This is another intrinsic part of our field in which most professionals can expand their knowledge base and enhance their treatment outcomes substantially.
A similar class will be offered by James Moran. In "Biomagnetics in Clinical Practice," Mr. Moran will help you develop a clear understanding of the use of magnets for pain relief, while moving beyond that to treat other disorders with magnetism. You will leave this class with new capabilities to take home for your patients.
Marc Grossman has been invited back to teach his class, "Integrating Oriental Medicine, Vision, and Nutrition," because of the rave reviews he has received on the subject in the past. Do you have any patients with a vision problem? Combining techniques you already know with the information provided in this class will double your effect on your patient's vision, while teaching you how to protect your own sight.
Jake Fratkin is considered one of the most knowledgeable and effective teachers in the use of patent herbs in our profession. His class will clue us in on patents that have off-label uses and new patents that are being developed, along with how to combine them to get effects. If you think you know patents well, take this class for an informative introduction to what you are missing. Mr. Fratkin will also be teach "Qi Gong for the Acupuncturist: Developing Nei Gong and Wei Gong Ability." More than worth waking up early for!
One of the most revered teachers of pulse diagnosis, Leon Hammer, will talk on "Contemporary Pulse Diagnosis," where he will delve into the intricacies of this ancient and modern form of diagnosis, and how it can convincingly teach us how to see inside our patients with our fingers.
One of the most effective, immediate forms of pain relief will be taught by Dan Lobash in a class called "Instant Pain Relief with Hand Therapy." This class teaches an incredibly popular and effective style of micromeridian therapy that you can use right away on your patients.
One of the Chinese language speakers, Andrew Wu, will be speaking on "Heaven Man Taiji Communion Resonance for Constitution Enhancement and Cancer Prevention," which promises to provide insight into how this martial art can help prevent cancer and chronic disease.
One of the most interesting classes to come to the fore with SARS and other viral disorders and their treatments with Oriental medicine is a self-descriptive class called "Clinical Application of Natural Antiviral Medications Used in Traditional and Modern Chinese Medicine for the Treatment of Viral Diseases and the Enhancement of a Viral Immunity." Embrace the flu, and let James E. Williams teach you how to tame it with Oriental medicine.
A diagnostics company has provided the AAOM with a teacher to clarify the use of lab testing for the most effective treatment of disorders with the use of Oriental medicine modalities. Half of treatment is diagnosing what is going on inside; the other half is clarifying how your treatment is working. There is nothing better than hard copy to show that what you are doing is helping the patient. The tests can be easily used in nearly every state, and include a more comprehensive blood test as well.
Last, but certainly not least, the AAOM has an entire free track devoted to enhancing your livelihood. This track is open to any practitioner of Oriental medicine. The wonderful people teaching these classes deserve a big round of applause for working to make our profession more professional and more secure. Speakers and classes include:
Michael Gaeta will provide you with the background to keep your income and your sanity by creating the proper "Legal Set-up and Protection" for your practice, whether old or new. A second class, "Love, Serve, and Succeed: Life and Practice Success for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Professionals," rounds out the process. Michael's classes have been a popular addition to the conference, and the AAOM is glad to have him back.
Kevin McNamee will give a powerful presentation on how to communicate with third-party payors, aptly titled, "Report Writing to Rock the Health and Personal Injury Insurance Companies." This is an extremely important part of getting paid for your work, and helps the patients who need it most.
Curry D. Chaudoir will teach you how to increase the size of a practice and your capability for referral with a program, "Doubling Your Practice Through Marketing and Patient Education," using quantifiable techniques to enhance practice size. This class was requested by board members who saw it happen in their practices!
Finally, Marilyn Allen will open up the box of secrets everyone knows but doesn't understand, and explain them in a way that will help you grow your practice exponentially while managing it well, so you have the time to enjoy life a bit. Marilyn's classes are popular because of her smile and style, combined with a strong focus on personal prosperity.
The AAOM will also be sponsoring the following meetings for our profession:
- The Oriental Medicine Student Forum (fully matriculated student members pay only $50 for the conference) for student leadership development and intercollege communication;
- The AAOM Council of Presidents meeting, where presidents and representatives from state organizations work together and with the AAOM to communicate with each other and to advance the profession;
- A Suppliers Advisory Committee meeting will be held to develop communication among the vendors, so they can communicate with organizations and their conferences to support our profession. Additionally, the SAC will give direct input to the AAOM so that cooperative efforts can be developed on federal and state regulatory issues; and
- A meeting of the AAOM Homeopathic Committee to work on development of an Oriental medicine training and certification process.
For more information on the conference, and to learn about other classes and speakers, visit www.aaom.org.