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News from Pacific College

Pacific College Celebrates First Graduating Class in Chicago

Pacific College of Oriental Medicine's Chicago campus held a graduation ceremony for its first graduating class on April 10, 2004. Twelve students participated in the ceremony. Of the seven graduates who have completed all of their courses, all are already employed in a complementary medicine setting.

According to Chicago Chief Operating Officer Jennifer Park, the graduation ceremony had a definite theme: "When those graduates signed up with Pacific College , it wasn't just for a four-year degree, it was for life. We will always be here to support them."

The Illinois Board of Higher Education approved Pacific College in Chicago in 2000, marking the first time that Illinois approved a program of graduate study in Acupuncture and Traditional Oriental Medicine. Students completing Pacific College 's four-year program earn a Master's degree, and its graduates are eligible for state licensure and national certification.

"Making Traditional Chinese Medicine available in the Midwest has been challenging, and it is rewarding to know that these first graduates of Pacific College in Chicago are now pioneers of this medicine," Pacific College President Jack Miller said. "With every class that graduates, we are able to share Chinese medicine with more people of the Midwest .

I am happy to now call these graduates colleagues; I am sure they will make Pacific College proud."

Since enrolling its first class of Masters Degree students in 2000, enrollment at Pacific College's Chicago campus has greatly expanded, growing from a mere 22 students in 2000 to 140 in 2004.

Pacific College Aids Torture Survivors with Acupuncture

The United Nations adopted the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment on June 26 seventeen years ago. Since then, that day has become the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

In San Diego alone, there are approximately 10,000 victims of torture. Since 2001, the nonprofit group Survivors of Torture and Pacific College of Oriental Medicine have been working together to help torture victims in San Diego rebuild their lives and recover from both their mental and physical injuries.

In addition to relieving pain, boosting the immune system and helping with anxiety, acupuncture also benefits survivors of torture because of the human interaction it provides. Acupuncture sessions can last between one and one and a half hours. During that time, a licensed acupuncturist focuses completely on the patient, providing both a valuable medical service and much-needed human contact. For patients who are still dealing with issues of trust and trying to overcome the fear of torture and human interaction, these sessions are doubly therapeutic.

"There is, perhaps, no more heart-wrenching patient than one who has been subjected to the brutality of torture," Pacific College President Jack Miller said. "If Oriental medicine can benefit these victims of inhumanity in any way, we must try. It seems clear that acupuncture and Oriental medicine have been effective in relieving some of these patients' symptoms. I hope their experiences at Pacific College have helped alleviate their symptoms and regain trust in society."

Pacific College currently provides Survivors of Torture patients four treatments free of charge. Beyond this, Pacific College bills Survivors of Torture for the treatments, with every fourth treatment free. Patients referred by Survivors of Torture also receive any herbs they need at a 35 percent discount, with the herbs billed to the program rather than the individual.

Chicago Campus Hires New Director of Clinical Services

Pacific College is pleased to announce the appointment of Deepa Joshi as Director of Clinical Services of Pacific's Chicago campus. Joshi, who received her Master's of Science in Health Systems Management from Rush University , brings enthusiasm and Western medical experience to the position.

Joshi, who was born and raised in India , graduated from Kasturba Medical College in Manipal, Karnataka , India in 1994. After training in internal medicine for one year, at King Edward's Memorial Hospital in India , Joshi spent six years working as a medical assistant in several Indian intensive care units, including one at Hinduja Hospital . Joshi made the decision to switch from working as a doctor to working in administration because she wanted to get a better understanding of how hospitals operate in order to give patients the best experience possible.

"In health care administration, it is all about customer service," Joshi said. "Administration needs to be a streamlined process so that patients can receive optimal care."

As Director of Clinical Services, Joshi will oversee all clinic office staff, handle feedback and concerns on clinic functioning from patients and students, and act as a liaison between students, faculty and administration. However, Joshi said she also plans to work with the surrounding community to integrate Oriental medicine with the Western medical providers nearby.

Chicago Branch of Pacific College Offers Weekend Program

The Chicago branch of Pacific College of Oriental Medicine (PCOM) will feature a new weekend program in Fall 2004 to better serve those students whose commitments during the week prevent them from taking the classes they need. Three classes will be offered on Saturdays, and three will be offered on Sundays.

The new program comes as a result of student polls, which revealed that most prospective students would like to have the option of weekend classes. "Many Midwesterners are full time workers; they do not have the time to attend classes during the week, but would gladly give up their weekends for a degree," said Chicago Chief Operating Officer Jennifer Park. "This is advantageous for PCOM because we would be able to admit interested students who would not necessarily have attended due to the limited schedule."

The new weekend program will allow students who have jobs, family and other weekday-dependent obligations to earn their degrees part-time.

Saturday classes will include OM1, Biology, and Clinical Counseling 1 & Medical Terms. Sunday classes will include Foundations, Tai Ji, and Anatomy 1.

Pacific College Opens Two New Clinics to the San Diego Public

In an effort to offer better healthcare to the San Diego community, Pacific College of Oriental Medicine opened two additional clinics during its spring semester.

The first clinic, which began May 7, involves students in the college's Doctoral in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (DAOM) program. The doctoral clinic offers an integrative approach with the supervision of a biomedicine practitioner, a licensed acupuncturist with experience in integrative medicine, and a licensed acupuncturist with experience in the Chinese classical texts and diagnoses.

Pacific College 's second clinic is designed to both widen Pacific's master's degree students' range of clinic experience and to make acupuncture more accessible to the community. The community clinic conducts treatments in a group setting and focuses on specific disorders, such as back pain, headache and asthma. Students conduct abbreviated 20-minute treatment protocols rather than the full one-hour treatments provided by the college's regular community clinic, which allows students to learn to quickly and accurately assess the needs of the patient to begin treatment in minutes.

The group community clinic began in June and is available to local businesses, employees of local companies, and those who have few health resources available to them. The cost is just $15 per treatment.

Vietnam Veterans Stand Down 2004

Stand Down 2004 is a weekend event held each summer to provide the San Diego homeless veteran population (and their families) with desperately needed services. Each year, Pacific College 's San Diego campus provides free massage and acupuncture treatments during the event, which this year will be held July 16-18, 2004.

In times of war, "stand down" was when combat units were removed from battlefields to rest and recover in a place of relative security and safety. Today, "Stand Down" refers to a grassroots, community-based intervention program designed to help the nation's estimated 275,000 homeless veterans "combat" life on the streets. The hand up, not a handout philosophy of Stand Down is carried out through the work of hundred of volunteers and organizations throughout the nation.

During Stand Down, hundreds of homeless veterans are provided with a wide range of necessities including food, clothing, medical, dental and vision care, showers, haircuts, legal and mental health assistance, job counseling, housing and recovery program referral, and most importantly, companionship and camaraderie. Last year's event in San Diego drew over 637 attendees, with massage and acupuncture being the most requested service with 636 treatments given.