A report from Missouri

[Guest guest]

There has been some interest in how it is to practice TCM outside of

the areas of traditional Asian influence. I have been in Missouri

since 2001, My first year was spent getting my licence, my bearings

and my wife's nerve up to be " self-employed " , because needless to

say there were no help wanted signs out. My second year I rented

three rooms in what anybody from the west coast would have

considered really cute, but the natives here considered the hood, In

the first year I grossed around $20,000 charging nominally $50 a

visit, but more often $25 and sometimes whatever people could pay or

trade, a true " country doctor " experience. I supplemented my income

working as the TCM director of a local Ryan White program offering

PT, acupuncture, energy treatments, and massage. Year three at the

request and encouragement of patients I moved uptown. I turned down

a job offer to work at a local wellness center for $48,000 a year.

I grossed more my second month open than I had my previous year, of

course I now had $30,000 in debt, a lease for $36,000 I was

responsible for, and the need for employees to keep the place full.

It is now three years later, I have just re-signed my lease, my

orignal debt is paid off and if it weren't for the doctoral program

I am finishing I would actually be making a decent income. That is

not too bad. I make the functional equivalent of 50-90k, I have to

express it that way because though Todd says the number the IRS gets

is how we should keep score, there are things I just don't have to

pay for myself completely legitimately as a business owner, so the

number gets fuzzy. I worked 6 days a week my second year, and now

work 2-3 days a week. For a part time job this is great and only

looks to get better. I have been able to buy my home and feed my

family. We have excellent life and disablity insurance but only

catastrophic health care, but given my profession that works most of

the time. I think the most telling thing is I was recently offered

a job on the coast as an acupuncturist and my wife's concern was now

about not being self-employed.

I am not the greatest acupuncturist or herbalist or bodyworker. I

know much less than I want to know but I gain new understanding

about the same things all the time; I am about where I expected to

be knowledge-wise for my eighth year as a practitioner. I am a

journey-man not a master and I am very upfront with my patients

about that fact. I do my best to " treat what I see " , and am more

than willing to use 5 herbs when 1 would do, maxims I learned from

other posters on this list. (thanks Al and Dr Yang, and thanks

doug).

Because of where I am I think I see much more severe cases, but that

could also be because I have been practicing longer. It is not all

roses and butter here in the midwest. I am the treater of last

resort, where St. Louis's denizens go when no western option has

panned out. This is not a place where we are thought of in daily

life. In Saint Louis there are 15 other licenced acupuncturist, yes

15. Needless to say we are not in competition with each other. 5

are hototama(sp?) style practitioners a japanese style learned

through a master/apprentice lineage that is run by a senior

practitioner here, 5 are chinese trained, and 5 are western

trained. There are also about 5 md's and 50-100 chiropractors. The

challenge here is educating the public. That is where I have to

spend most of my efforts. The good news is that for every person I

help learn about TCM they tell their friends and families and after

I help with their intitial problem succesfully they come back as

other things occur then start working proactively.

I gave up on hiring acupuncturists, simply put those who need a wage

can't keep patients. They are too scared, and with great reason.

We don't graduate knowing what we need to do, I remember graduating

and going before the state board much to emperor's college's admins

chagrin to explain that we needed some sort of residency. Not for

knowledge, for confidence. This crap works, even when you do it

wrong it usually helps. Not every time or for every person, but I

have thousands of case files that show positive outcomes. I have

hundreds more that don't, and that is the challenge, where could I

have helped more, or different, was it because of the disease or the

doctor or the patient? Never answers just more questions. The

hardest thing about working here is being here. If you are not from

the midwest it is a hard place to become from. I have talked with

practitioners with the same experience from tulsa to chicago. Most

of us stick it out because we marry natives and it eventually

becomes home however grudingly, but for those practitioners with

roots around here, I highly encourage you to come home, your people

need you and as time goes by are coming to want you as well.

[Guest guest]

On 1/5/07, darby.valley <darby wrote:

 

> I remember graduating

> and going before the state board much to emperor's college's admins

> chagrin to explain that we needed some sort of residency. Not for

> knowledge, for confidence.

>

 

 

 

 

 

 

Confidence and credibility. I think that they're kind of a yin and yang.

Confidence born of seeing " this crap working " is the best. I'd like to see

it work more often. I came across a couple of cases of some really juicy

internal medicine issues recently in the ECTOM clinic. Herbs were not

encouraged because the patients were taking drugs or had some other

liability concern. I was really frustrated to see this lost opportunity to

see what we can do on two perfect candidates.

 

Nice to hear you're straightenin' up and flyin' right there, Darb.

 

 

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Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.