In January of 2011 I began graduate school at Emperor's College of Traditional Oriental Medicine.
I moved to the Los Angeles area to go to school in Santa Monica. It is beautiful, fun, and VERY challenging. I have learned more about myself in a few short months than I could have ever expected. Look here for updates and pictures of me as I progress through 4 years of medical school.
Quarter 2, Year 1
My classes this quarter are amazing! My teachers this quarter are amazing! I am so excited about my classes. My Herb Pharmacopoeia class is going to be really challenging, but my teacher is so effective. He wrote a book with each herb we'll learn this quarter and he (being Chinese) has us recite the names after him so we can correctly pronounce them. We also have to mark the unique points of each herb to distinguish them from the others. I'm now at a point in the curriculum that I'm learning much more about diagnosis and how I'll use the things I'm learning in my practice. My favorite class (so far) is Philosophy of Oriental Medicine. This class is going to be about the superstitious, "hocus pocus" stuff that has been lost in the standardization of the western idea of medicine. These are the things I want to learn and cultivate through school and my future practice. I think that exceptional doctors are exceptional because they follow their hearts. My heart has lead me to this school and I need to keep following my heart with what I love. My Meridians teacher told us on day 1 to remember the flame that drove us to where we are. The four years of this intense program is like a heavy, black cauldron that will sit on our flame and want to put it out. To succeed in this field, we need to keep our flames lit. I plan to make my fire grow!
