SPARC Conference

The 3rd annual Symposium for Portland Area Research on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (SPARC) is this Sunday, May 18. The focus of the conference this year is "Highlighting CAM research in Portland from Bench to Bedside." SPARC is a research symposium and poster session that highlights current CAM research in Portland.

Participating institutions in the conference include: Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, National College of Natural Medicine (NCNM), Oregon College of Oriental Medicine (OCOM), Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), Portland State University, University of Portland, and Western States Chiropractic College. It should prove to be a very informative and interesting day, as there will be a great keynote speaker, Vinjar Fonnebo, MD, PhD as well as several Portland area research associates (such as my co-worker at the OCOM research department Ryan Milley, MAcOM, LAc). You can find more SPARC information on the Helfgott Blog.

The traveling poster sessions will be at these schools this week:

Monday, May 12 University of Portland

Tuesday, May 13 Oregon College of Oriental Medicine

Wednesday, May 14 Western States Chiropractic College

Thursday, May 15 Portland State University

Friday, May 16 Oregon Health & Science University

This will be my first year attending, and I plan to write up a synopsis next Monday. Be sure to check in next week!

Research and CAM Blogs

I've had a few posts about research in the past (almost) year, and have rounded up a few great blogs that discuss research in the CAM (Complemetary and Alternative Medicine) field. -The Integrator blog is managed by John Weeks, and is one of the most well-respected blogs for CAM research and integrative medicine. The Integrator Blog informs about "news, reports, opinion and networking for the business, education, policy and practice of integrative medicine CAM, and integrative health care." If you are interested in research happenings, or simply about integrative medicine, I recommend checking this site daily.

- The Helfgott Blog is managed by the Helfgott Istitute, which is based here in Portland at NCNM, is "aimed at increasing awareness about integrative medicine on a world-wide scale." There is a lot going on in the integrative medicine communities in Portland, and the Helfgott blog is most likely to be up to date on what's happening next.

- A local LAc and OCOM graduate is Sarah Hayes, who manages acupuncturenwpdx.com and her own practice in North Portland. She has some great posts regarding research, not to mention a detailed FAQ section.

East Meets West in Portland Hospitals

Having finished finals (my apologies for the month delay in blogging), and most of my intern sites, I'm a little sad that my time as an acupuncture intern at OHSU is over. Perhaps it was the excitement of working in a "real" hospital. Or maybe it was the respect garnered by friends and family when I told them that I had an intern shift on the new OHUS South Waterfront tower.

I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that the integration of Eastern and Western medicine is really coming up, albeit slowly, and that we are on the forefront of it all. I understand that I was working in an integrative medicine department, but it was really incredible to see interesting cases where acupuncture worked it's magic, even if it wasn't in a dimly lit, soothing atmosphere, but a cold, stark white room on an exam table. Last week we were asked to assist Dr. Lu in giving sample treatments to residents up on the hill, and it was really great to see how interested they were not only in receiving treatments, but also referring patients to the integrative medicine practitioners.

There are several practitioners at hospitals around Portland, such as Dr. Zhaoxue Lu, at the OHSU waterfront and Dr. Yupeng Luo, and Roger Lore, DAOM at the Richmond center. All of these practitioners also have private practices at OCOM. Dr. Lu was the practitioner I worked with this term, and he works at OHSU in the Family medicine department three days per week. There are also other physicians at OHSU who integrate acupuncture in to their treatments on a regular basis.

I know that the idea of integrating acupuncture and western biomedicine is still a foreign idea to some health care practitioners. However, I feel fortunate to have chosen this medicine and to be a part of the integration of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in Oregon. I hope to one day be able to work in a hospital setting again, whether it's in-patient care, assisting with deliveries, or simply providing the best possible care in a hospital setting.

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