Two years out of my Master’s and in private practice, I decided to go back and am now pursuing my Doctorate of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine at Oregon College of Oriental Medicine in Portland. Each month for two years, I head south for four-to-five days for some intensive education. This first year, the focus is “Aging Adults” aka Geriatrics. The second year will focus on Women’s Health.
My goal here is to not only learn and be a better practitioner, but also share my journey, and highlight some major issues and gems of knowledge.
Happy Fall!
September 2015
Fall. My favorite time of year
It seems to be a general consensus that the red and yellow colors of the leaves are a beautiful, breathtaking sight to see.
Yet, as a society, why is it so hard to let go of the spring and summer, and enter the fall and winter?
Why, do we want to carry on this perpetual heat?
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This first module was an introduction to aging adults (or sometimes referred to as geriatrics). I did not have much expectation, but was imagining we would overview internal medicine.
Not the case. The theme of the weekend was death. Not necessarily the act of dying, but the idea of observing and being in tune with the natural changes of life. This in turn, should stimulate conversation among society – within the medical world, the political world, and between family members.
Since the 1990s, the number of adults over the age of 65 has tripled; the number age 85+ is 40x as much! However, this is just age. Their quality of life, and ability to accomplish daily activities of life is a different story. The issue of what we can do vs. what we should do is a conversation society should hold. It has many ethical, political and economical implications.
There are countless of books out there on “anti-aging” or “staying young.” As a society, our goal seems to be immortality. Aging no longer equates to respect and wisdom, but as feebleness and a nuisance. With the age of the Internet, wisdom no longer needs to be passed on as oral traditions; one can simply just “Google it.”
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“You cannot paint the leaves back green; they will fall either way.”
What is cancer, but cells that do not know how to die?
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