The Luo Down - Fall Issue, September 2005
"A Special Vessel of Communication Between Channels"
Southwest Acupuncture College
Santa Fe & Albuquerque, New Mexico
Boulder, Colorado

In this issue:

Across the Street East Meets West, New Santa Fe Campus

Southwest Acupuncture College Clinic Treats Over 18,000 Patients This Year!

1983 - 2004 Alumni Surveys Summarized

2004 Alumni Survey Report

A Different Way To Practice

The Role of the Heart in Needling within the Treatment Process

Happy Anniversary to Southwest Acupuncture College

New Clinical Externship Women's Community Health Clinic

Acupuncture and Herbs in OB/GYN Clinic

News from Boulder

Student Statistics in Boulder

Financial Aid Corner

Across the Street East Meets West: New Santa Fe Campus
by Dr. Skya Abbate Executive Director

Well, we have finally found our new Santa Fe home in the medical district as envisioned twenty-five years ago. We have steadfastedly made our journey from a bookstore annex, to a metal building, to a law office, to a shared medical building, to our previous peaceful freestanding building, to the most beautiful edifice we could finance.

At times it seemed more like a nightmare trying to secure the rapidly decreasing land and the constant increasing cost of everything, but I guess it was just meant to be, a dream that began twenty-five years ago now manifest.

Our website, www.acupuncturecollege .edu will soon feature a tour of the building and we hope many prospective students, alumni, relatives and friends will have the opportunity to visit our permanent home although pictures and words cannot do it justice.

In our previous location the Santa Fe campus was already reputed as the most beautiful school in the country. And now, visitors even in the construction phase, compared the college to the Taj Mahal!

We have always viewed this journey as a reflection of the quality of education and the gaining acceptability of Oriental medicine, and the building, called by builders and realtors, the most beautiful commercial building in Santa Fe does reflect that.

A medical doctor in the building opposite ours seriously said to me, “Your presence here gives legitimacy to Western medicine.”

That comment would not have been the prevailing sentiment when the college began twenty-five years ago, but it is true today partially because of our professional presentation made warm by silent smiling Buddhas, knowing angels and heavenly dragons, but most of all because of the caliber of graduates and current students that Southwest Acupuncture College has always been known for.

So thank you for making this journey step-by-step over the years with us. It was not always as easy nor is it now but in retrospect it was a journey that we were bound to go on together and it made a difference. Enjoy and be proud of your alma mater, as we are most of all proud of you.

In the real world, we cannot be everything to everyone, but here's to another twenty-five years of serving each other to the best of our ability with intellect, kindness and grace. Yikes, I'll be 79 then!

Santa Fe Campus Entryway	Santa Fe Campus Administration Entryway
Santa Fe Clinic Entry	Santa Fe Clinic Waiting Room

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Southwest Acupuncture College Clinic Treats Over 18,000 Patients This Year!
by Pam Weber, Administrative Director, Albuquerque Campus

Southwest Acupuncture Clinic Data Collection Summary
June 2004 - June 2005

Annually in the Fall, Southwest Acupuncture COllege publishes its patient statistics for all three campuses. This year the colleges' students treated 18,000 patients. Thank you students and supervisors for caring for so many patients.

Analysis: Our statistics continue to affirm that pain is the leading reason why patients seek Oriental medicine treatment accounting for 30% of all cases at all three campuses.

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Southwest Acupuncture College 1983 - 2004 Alumni Surveys Summarized

Annually, in the spring, Southwest Acupuncture College conducts a survey of the previous year's graduates. The results of the surveys received are then compiled and published in the college's newsletter, The Luo Down, every fall. This year, in addition to the survey of the 2004 grads, the college has composed a comparative chart of surveys from 1983-2004. Please note: The survey only contains data from graduates responding to the survey. Mailing addresses may have been incorrect, etc.

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Southwest Acupuncture College 2004 ALUMNI SURVEY REPORT

Recently the school conducted an Alumni Survey for the graduates of 2004. Twenty-two alumni responded to the survey. Eleven of them graduated from the Santa Fe campus, eight from the Boulder campus and three from the Albuquerque campus.

Of the twenty-two graduates that responded to the survey, thirteen are currently practicing acupuncture. Eleven of them have their own private practice. The other two work with other health professionals. Nine of the alumni rent/lease office space. Two have an office in their home. The average number of patients they treat weekly are: five alumni see between 1-10 patients a week, four alumni see between 11-15 patients per week, three alumni see between 16-25 patients a week and one alumni sees between 30-50 patients per week. $60.00 is the average charge per patient.

It cost two of the alumni under $500.00 to start up their practice. Seven of the alumni spent between $2,500.00-$5,000.00 to start their practice, one spent $7,000.00 and three spent between $10,000.00 - $25,000.00 to start their practice.

Six of the graduates started practicing Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine within four months of graduation; six within six months and one graduate took six months to one year to start their practice.

The approximate percentage of the following categories of illness that the alumni treat are as follows: OB/GYN 15%, Pediatrics 4%, Internal Medicine 25%, Physical Medicine 28%, Weight Loss, Stop Smoking and Addictions 7%, Sports Medicine 20%, Psychoemotional 9% and General 4%.

Nineteen of the graduate's felt that they were well to very well prepared to begin their clinical practice upon graduation. The areas of treatment they felt that they were well prepared for were case history, diagnosis, acupuncture treatment, herbal treatment, patient counseling and practice management.

Eighteen that sat for the national exams and four that sat for the state exam felt the curriculum and training at Southwest Acupuncture College prepared them very well for the exams. Nineteen graduates took the NCCAOM Acupuncture Exam and passed on the first try and fourteen took the NCCAOM Herbal Exam and passed on the first try. Three alumni took the New Mexico State Exam of which two passed on the first try.

The alumni were asked if they belonged to any professional organizations. Two graduates belong to the Acupuncture Association of Colorado (AAC), and one graduate belongs to the American Association of Oriental Medicine (AAOM).

Southwest Acupuncture College asked the alumni “If you wish to make any general comments or suggestions about the school or the training you received what would it be?” They suggested more herbal training, more practice management, tests to be more challenging and that a NCCAOM Exam prep class would be beneficial. They also commented that they received an excellent education, had an exceptional clinical experience and that Southwest Acupuncture College had great instructors.

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A Different Way To Practice
by Mary Saunders, Clinic Director, Boulder

There have always been a lot of different ways to practice acupuncture. Most of us have only seen the one patient per room model, which focuses mainly on the skills of the practitioner for results. Looking for a new way to practice after almost 20 years of this, in August 2004 I went to Portland, OR to meet the founders of Working Class Acupuncture, Lisa Rohleder and Skip Van Meter.

Lisa says, “This style is ideal for practitioners who have a very strong desire to make acupuncture available to people who normally could never afford it; if it truly makes your day to get rid of a migraine for a bike mechanic or to reduce the stress of a single mother who cleans houses, you're a good candidate. However, you still have to have all the qualities required to be successful in any kind of acupuncture practice: commitment, determination, good people skills, confidence, kindness, and common sense. I have to add that this style of practice does not work for everybody. Unfortunately it's the sort of thing that sounds appealing, in theory, to many people, but which requires genuine passion to actually do, and do well.”

Samhitta Jones, a fellow SWAC supervisor, and I had been having an on-going conversation about doing some kind of community clinic in Boulder, but I was hesitant to begin, not being able to envision how it would work. A few hours watching Lisa and Skip work, and I was ready to open a similar clinic with Samhitta, which we did one month later. What I saw was so simple and elegant that I was entranced: an open space setting that accommodates up to 12 people, with individual appointments every 15 minutes for returning patients. The room was softly lit, with the sound of music, the whirr of fans, and a few soft voices. At one point, there were eight people relaxing during treatment in recliner chairs and another on a massage table.

I felt that something wonderful was happening, but it took my mind awhile to understand. In Lisa's words: “You have to be willing to set aside your ego as a practitioner and learn how to use what I think of as the qi of community. This getting-out-of-the-way is where the joy of this style of practice lies. When I rely on the qi of the community, when I can feel how that qi nourishes and supports all of my patients, I too feel nourished, supported, uplifted and connected to that boundless generosity in the universe that is the source of all healing. I know that I don't have to be the latest incarnation of the Yellow Emperor to be a vehicle for healing -- which is a great relief. It doesn't matter whether I'm tired, or grouchy, or not feeling confident; the qi of community is doing the real work, and so my patients get what they need. The qi of community is what makes working class acupuncture beautiful and magical.”

The following is an excerpt from Lisa's Little Red Book of Working Class Acupuncture for Practitioners. I would highly recommend reading this 70-page pamphlet as it is filled with deep insight and wisdom into a totally different way to be in this profession. Copies may be found in all the college campuses’ librarires. For more information: www.workingclassacupuncture.org.

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The Role of the Heart in Needling within the Treatment Process
by Dr. Skya Abbate, Executive Director

In looking over the thirty-six articles I have written since 1995, and my four techniques books, Holding the Tiger's Tail, An Acupuncture Techniques Manual in the Treatment of Disease (1996), The Art of Palpatory Diagnosis in Oriental Medicine (2001), and in Italian, Palpazione Diagnostica in Medicina Orientale (2004), Chinese Auricular Acupuncture (2004), and my forthcoming book Taming the Tiger, Advanced Techniques in Oriental Medicine, I have tried to present students and practitioners with clear, accurate, and amazingly effective clinical strategies about treating patients with both Chinese and Japanese medicine.

In addition to writing these texts, I have taught most of this material to hundreds of students at the Albuquerque campus of Southwest Acupuncture College, of which I am the Executive Director, for five years and the Santa Fe campus for over seventeen years. Repeatedly the students have enthusiastically adopted these proven techniques and carefully practiced them on thousands of patients with great success.

As beginners just learning these approaches for the first time in class, their diagnoses could always have been more precise, their point locations more accurate, and their needle techniques more defined, yet the compassion, caring and purity of heart with which they applied these techniques more than compensated for any technical deficiency, for indeed the spirit is more powerful than the physical.

As presented in my fifth book, The Spiritual Practice of Clinical Medicine, my premise is simple - effective treatment and healing is delivered, more than any other variable, through the loving, compassionate spirit of the practitioner. Personally, the most effective treatment I have ever received, in any realm of medicine - allopathic, chiropractic, massage or acupuncture - has been when the practitioner was kind, sensitive and caring.

Even if their technique was not that great, or even if they did not do anything apart from listening and offering a thoughtful word in their helplessness or bewilderment, I was surely healed in those simple moments when another human being reached out to me with an open heart. Likewise the times when indeed I was most injured and suffered incalculably was not with a needle or an herbal formula, a misdiagnosis or a supplement although all these things did happen, but when someone simply could not open their heart even enough to ask how I was feeling when it was obvious I was ill.

The Lingshu posits, "If you should want to treat illness, there is nothing so good as the needle," and certainly it is a marvelous instrument. Acupuncture is most effective when it is coordinated with the spirit of the practitioner, in concert with the practitioner distilling the essence of the diagnosis, (what one could call the spirit of the patient), and the essence or physiology of the points (or their spirit). Remember the heart in Chinese medicine pertains to our boundaries, our eyes, our mind, our consciousness, and our spirit, so it encompasses the highest level of our being.

An open heart is part of the “spirit connection” the Neijing refers to as the essence of healing. As practitioners and human beings, that love expressed in compassion, the willingness to listen, or simply be present, may be the greatest gift we can give one another. Even with technical weaknesses in diagnosis, treatment plans, modalities, point location and needle technique, healing can still occur when it comes from the heart.

This is certainly not to say that all of the components of executing treatment mentioned above are not important, for they surely are, and there is no excuse for never doing the best that we can.

A consistent ethic, which supports life and encourages its existence, is conveyed through your words, your gestures, and your demeanor. Prayer, thought, hope and touch are all powerful vehicles that impact healing for they are positive energy that affirms the life force. The integrated body-mind-spirit responds quickly and adeptly to the energy expressed through the heart.

So in your practice, don't neglect to pay full attention to your patient, to respond genuinely to the fullness of their presence even if it is simply to proffer a tissue or to heartfeltly say, “That must be awful,” or “I am so sorry for your pain.” Don't let all the paperwork, time constraints, how you feel that day or anything else be more important than the patients you are dedicated to treating in this most noble of professions. When you put on your clinic coat, remind yourself to open your heart at the same time.

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Happy Anniversary to Southwest Acupuncture College
by Dr. Qijian Ye Academic Dean, Albuquerque Campus

The time flies! In 2005, it is Southwest Acupuncture College 's 25th anniversary. The Albuquerque campus has experienced significant changes since we opened in 1993, and it has taken an obstinate journey from weak to strong, from small to big, from childhood to adulthood.

First of all, not only does the college keep offering the best quality of education for students, it also has a stronger faculty team that has been restructured in the last few years. In order to glorify Traditional Chinese Medicine and to build solid a Western medical foundation as well, we are so honored to have employed our current medical doctors to share their expertise for teaching Western Pathology I, II, III, Western Pharmacology, and more. Most Chinese and American teachers do excellent work, and we are getting frequent verbal reports from students about their luck to have so many good teachers at the Albuquerque campus of Southwest Acupuncture College . The new blood entering our faculty team has always given us extra strength to offer a superior education, and that increases the diversity of education as well.

Secondly, since the Albuquerque campus moved to a new facility in 2003, the college has provided a spacious, cozy and peaceful environment for students to study. The college also provides a professional and comfortable clinical facility for our patients to relax and receive treatment.

The number of students at Albuquerque campus has increased dramatically in the last few years. The new enrollment in Fall 2005 is very optimistic as well. The Albuquerque administrative team are preparing for a new challenge in the future.

Finally, Congratulations to Southwest Acupuncture College! We are very grateful that Southwest Acupuncture College provides this opportunity for society to explore the gift from heaven, Traditional Chinese Medicine.

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New Clinical Externship Women's Community Health Clinic
by Dr. Denise LaRosa, Albuquerque Campus Director/Clinic Director

This semester we began an externship clinic at the Women's Community Health Clinic in Albuquerque . WCA (Women's Community Association) provides an immediate safe haven for victims of domestic violence while offering counseling, supportive services and information for victims and perpetrators. Over 1,000 families go through this program annually.

WCA was very excited and enthusiastic to have acupuncture be part of their clients' healing process since this externship is aimed at healing the wounds, breaking the cycle, and improving the lives of families in the community experiencing domestic violence. The staff has been very conscientious in getting patients signed up for this clinic and happy to report lots of positive feedback of improvement on many levels.

Students in this clinic have the opportunity to gain experience working with a segment of the population in need of support in their course of healing due to emotional, sexual and physical trauma. Addictions are another area that are addressed with patients as well as support for lifestyle changes.

I had the opportunity to observe this externship clinic last month and was very impressed with how smoothly the clinic was running, with student interns who were learning how to deepen their skills in treatment modalities specifically designed for this population. Students also expressed an added bonus of being able to treat the children increasing their proficiency in pediatric treatments as well. Dr. Marino, as Clinic Supervisor, was an excellent choice for this clinic, bringing her years of experience dealing with trauma as well as emotional healing. She stated that this clinic has seen many patients with emotional and physical pain giving student interns the opening to explore the connection between mind/body healing. All in all, it has been a wonderful opportunity to share our medicine within the community.

Santa Fe Library

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Acupuncture and Herbs in OB/GYN Clinic
by Dr. Li Xu D. O. M. M.D.(China) (Santa Fe Clinic Director)

Traditional Chinese Medicine has a long history of treating female diseases. Back to the earliest record of gynecological medical writings in the Shang dynasty (1500-1000 BC), to the earliest medical school department of OB/GYN in the Song dynasty (960-1279), till now, Chinese medicine was used internationally. Acupuncture and herbs have contributed much to female health.

Southwest Acupuncture College clinic has been doing an OB/GYN clinic since the 1990s. Many female patients who have various kinds of OB/GYN diseases have been treated and healed by acupuncture and Chinese herbs. But we also had some problems here, i.e. the source of patients. Although our clinic managers have tried to put gynecological patients in this clinic, it was still not enough. And every once in a while, some male patients were treated to fill the vacancies.

This semester in Santa Fe, we did not have any real gynecological patients in OB/GYN clinic in the first week of clinic, so, we came up with another idea. We (the Campus Director and Clinic Director) encouraged interns to write an advertisement for this special clinic, and it worked very well.

In the past six weeks, we have had patients with various OB/GYN diseases, such as:

Painful period (5 patients)PMS (3 patients)
Headache during periods(3 patients)
Menopause (1 patient)
Ovulation bleeding (1)
Vaginal itching (1)
Infertility (1)
Uterine fibroids (1)
Long period (1)
No period (1)

This change made this clinic really meaningful, which “thrilled” and “helped” interns. “Thrilled”?-because at the beginning, with different and complicated cases shown in clinic, interns sometimes felt overwhelmed and felt a lack of connection between book knowledge and real clinic. “Helped!”-with repeated patients or repeated disorders, interns had more experiences and felt more confident. And that's our goal!

Being the supervisor of the OB/GYN clinic in both Santa Fe and Albuquerque campus this semester, I would like to share some OB/GYN cases with you here.

Case 1 Painful Period (Dysmenorrhea)

Miss M, 23.
When she came to the clinic, she was in the second day of her period. She had cramping pain in the lower abdomen at that moment with the pain level 7 out of 10. The pain was better with pressure and warmth.

She has had the painful period for 5-6 years already. She had severe PMS and chronic headaches. She also had a stressful job which influenced her life a lot. Her tongue was pale red color, with thin, white coat, some red dots on the tip and sides. Her pulse was deep and thin, slightly slippery, choppy on left side.

Diagnosis: Painful period due to Deficient Cold in uterus with Qi and Blood Stagnation
Acupuncture: KI15 (bilateral, warm needle, 3 cones), PC6 (Bi-lateral), KI3 (Bi-lateral)
Results: after 20 minutes treatment, patient's cramping pain was totally gone.

Case-2 No period (Amenorrhea)

Miss J, 35 years old
5-23-2005. At the first interview in this clinic, her chief complaint was infertility. Then she mentioned her “irregular period”.

She started her amenorrhea in 2003 when she got divorced. In ten months she had no period at all. Then she got several acupuncture treatments with Ayurvedic herbs, and her period came back for 2 months. For some reason, she got another 10 months of amenorrhea when she moved to New Mexico, and then her period came back for another three months. This January was her last period. She has had no period since then. She always took her Ayurvedic herbs from the first doctor, and she usually had a painful period also.

Her tongue was puffy with pale red color, red sides with dots, thin coat. Her pulse beat was 82 per minute, overall thin and weak on both sides. Left Cun position was weak, Guan was choppy.

Diagnosis: No Period due to Liver Qi and Blood Stagnation and Deficiency
Acupuncture treatment: SP6, CV4, LR2, KI3, PC6, SP4, (all bilateral)
After this treatment, her pulse beat was 65 per minute (which is her normal rate).

6-13-2005. She skipped two weeks of treatment. She said after the last treatment, she had a period. The period only lasted 3 days, without much blood, with pain also. For some reason, she could not be in this clinic for two weeks. She hoped she might get another period on time. Her tongue was pale red color, with red tips, has slight center crack. Not much coat. Her pulse was thin, choppy.

Similar treatment as last time. Patient felt very relaxed after treatment.

6-20-2005 Another similar treatment, i.e. SP6, CV4, LR3, PC6, SP4, KI3

Few days later, i.e. at the end of June, the patient had another period, lasted 5 days, without pain.

Case-3 Early Period

Miss L, 34.
4-25-2005 Her first time in the OB/GYN clinic, although she has been in the clinic for almost a year. Her main complaint is the double periods every month for more than 1 year. She has periods every 14-16 days, and it usually lasts 5-7 days, with cramping pain, blood clots. Besides this, she has severe PMS shown as headache (dull, sensitive and moving pain, the whole head, worse at vertex), very moody, breast distention, hot flashes, stomach bloating and pain, poor concentration, very thirsty, frequent yellow cloudy urination, and fatigue.

Tongue has a very remarkable purple stripe on both sides, and the tongue body color is pale purplish, scanty coat.

Pulse rate is 80 per minute, thin, Choppy on Guan position, weak and deep in both Chi position.

Diagnose: Early Period due to Liver Blood and Qi stagnation with underlying Spleen and Kidney Qi Deficiency
Acupuncture: SP6, CV4, BL17, SP10, LR3,PC6, ST 36, KI3
Herbs: modified Ge Xia Zhu Yu Tang Dang Gui 9g, Chuan Xiong 6g, Tao Ren 6, Mu Dan Pi 6g, Chi Shao 6g, Wu Ling Zhi 9g, Wu Yao 6g, Xiang Fu 5g, Gan Cao 6g, Zhi Ke 5g, Gui Ban 2g, Hong Hua 3g, Huang Qi 6g, Shu Di Huang 6g, Fu Ling 6g 2 spoons, 3 times per day.

5-2-2005 She had a period 3 days ago, still had PMS although lighter then before. The big difference is much less cramping pain during her period, no stomach pain, and no bloated sensation after eating. Since she was in her period, the acupuncture points were just on ST 36, PC6, KI3, and GV20.

Kept the same herbal formula but started to take after periods.

Formula added Fu Zi 1g, Gou Qi Zi 4 g

Then we had a Spring break. She kept taking herbal formula during the clinic break.

6-6-2005 She said she only had 1 period this whole month! It lasted 7 days, including 3 days heavy flowing, and 2 days spotting, still with clots, no pain. She had less breast distension before period, slightly lower back pain, not much hot flashes, no palpitations, still have some irritability and headache.

Tongue: the purple stripe is still there, but looks much less. Pulse: thin, thready, rapid, 94 beats per minute (double checked)

Acupuncture: LR3, PC6, SP10, ST36, KI3, GV20, CV6, LI11

10 minutes after treatment, interns rechecked her pulse, pulse rate decreased to 65 per minute

Formula: same formula plus Chai Hu 1.5g

7-11-2005 Only 1 period this month.

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News from Boulder
by Valerie Hobbs Boulder Campus Director

The news from Boulder is that we are…busy!!! Although this article will appear in the fall, I am sitting down to write it in the final throes of what was our last intensive 10-week summer semester. These semesters are now the stuff of legend, and with the passage of time, I'm sure the tale will grow even more fantastic. “Did you know that they studied over 170 formulas in just 10 weeks?” “Can you imagine Point Location for 4.5 hours in day?'' In our hallways, glazed eyes of staff and student half-heartedly meet in recognition that studying this medicine is…well…hard. To study it, to enter into it, to stay in it, a courageous act.

So we are full of heroes this summer. Juggling family, work, school and at times our sanity. This is how it always is, though, to be a healer. While balance and conservation of qi is essential, it is true that most of this path is about putting aside oneself and creating a safe space for people in need to enter. Sometimes we alter, sometimes we intervene, sometimes we serve as witness as the pains and joys of physicality are manifested.

At our core, however, is the will to be placed in the middle of our patient's stream of life. Getting there through learning in a school is hard enough, and some days it takes more will than others to be there. I am struck at this time of year, with many graduates preparing to strike out on a new path, and many eagerly waiting to enter, by how common is our goal to serve. When you are about to collapse from the enormity of having to know the nature of all the herbs, when the responsibility of being the one to look for direction in a patient's seeming chaos of presenting symptoms, what we find driving us is our will, our destiny of choices to serve by offering our knowledge about healing.

Our collective will in Boulder has brought us to some exciting doings in the college. This fall we are inviting new energy with new faculty, and welcoming back teachers returning from other locations.

We begin our slightly expanded new curriculum that includes an upgrade in offerings in Western Sciences.

We are one of the few colleges in the country to offer entering students a course in Medical Chinese Language, a course that acquaints the new student with the complexity of TCM terminology and the historical context for development of thought.

We are also undergoing a lengthy process of analyzing how we assess our programs. The faculty and students here are responding well to clarifying the important issues in our educational framework. This entire process helps us create the very tangible feedback loops to better our curriculum and keep growing with current national trends.

We are proud to be included in the upcoming phase of the High Falls Garden Project, a national project dedicated to the propagation of both Chinese herbs and the knowledge and expertise for growing a domestic source for medicinals. We join an impressive list of colleges, organizations, and botanical experts. If you think those home-grown tomatoes are superior to what you buy in a store, imagine what a domestic source for organic Chinese herbs would do for the effectiveness of our medicine.

So as we breathe a sigh of relief that our last jam-packed summer is gone and our renewed focus begins, we salute all the effort and sweat equity it takes to accomplish the standards, both personal and professional, that have made pursuing Oriental medicine education a goal worth achieving and a professional life worth living.

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Student Statistics in Boulder
by Melanie Crane, M.S. Ed. Boulder Academic Dean

From all walks of life, ages and backgrounds every year come new groups of students with the common goal of seeking an education in acupuncture and oriental medicine. This year has been no exception. Let's take a brief look at some of the statistical facts about the 2004/2005 entering classes for the Boulder Campus:

Fall 2004:
In the Fall of 2004, 27 total new students entered the program. The median age of that entering group was 31. There were 8 men and 19 women. Of the entering students, 1 holds a medical degree, 3 hold masters degrees, 15 have BS/BA degrees, 1 has a nursing degree, 2 have AA/AS degrees and 1 has an AAS degree. Occupations of the entrants included mental health counselor, computer systems administrator, sales, bartender, president of a small business, administrative assistant, lab assistant, data entry, musician, hospital admissions, fitness instructor, herbalist, pharmacy technician, herbalist's assistant, fundraising director, and assistant manager.

Spring 2005:
In the Spring of 2005, 13 new students entered the program. The median age of this group was 27. There were 7 men and 6 women. Of the entering students, 1 is a LPN, 2 have masters degrees, 6 have BA/BS degrees and 1 has an AS degree. Occupations of the entrants included massage therapist, nanny, counselor, teacher, nurse, cook, and lab assistant.

Summer 2005:
2005, 4 new students entered the program. The median age of the group was 27 and included 2 men and 2 women. Of the entering students, 1 has a masters degree and 1 has an AS degree. Occupations of these entrants included library manager and librarians.

When we interview prospective students every year, it is always amazing how varied the backgrounds are of entrants into the program. Almost without fail, when we discuss each prospective student's reason for interest in studying with us, entrants will say that they or someone very close to them has benefited greatly from receiving treatment in acupuncture and Oriental medicine. So despite their disparate backgrounds, our students have at least one important commonality of strongly believing in the benefits of this medicine.

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Financial Aid Corner
by Marcella Sanders Financial Aid Officer

Loan Consolidation Repayment Options: Advantages and Disadvantages

With rising interest rates, the latest buzz word in student loan repayment is consolidation. Students should always contact their lender first before choosing to consolidate with another party. The financial aid office cannot advise you about consolidation repayment details as they pertain to your individual situation. However, to help you understand the basic options available with loan consolidation, outlined below are the four standard repayment options you may choose from:

Standard Repayment Plan

Payment: Monthly payment is fixed. A payment is equal to total loan amount [plus interest] divided by the number of months in your repayment period, up to 120 months [10 years]. For example, a minimum payment of $ 50 applies to a loan balance of $3,500 or less.

Advantages: Predictable; keeps interest to a minimum.

Disadvantages: Monthly payment stays the same regardless of income.

Extended Repayment Plan

Payment: Same as the Standard Plan, except that students receive a longer period of time to pay off their loan [usually 12 to 30 years]. The larger the loan amount, the more years you'll have to pay the loan back.

Advantages: Lower monthly payments than the Standard Plan.

Disadvantages: Increases the amount you pay in interest over the life of the loan.

Graduated Repayment Plan

Payment: Repayment amount increases every 2 years until the loan is paid off [takes between 12 and 30 years]. The larger the loan amount, the more years you'll have to pay the loan back.

Advantages: Monthly payments will be easier to manage at first; initial payments will be lower than the Standard Plan.

Disadvantages: You will end up paying more in interest. Also, without a stable or increasing income, you may have trouble as the monthly payments rise over time.

Income Contingent Plan

Payment: Your monthly payment is adjusted annually based on yearly income, family size, interest rate and loan amount. Your monthly payments will rise and fall in relation to your income.

Advantages: You usually have up to 25 years to repay. Any portion of the loan amount that has not been repaid up to this time is forgiven.

Disadvantages: After 25 years, the forgiven loan balance will be counted as income and is taxable.

Santa Fe Campus Lobby & Entry to Classroom Wing	Santa Fe CampusLobby & Stairs to Clinic
Santa Fe Campus Pharmacy	Angel in the Clinic Corridor at Santa Fe Campus

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