January 2007

Medical students visit Northwestern to learn about AOM

More than 160 students from a physician and society course at the University of Minnesota medical school met with nearly 100 students and faculty from the Minnesota College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (MCAOM) for an interactive seminar on the campus of Northwestern Health Sciences University on Jan. 11.

The field trip was designed to introduce first-year medical students to other modalities in healthcare.

The event was a participatory experience; medical students had an opportunity to ask questions and see Oriental medicine in action. “Our ultimate goal is to expose the medical students to the educational training and the complexities of traditional Chinese medicine in addition to opening the lines of communication between future practitioners of both forms of medicine,” said Mark McKenzie, LAc, MOm, dean of MCAOM. “In this way we will ultimately provide an opportunity for collaboration and referral among practitioners while giving patients more choice.”

Medical students experienced demonstrations of acupuncture, herbal medicine, pulse and tongue diagnosis, as well as moxibustion, tui na, and cupping.

According to Karen Lawson, MD, the director of integrated clinical services at the Center for Spirituality and Healing at the University of Minnesota, participants report being more open to referring patients to traditional Chinese medicine practitioners after attending the demonstrations.

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