Yo San University Seeks Gold Status and Wins Platinum from ACAOM

In May of this year, Yo San University hosted a team of site visitors from ACAOM, the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, to review the integrity of this University and establish our accreditation status for the coming years. We are so very excited to announce that in a letter dated September 9, 2010 Carla Wilson, Chair of the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, announced that Yo San University will be fully re-accredited for a seven year period effective August 19, 2010.

This seven year renewal is the highest accreditation status awarded by the Acupuncture Commission. The announcement from ACAOM culminated a process of more than two years of preparation and institutional self study including intense activity associated with the ACAOM site visit.

This is an extraordinary accomplishment for Yo San, with so few universities being able to obtain this “platinum status.”The Yo San Administration is so very grateful to our Board of Trustees, our faculty, our staff, our students and our alumni who participated in the various aspects of the re-accreditation process. Special commendation is extended to our Administration and Lawrence Lau, Dean of Academic and Clinical Affairs, who is the YSU Accreditation Liaison Officer. It is inspiring and motivating to receive this news.

Our entire academic and clinical communities should feel affirmed in their efforts to provide quality education at Yo San University. The commitment of all YSU community members to quality TCM education and clinical services have made this success possible.

What the World Needs Now

By Dr. Mao Shing Ni

Recent election results show Republicans sweeping up more than 60 seats formerly held by Democrats to regain a majority in the House of Representatives—a majority Republicans lost merely two years ago when the Democrats swept to a majority in both the House and the Senate with the election of President Obama. Through endless debates, finger pointing, and analysis of the election’s outcome, what’s lost in the din of rhetoric and blame is the realization that the two parties of our nation should act like a scale— maintaining political balance for constructive dialogue and progress.

Balance is an important Taoist concept, as illustrated by the tai chi symbol of yin and yang. Balance of power prevents abuse and extreme actions. Take a friendship, for instance; when the relationship is lopsided, resentment builds for the person feeling short-changed. In a family, both parents should have equal input toward influencing the healthy development of their children. Likewise, in politics, no one political party should dominate; otherwise, the dominating political party risks acting like an authoritarian regime. No matter the election outcome, the Republicans and the Democrats should work together to serve all Americans alike, not just their supporters.

In business, all too often, business deals are viewed as zero-sum games in which there are victors and losers. The winner-takes-all attitude is both competitive and destructive. What we need is constructive progress in which everyone cooperates to bring mutual benefit to one another, and societies can then function harmoniously.
During the period of Sage-Emperors in China, when Taoist teaching were widely practiced, buyers of goods insisted on paying more, while the sellers of goods argued to take less; both understood that the balancing nature of this relationship was the basis for constructive progress between two people.

Imagine applying this principle to all relationships between people in the world.

What would the world be like?

Ask Julie

By Julie Chambers L.Ac.

Question: In class, you often mention great gift ideas using Chinese herbs. I would love to do something like that this year but feel overwhelmed with the many possibilities and don't know where to start. Do you have any ideas?

Answer:

I enjoy making a rosebud-infused wine to give as a gift. Start with a good white wine (I like to use something slightly sweet, like a Muscat or a Riesling), and remove half the wine to another container, to make room for the rosebuds. Use about half a cup of the rosebuds (Mei Gui Hua), making sure they are very fragrant. Insert the rosebuds into the wine, cork it, turn the bottle on its side, and refrigerate it for about two weeks. Beyond that, it might get too strong. Strain the wine and save the rosebuds if you can use them soon in a decoction for invigorating blood and relieving pain. The reason I prefer to use white wine is that it takes on a beautiful rosy color. But you could use red wine! The result in either case will be a wine with a wonderful rose fragrance.

I made a fun Christmas gift last year for a woman who loves to cook: I packaged five edible cooking herbs in pretty net bags (the kind in which jewelry is sometimes stored), and labeled them with suggestions on use.

These are the herbs I gave:

Fenugreek Seeds (Hu Lu Ba)
Infuse seeds in warm milk or cream for half an hour till the milk has a caramel flavor and color; use this milk or cream in any recipe such as rice pudding, crème brûlée, etc.

Nutmeg (Rou Dou Kou)
Grate whole nutmeg for eggnog or other creamy drinks; use with meat dishes such as Moussaka or other exotic casseroles; use in fruit desserts such as pear and apple crumbles or clafoutis.

White Pepper (Bai Hu Jiao)
Grind freshly to use in any cream sauce that calls for pepper; it helps cut the richness of anything with cheese or milk, such as a gratin of potatoes or cauliflower.

Star Anise (Da Hui Xiang)
Use with cloves, stick cinnamon and black peppercorns to spice fruits like French prunes or pears, apricots or peaches; use some red wine with it and then serve these fruits with sausages or pork roast.

Cinnamon Bark (Rou Gui)
Use in any recipe calling for cinnamon sticks, or just infuse them into any tea to warm and spice it up.

I also give single herbs packaged in pretty boxes for people I think will use them and for whom they are appropriate. Good ones are He Shou Wu (especially if you can get the very thinly sliced, nested ones), and Bai He for people who would be motivated to cook them into food.

You could also make spiced dried plums (get the good French plums at a specialty shop; they are called Pruneaux d’Agen) and simmer them for five minutes in red wine, star anise, cinnamon sticks, a bay leaf, and some peppercorns. Then package them in nice glass jars with instructions on what they go with (they would be great served alongside any meat, like turkey, pork, sausages, even beef). They should survive two weeks after cooking.

You could also take some pretty herbs (like star anise, Gou Ji, cinnamon or Bing Lang) and make them into ornaments to hang on a Christmas tree. If they are fragrant, even better!

Please direct any questions you may have to Julie Chambers, L.Ac. at info@juliechamberslac.com

Financial Aid : Knowledge is Power

By Ed Mervine

How many student loan lenders do you have?

If you borrowed through the Federal Student Loan Program over the past two to three years, you could have more lenders than you think you have. This can be confusing but now you have a chance to make your life similar.

Until June 30, 2011, you can consolidate loans from multiple lenders into a new Direct Consolidation Loan while you are still in school. This is open only to borrowers who have multiple lenders. If all of your loans are with the Direct Loan Program, you to do not meet the criteria and would in fact not benefit.

Here are the Pros and Cons:

Pro: After consolidation, you will made payments to only one lender versus making payments to several lenders. This could result in a lower total monthly payment and reduce risk of default and bad credit. Every year, borrowers who are diligently making payments fall into default because they lost track of a loan with a different lender.

Con: Borrowers will lose the grace period on a FFEL Subsidized/Unsubsidized Stafford Loan or Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loan by consolidating. Similarly, PLUS borrowers will lose the six month post-enrollment deferment period.

Why is this being offered now?

For a brief moment in 2008, banks stopped making Federal Student Loans, potentially turning the lives of millions of students upside down. An infusion of federal funds averted chaos.

A year later, the Federal Government moved the Federal Student Loan lending from the Banks to the Direct Loan program administered by the U.S. Department of Education. Students borrowing during this period have at least two lenders and may have three. This is how it happened.

Let’s say Johnnie borrowed through Bank of America in 2007 and 2008 and through the Direct Loan Program in 2009. How many lenders does he have? If you counted two, you’re wrong. Let’s count again: Bank of America was Johnnie’s lender in 2007, that’s 1. Bank of America processed his loan in 2008 but the lender was the U.S. Department of Education, that’s 2. After the Student Loan program was moved to the Direct Loan Program in 2009, Johnnie’s borrowed through the Direct Loan Program, that’s 3.

Confused?

The Department of Education thought you might be and has opened a window so borrowers could move all of their loans to one lender.

For more information and to begin the application process, go to http://www.studentloans.gov/. Look for Direct Loan Consolidation under ‘Tools and Resources.’

(You can also talk to Ed in the Administration Office!)

What’s Up, Doc?

By Ed Shaheen, MD

“The Death Panel”

Since we at Yo San are all members of the health care team, it is important to get a correct perspective on the end of life discussion that occurs between the patient and their doctor. The true content of ‘the end of life discussion” has unfortunately been referred to by many politicians as “the death panel” discussion.

It was not too long ago that the public discussion of sex and death was taboo. Just as the Kinsey Report (1950’s) and Masters and Johnson’s (1960) work on the “Human Sexual Response” elevated the study of human sexuality to a legitimate topic, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’s “On Death and Dying” (1969) set a precedent for an honest discussion of death with terminally ill patients. Prior to this, the physician was often given complete control on whether to tell a patient if he or she was dying. Many physicians were prompted by the family not to tell the patient or opted not to tell a patient in order to keep the patient from worrying. The results of this type of treatment can be read in Tolstoy’s famous novella on “The Death of Ivan Illyich”, where Ivan’s many physicians and family conspired to reassure him that he was ok in spite of the fact that he was feeling worse and was, in actuality, dying.

The practice of modern medicine protects us from this type of mistreatment and misinformation. It is now unethical for a physician to withhold information from his or her patient unless that patient wishes otherwise. This means that patients must be included in the decision making at this critical point in their lives. This requirement, to make the patient the center of this process, has prompted the end of life discussion to be done at an earlier time, when a patient is getting older but may not be terminally ill.

The end of life discussion is in fact a duty of the personal physician. The irony of this duty is that rather than being a “death panel”, it actually insures that when the final hours come, the wishes of the patient will be respected and carried out. This important responsibility often requires several visits and a significant amount of time in order to help the patient decide what he or she really wants in the event of different possible scenarios.

The discussion of these circumstances would include questions such as: If you are terminally ill, do you want everything done, including extended life support? If you cannot make decisions for medical care, whom do you want to designate to make them for you? Whom do you want to handle your financial affairs if you are incapacitated? The result of these all significant questions are recorded in the medical chart, which is a legal document that gives the power to the patient.

Physicians do this now as a matter of duty. The reason for the “death panel” deception was that there was a proposal to specifically reimburse physicians for this time as part of the new health care law. The truth is that physicians will do this anyway, whether they are reimbursed or not, because it is the right thing to do.

Message from our President

Welcome to the Fall trimester at Yo San University!

It is the time to get back to the books. Even in our year-round academic and clinical schedule, the fall term has a distinct feel and a special identify as the “back to school” session. Through habits carried over from our elementary, secondary and undergraduate years, we renew ourselves each year with resolve for success and positive movement toward career goals. Classes will not be missed; careful notes will be taken; readings will be engaged as scheduled; homework assignments will be handed in on time.

Yo San University students are truly inspiring. Once again as fall weather closes in on Los Angeles, a flood of positive energy fills our classrooms, Qi studio, library, clinic spaces and corridors. Classes are packed not only with chairs but more importantly with content and process that cumulatively provide the formation of TCM practitioners with the distinct Yo San brand of healing.

After classes students linger with important questions for professors, practitioners who share their own theories, procedures and special TCM secrets. In the spirit of collaboration and networking responses to questions and the revealed secrets are reflected and elaborated as evidenced from the chatter that emanates from the student lounge. Learning is a palpable entity. It is the fall trimester. Make the most of it!

Larry Ryan
President

Welcome Carola Gehrke, Ph.D. our new Director of Doctoral Program

Carola Gehrke holds a Ph.D. in Biology/Ecology from Lund University in Sweden, one of northern Europe's most prestigious universities.

Her heart and passion are in higher education and in the field of natural healing. She first discovered her true calling while working as a biomedical information scientist at AstraZeneca and as a researcher for the United Nations Environmental Program.

Carola has a strong background in research, both in an academic and coprorate setting. Her publications are frequently cited by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.

Carola grew up in Berlin, Germany and lived in Sweden for 16 years before moving to Los Angeles 10 years ago.

As the Director of Yo San University's Doctoral Program, the first Traditional Chinese Medicine program in the nation to specialize in reproductive medicine and infertility (REI), Carola is closely involved with the Yo San Fertility Clinic.

Welcome Carola!