Why Distance Learning Courses are Valuable for Acupuncturists’ Professional Development

As an acupuncturist with a California license and a Diplomate from the NCCAOM, I'm required to have a substantial number of Continuing Education Units and Professional Development Points to renew my licenses. This professional development activity keeps me connected with the profession and inspires my work. I really enjoy learning and seek out courses that interest and challenge me and also ones that will help my patients. My patients are a big part of my life and take up a lot of my day. I'm concerned about their welfare and am continually trying to deepen my skills so that I can address their imbalances and help them bring all their elements and organ/meridian systems into balance. I so often see patients who come to me after they have dug themselves into a deep hole and are on a lot of medications . Their health is compromised and they are disconnected from their "inner healer". I feel that one of my most important tasks as a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine is to help them help themselves. I must keep learning about the imbalances that my patients present to me. The internet has been so invaluable in this regard. I can look on line and find information that can make a difference to my patients. When I am looking for a course to take to satisfy my continuing educations requirements, my patients are the ones who are helping me to look. One of the main reasons I wrote the Immune Support Self Care distance learning ceu course is because these techniques and this information has helped my patients heal themselves. The patients who do the qi gong and belly work (tui na) on a daily basis get better and feel empowered. The take their herbs and they eat well. I made a dvd to give my patients, It's an hour and a half long and has chapters. They can play it on their tv and do the healing sounds of the organs with me. They can breathe and relax. They see me in between their treatments and it keeps them compliant. The work book for the course shows all the techniques and information that I feel is valuable for my patients. It's what I tell them over and over. Now they can internalize it and I can save my voice and concentrate on the deeper healing rhythms that I want to access with my treatments. With a distance learning ceu and pda course, I have access to the material I've downloaded and can refer to it when I need it. It's a blessing and I'm happy that in California we are able to satisfy our 25 hours of our ceu requirements through distance learning seminars.