What do you think?

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shoppe

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Last summer, I showed a slight interest in accupuncture because I thought it would be more hand-on and more helpful than pharmacy. Well, I contacted this Chinese traditional medicine and accupuncture school in TX for more info. They are very eager to show me around but now, I'm so stressed out with the PCAT and everything, I forget about them now and then. But lately, they keep calling up on me 2, 3 times a month almost every month! This shifts my attention to them and I guess you can say i'm academically confused! The bad thing about accupuncture is ... you don't make a lot of money. Plus, there aren't a lot of job. Plus, most people would end up opening a clinic of their own which is not what i'm interested in. However, I love the work that they are doing and I think it's more exciting than pharmacy. But c'mon, it's not really economically feasible right? Anyone ever thought of accupuncture? What do you guys think? I know if i can't get into pharmacy school, I'll probably, most likely, consider accupuncture.

Also, since i'm not chinese, my friends think i won't be a good accupuncturist because most of the research info are in chinese.

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shoppe said:
Last summer, I showed a slight interest in accupuncture because I thought it would be more hand-on and more helpful than pharmacy. Well, I contacted this Chinese traditional medicine and accupuncture school in TX for more info. They are very eager to show me around but now, I'm so stressed out with the PCAT and everything, I forget about them now and then. But lately, they keep calling up on me 2, 3 times a month almost every month! This shifts my attention to them and I guess you can say i'm academically confused! The bad thing about accupuncture is ... you don't make a lot of money. Plus, there aren't a lot of job. Plus, most people would end up opening a clinic of their own which is not what i'm interested in. However, I love the work that they are doing and I think it's more exciting than pharmacy. But c'mon, it's not really economically feasible right? Anyone ever thought of accupuncture? What do you guys think? I know if i can't get into pharmacy school, I'll probably, most likely, consider accupuncture.

Also, since i'm not chinese, my friends think i won't be a good accupuncturist because most of the research info are in chinese.

Hi,

I was also interested in acupuncture for a while, however I stopped pursuing it as a career for the same reasons that you stated. Mostly I didn't want to be tied down to a private practice; I like pharmacy because I'm able to get a job almost anywhere! I actually liked the herbal part of Traditional Chinese Medicine the most, which I guess explains why I'm so interested in pharmacy.

If acupuncture is really what you like best then I'm sure that you will be successful. Good luck in your decision!
 
I have an accupunturist aquaintance. I believe she is doing well.
I think many health insurances cover a part of the treatments.
I don't know how much they make, but you must really love it and believe in it.
I had treatment and did nothing for me, but other family members had good results. I think is good for many psychosomatic maladies that the health profesionals dear not speak of.
Including migranes, pains (back, neck), quitting smoking...
Do what you love, as long as you are sure you like it!
I must confess, I don't think there is any point of comparison between pharmacy and acupunture... except for the use of the word patient
:laugh:
BTW My acupunturist was NOT chinese. He lived there for a few years, and he was actually quite attractive!
 
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Not to offend anyone....but it feels like becoming an acupuncturist would be a side job or something. My sister's friend is a dietitian who's in nurse practictioner school, but has a studied acupuncture. Also, my boyfriend used to rent a room from a lady in Davis, CA who basically ran her acupuncture business in her home. I remember him telling me that he always had to be extremely quiet because she would give treatments throughout the day. On the other hand, he was telling me that she must be well off because she was considering buying a brand new house in Washington (paying in full) on some island (?).

Don't give up on your dream to be a pharmacist. If it doesn't work out the first time around, you can always re-apply the second time around. On the other hand, becoming an acupuncturist wouldn't be too bad. Do something you'll enjoy. :thumbup:
 
shoppe said:
Last summer, I showed a slight interest in accupuncture because I thought it would be more hand-on and more helpful than pharmacy. Well, I contacted this Chinese traditional medicine and accupuncture school in TX for more info. They are very eager to show me around but now, I'm so stressed out with the PCAT and everything, I forget about them now and then. But lately, they keep calling up on me 2, 3 times a month almost every month! This shifts my attention to them and I guess you can say i'm academically confused! The bad thing about accupuncture is ... you don't make a lot of money. Plus, there aren't a lot of job. Plus, most people would end up opening a clinic of their own which is not what i'm interested in. However, I love the work that they are doing and I think it's more exciting than pharmacy. But c'mon, it's not really economically feasible right? Anyone ever thought of accupuncture? What do you guys think? I know if i can't get into pharmacy school, I'll probably, most likely, consider accupuncture.

Also, since i'm not chinese, my friends think i won't be a good accupuncturist because most of the research info are in chinese.

I'm not sure about this, but don't you have to be an MD and get a degree in TCM to be a licensed acupuncturist? I'm not exactly sure the route they go, but I believe it is longer than pharmacy school. I could be wrong however, I went to an acupuncturist and he was also an MD but maybe you don't have to be. I had a good experience with acupuncture. Unfortunately you have to keep going to get the benefits. At least that's what I found in my case.

Also, I saw this pharmacy website that mentioned you could do a rotation at an acupuncture clinic. I can't find it now, but if I do, I'll post it. You may want to look into that.

Ok, just found it, here's the link.
 
Yeah! Starsweet is right. My friend's friend went to school a very long time, and she had to study a ton of stuff. She was american (as in not chinese or decendant) I have great respect for serious acupunturists.
On the other hand in the case study mentioned in your link, most of the symptoms are considered by many so have a strong psychosomatic origin (back pain, rashes, depresion, etc).
I think this is were health profesionals should be looking for the root cause, but even the word psychosomatic scares some people...
 
usi said:
Yeah! Starsweet is right. My friend's friend went to school a very long time, and she had to study a ton of stuff. She was american (as in not chinese or decendant) I have great respect for serious acupunturists.
On the other hand in the case study mentioned in your link, most of the symptoms are considered by many so have a strong psychosomatic origin (back pain, rashes, depresion, etc).
I think this is were health profesionals should be looking for the root cause, but even the word psychosomatic scares some people...

Yep, I went regularly for a while for rashes and it worked really well, as long as I was going. Since then I've decided to go when I need a "tune-up."

However, I wanted to add that the article I linked to is by a Pharm.D. and L.Ac. (licensed acupuncturist) so I guess you don't have to be an MD after all! Her postdoctorate degree is in acupuncture.
 
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