Posts Tagged ‘future’

A doctoral program in acupuncture?!


Yours truly recently read an article on PCOM’s website, titled:  Pacific College’s Doctoral Program gets Glowing Reviews in First Semester (link:  https://www.pacificcollege.edu/acupuncture-massage-news/articles/591-pacific-colleges-doctoral-program-gets-glowing-reviews-in-first-semester.html).  A doctoral program in acupuncture? ? ?  I’ve never even heard of such a thing in China, where acupuncture originated.  This must be something incredible, amazing and wonderful all rolled into one!  I’m going to put on my thinking cap and go over this with you.  Maybe it’s worth $32,000 of additional [worthless] debt.

Ok, so the article starts off with praise on how excited students are about the program and how skilled and versatile they are.  Then they interview Greg Sperber, MSTOM PCOM ’97, who is one of the first students in the program.

Greg who?

Greg Sperber, you know, the former president of California State Oriental Medicine Association (CSOMA).

Why should I know him?

Oh, there was an article about his lame response to very serious allegations of financial improprieties way back when in Acupuncture Today:  http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/CSOMA/

What makes you say his response was lame?

Check out the letter he wrote:  http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/CSOMA/CSOMA_ATQuestions_060623.pdf

Getting back to the topic at hand…

Ok, ok.  So, Greg Sperber says that the MSTOM doctoral holders will have more clout with the FDA.

HAHHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

Maybe Robin Tiberi, PCOM ’95, is a more credible interviewee.   According to her, she feels like she can communicate with anyone about Chinese medicine.

Robin needs to pay $32K for a doctorate degree on top of her Masters before she feels confident enough to speak about Chinese medicine?  This is a really sad woman.

Jack Miller, the President of Pacific College is also interviewed.

Well, honestly, what’s he going to say other than rub his hands together that PCOM will be earning MORE money from these suckers and charlatans?  It would have been more credible to interview people from the FDA to confirm/deny Greg Sperber’s hyperbolic statements.

After reading the article, there’s not a lot of critical thinking that goes into introducing the doctoral program.  What did these people really learn for $32K?  How much did it improve their income?  Do patients really lean towards doctoral degree holders vs. regular acupuncturists?

Student Loan Debt and a Lifetime of Poverty


Can you imagine being 24 years old and owing $70K?  That’s what Chelsea Grove owes for her aborted education at Bowling Green State University.  Please read the NY Times article (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/business/student-loans-weighing-down-a-generation-with-heavy-debt.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all) and see how people need to live in order to pay their student loan debts.  Now imagine doing it at 28…or 34…or 45…and then imagine living that way for 10 years or longer.  Then imagine that once you’re free from student debt, you’re pretty much starting from scratch…at age 38…or 44…or 55…when your peers have passed this point and are so much ahead of you.  Is this a reality that’s appealing to you?

As unfortunate as this scenario is, it’s a very likely future for Pacific College of Oriental Medicine (PCOM) students.  If you’re set on pursuing this dead end future, ask the hard questions:  what job postings are available for acupuncturists?  how many postings for paid internships are there?  What’s the backup plan if I can’t make a decent salary as an acupuncturist?  How will I fund my retirement?  Read the POCA acupuncture community forums and see what they say about jobs, salaries and the profession (https://www.pocacoop.com/).

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/business/student-loans-weighing-down-a-generation-with-heavy-debt.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

So how much do acupuncturists earn?


Full disclaimer:  I am not an acupuncturist.  Rather, I am a drop out of Pacific College of Oriental Medicine’s NY campus acupuncture program.  I can only comment on what I’ve observed in the 2 years that I’ve studied.

So, you’re thinking about signing up for the Acupuncture program at Pacific College.  How much will you make?  You’ve sat through the orientations and when the question is brought up, vague reassurances are issued — mainly that acupuncture is a growing field and that the salaries are hard to track because there aren’t enough numbers. I’ve found the following blogs on the dollars and ‘sense’ of acupuncture to be very helpful — it’s written by a licensed acupuncturist, Shauna McCuaig:

https://www.communityacupuncturenetwork.org/blog/guest-blog-dollars-and-sense-information-prospective-acupuncture-and-oriental-medicine-students

http://www.communityacupuncturenetwork.org/blog/dont-go-acupuncture-school

I’m a cynical New Yorker and Shauna McCuaig’s blog sounds pretty realistic to me.  What’s even more realistic is the lack of paid opportunities available through the Career Services department of PCOM NY (Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, NY campus).

The career services department is run by Cynthia Neipris.  I’ve heard conflicting opinions on her.  Some people suspect Cynthia sits on her duff all day and has little interest in posting more jobs or helping students find positions.  Others had positive things to say, claiming that she’s a very nice woman who works very hard and is helpful.

I say…SHOW ME THE MONEY (I’ve always wanted to say that).  Check out the job postings available at PCOM, ask the students to forward you e-mails Cynthia has sent out about open positions, internships, and opportunities.  Look at the salaries being offered (low to non-existent when mentioned) from the positions that are available through PCOM’s career services.  Either Cynthia really isn’t doing her job (because honestly, there are VERY few acupuncture, massage and herbalist positions posted) or Cynthia is out there hustling for all she’s worth every single day and coming away empty handed because there’s not much available.  Which is it?  Either answer is pretty damning for prospective students who are spending hard earned money for a degree with questionable job security.

One rebuttal people may make to this posting is that acupuncture is an entrepreneurial endeavor and that most graduates/students go into private practice.  To that I say:  this is NYC, where the cost of living is amongst the highest in the nation.  To make it here with the minimum (an unlimited metrocard, cell phone, food, utilities and a rented room), you need to earn at least $35K/year.  Do you have the confidence that you’ll have enough clients, charging $60-$80/session (that’s about 600 sessions/year) to make it in the first few years?

  • Cheap room share:  $800/month in the boros (there are cheaper rooms ranging from $500-$800 — I am putting up the higher figure b/c this would pretty much guarantee a legal bedroom w/a window and some degree of privacy).
  • Cell phone bill:  $50/month (average)
  • Metrocard:  $104
  • Utilities:  $50 for electric, $20 for gas, and $40 for internet = $90
  • Food:  Let’s say you eat cheap and get by on $10/day (this means $.99 menu or strictly cooking and packing lunch daily) = $300
  • Sundries:  Essentials for hygiene (soap, toothpaste, shampoo, detergent), laundry, etc = $50/month
  • Acupuncture malpractice insurance:  $50/month (averages $150/quarter but could be higher)
  • Total= roughly $1450/month just to get by (you must see at least one client/day on a 5 day work week)
Do you want to have some extras in your life?
  • Pay off student loans?  Estimate a monthly payment of $200 to service it w/the hopes of paying something towards the principle.
  • A social life?  Let’s say you spend $20 each weekend/month seeing friends — ~$80/month.
  • Desire to go on vacation once a year?  $800 (that’s a round trip plane ticket, if you’re lucky, plus a little extra for food and transportation) = $70/month in savings.
  • Is health insurance (roughly $400-$600/month) important to you?  Let’s go with the low end (or even HealthyNY, where the cheapest option is about $250/month) which is about $400
  • Total= roughly $750
You will need to earn $2200/month if you want to live a life with some enjoyment/security.  How did I estimate the $35K annual salary when 12 months x 2200=$26400?  Well, $35K after taxes is about $29,000.  Everyone needs a little extra cushion so I put in $2,600 per year towards a cheap office share (where your practice will be run), needles (cheap at about $5/box but adds up), sheets (again, laundry costs money), and office supplies.  Of course, if you can live off family, you have no worries and no major pressures.

Jason Morris’s correspondence re: my FB postings


In response to my Facebook postings, I received a rather negative message from Jason Morris.  It really shocked disappointed me to see an aspiring healer write such a negative and judgmental e-mail response my Facebook suggestions (which were neither personal nor mean-spirited):

Jason Morris: 

Soo, please read this before you spread any more negativity. Honestly, my heart is breaking reading what people are sending me that you’ve said. You’re attacking my personal efforts and I don’t understand why.

It is senseless, mean, and really not something i would expect from a grad student to be so aggressively writing about issues you’ve never brought to any forum, luncheon, info session, or council member. Beyond this, it’s an abuse of the link I shared. That link was to let people know that I personally worked insanely hard to provide Broadway-caliber performers for people to enjoy, while raising money for Cancer Research… not for you to use for your pcom-bashing purposes. Council will definitely be helping, but what you’re writing is attacking my personal efforts and mine alone.

The reason Julie’s taking your posts so hard is because you are very clearly attacking someone’s hard work, without actually talking with them or anyone related to get clear facts. Ranting about these points without actual understanding is what’s making you look ignorant. And you just posted that you would not even talk with Council, which is just coming off bitchy and closed-minded.

Here is the info you’ve been referencing.

1. The performers were not charged at the last event. that was a mistake at the door; had anyone notified me of what happened with the latin dancers, they would have been immediately refunded. they arrived a lot later than the other performers, so the door person – not knowing who they were – may have thought they were trying to get in for free. mistakes happen. you should not hold such a grudge for something that just came to light. we were extremely short staffed, so katie and i could not be at the door the entire time to supervise…

2. If you want bookkeeping, you should ask. We – as the Student Council – have no reason to publicly post our finances, as most of it is simply funding luncheons, flyers, info sessions, workshops, intern bags, etc; as a student organization there is no need to post our expenses. You are more than welcome to see everything we do. You have never asked to see these things; therefore you didn’t. Using my link to badmouth a school you have issues with is not the proper use of an event’s info that i have worked so hard to put together.

3. The ticket price in november was based on fund-RAISING. it was not based on anything else. we took polls of over thirty students who all said $25 was fair. beyond that, at the show patrons gave $30 and $40, telling us to keep the change. but outside of that, the event was open to the public, for those afore-mentioned fundraising purposes… it was not necessarily geared towards just pcom students being in attendance. and if students are so strapped for cash, why are half of them posting about going to phish shows, bayside concerts, seeing david foster, and other broadway shows. all of these events are more than $40, and we only charged $25.

4. As for expenses, the theatre rental was $600, paid for entirely out of the SC budget, not out of the funds raised. All of the funds taken that night went to the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America. Had you read the fliers, listened when the show was discussed, or paid attention, you would have realized that the event was a fundraiser for them. not avery man.. not cairey tai… for the sickle cell disease association of america. Cairey was one of my closest friends, and I held her hand when they took her off life-support, but I cannot raise money for her family. That would be inappropriate. Cairey and Avery were memorialized because we felt it was the right thing to do – the night was held in memoriam. But, the money did not go to the families; it went straight to sickle cell research. In addition, there was no “spring” show, just the one last november.

5. Even I did not like the person at the door just taking cash from people with no kind of accounting table. Okay? But that’s all we could do. My mom’s an accountant, so I like clean books, but there was no one versed enough to do this at the last show. We took the cash drawer from the night, put everything in an envelope, and handed it to Amanda to deposit. I don’t like shitty bookkeeping, so this time the ticketing is being done online – through TicketLeap.com; if you would like to see attendance after the night has passed, you are more than welcome!

6. As nice as I can say this, please take down my link. Spread love, not hatred. I am not PCOM. I have never done anything mean or malicious to you. All of your words are a complete personal attack on me, as I’m the one in charge of this… and pretty much doing it by myself. I lost a grandmother, a grandfather, and my mother to cancer… I’m doing this, because I want to raise money for this cause. I don’t deserve this abuse. I really don’t. Please take down that post.

The background to these posts


About a month ago, the following Facebook dialogue occurred:

Me:           My 2 cents on raising money for a good cause:

  1.  Don’t charge performers an admission fee to perform/get in the door.  It’s not classy (just my opinion).  This is my recollection of what happened during the last PCOM fundraising event.
  2. Transparent bookkeeping:  Publicly post the # of attendees, # of tickets sold and the names and responsibilities of the people in charge of accounting and auditing.
PCOM NY:
this is honestly outrageous, soo.  you have no idea how hard jason has been working to secure broadway-caliber talent to provide an amazing evening for everyone…just for you to trash it on your profile.  it is extremely compelling that you won’t talk with council, that you prefer to angrily rant about practices you know nothing about.  had any of your questions been brought to an info session, a forum, or just even mentioned to a member of council or admin, you would have had immediate answers and documentation.  this is maliciious and honestly hard to believe of a grad student studying healing medicine.  please delete this post.
Me:  
I don’t understand why you’re taking my postings so personally — I am posting my thoughts on best practices for fundraising.  If  you have info. on the budget or contradicting facts, please publicly post.
 As for my sources, here’s the identity:  my own two eyes.  I have this memory of standing in line, waiting to get into the student talent show.  A few dancers entered and the two people at the door said that they had to pay $15 — even if they were performers.  One of the dancers I recall being charged was the salsa dancer.  There were also the Korean drummers.
Julie Cho (an acupuncture student and the person whom I initially had this dialogue with):
:
Know your facts before postig these.  Email ktintz@gmail.com.  I still love you.
Me:

Well, I’m not going to e-mail student council nor join but I will share my thoughts when the subject is brought up.  I question how much of the proceeds is ultimately going to the American Cancer Society if the venue rental is high enough to justify $25/ticket from struggling students though!

Also, $25 is really steep for struggling PCOM students.  Possibly set student ticket sales as ‘voluntary donation suggested’.  Again, just my humble 2 cents.


Julie!!!  Another brilliant idea from yours truly:  there should be transparency for the accounting of the fundraising!  The info should be posted on the PCOM Facebook page for all to see!

You can see that none of these postings can be deemed ‘vicious’ or mean-spirited.  The points I made were to improve the accessibility of a talent show to the entire student body and to encourage fiscal transparency.  In response, my character and integrity were challenged — PCOM NY and a PCOM student denied that performers were charged admission and accused me of trashing them.