SPEAKERS

Marilyn never stops seeking opportunities for the advancement of acupuncture locally, nationally, and internationally. She is the Public Relations and Marketing Director for the American Acupuncture Council and serves as the US Traditional Medicine/Acupuncture representative to the World Health Organization since 2005. Marilyn recently became a founding member of the Steering Committee for the One Voice, Big Evidence Project: an international initiative to provide guidance on the implementation of the ICD11 Traditional Medicine codes.
As an avid reader and writer, Marylin looks to spread the word about the most recent relevant information to the profession and has been the editor of Acupuncture Today since 1999.

Mina Larson, M.S., MBA, CAE has utilized her association management and leadership experience to serve the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) for the past 19 years, moving up to the Chief Executive Officer position in July 2019. Mina helped create the public relations and marketing department and launched a media campaign that brought national recognition to NCCAOM and its Diplomates. She also led the Advocacy team that has helped bring federal recognition to NCCAOM National Board-Certified Acupuncturist™. 
Mina has devoted many hours overseeing NCCAOM’s Regulatory Affairs Department, partnering with states to adhere to NCCAOM standards for the safe and ethical practice of acupuncture and herbal medicine resulting in 46 states plus the D.C. to require NCCAOM certification or exams as a prerequist for state licensure. Under Mina’s leadership, the NCCAOM won the coveted ASAE Gold Circle Award in 2021 for their COVID-19 NCCAOM Diplomate Recognition and Awareness.

Dr. Nell Smircina, DAOM, L.Ac., Dipl. OM is an advocate, educator, and practitioner with a focus on the integration of acupuncture into America's standard of care.
Dr. Nell is the Immediate Past Chair of CSOMA, California's oldest state acupuncture association, and is a Board Member for the American Society of Acupuncturists. As the Director of Development for the American Acupuncture Council, she actively works to support the profession through many strategic initiatives, including work with Marilyn Allen at an international level to further her groundbreaking work with WHO to develop and implement ICD11 codes which include Traditional Medicine diagnostics.
Clinically, Dr. Nell specializes in acupuncture for optimal post-surgical recovery, an area she researched extensively during her doctoral program. She is the Founder of PIQUE Health, an integrative concierge practice in Beverly Hills, but more recently has scaled and pivoted her business to focus more on B2B, specifically focused on collaboration and integrating acupuncture into established businesses. Realizing her passion for business, she has started her MBA journey at Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. She shares her insights and business building tools with the profession in her Acupuncture Today column, “The Business of Acupuncture”.

Michael Taromina, Esq., is an expert in acupuncture and Oriental Medicine law, ethics, and regulations. For over two decades he has litigated, educated, advocated, lectured, and authored for the advancement and protection of the AOM profession in the United States. Michael serves as the Chair of National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine’s Professional Ethics and Disciplinary Committee. In this capacity, he drafts revisions to the Code of Ethics and Grounds for Discipline and oversees the adjudication of misconduct cases from all over the country. Michael has also served as pro bono legal counsel to many AOM state and national associations. 

FSOMA President David Bibbey, AP is the practitioner-owner of Alternative Primary Care in Crystal River, FL, and a faculty member at Florida College of Integrative Medicine in Orlando.  He is a frequent presenter and leading voice in his community on the benefits of healthy lifestyle choices.  David also enjoys teaching personal strategies that reduce the risk of developing preventable diseases.  He has nearly a decade of training and experience in evidence-based use of herbs and supplements.

In 2011, David earned a Master’s in Oriental Medicine / Bachelor’s of Professional Health Studies at Florida College of Integrative Medicine (FCIM).  Prior to attending FCIM, he earned a Bachelor’s of Science – Alternative Medicine at Everglades University in 2008.  David is a NCCAOM Dipl. Oriental Medicine Candidate.  Since 2003, he has been affiliated with Huffman’s, a natural food and supplement retailer in Crystal River. His relationship there has fostered many opportunities for guest speaking at community events and promoting wellness through prevention.  David’s respect for Integrative and Oriental Medicine continues to fuel his commitment to life-long learning, and help shape his personal and professional choices.  He believes strongly that individual practitioners can, and should have a defining role in promoting and protecting AOM for future generations of professionals and patients.  David also considers activism and volunteerism hallmarks of professionalism; and, he has never asked another to contribute more than he is willing to give.

Prior to becoming an Acupuncture Physician, David had careers in marketing, sales, operations management, and systems training.  His personal story also includes nearly a decade of primary caregiving for his disabled father.  Ultimately, this last experience remains his greatest source of pride.  David’s approach to life, business, and AOM has been informed and tempered by overcoming challenges.  He is an optimist at heart, who believes that our lives are enriched most through service to others.

General Assembly Description
Unification through National Standards:  Our profession is at a challenging crossroads. The healthcare landscape is rapidly changing--millions are coping with Long COVID and opioid addiction while many patients are choosing to get acupuncture treatment from less-trained practitioners.

• Why is our medicine and consumer use of acupuncture increasing while the number of Licensed Acupuncturists is decreasing? 
• This session will examine the root causes of this alarming trend and offer solutions, namely through the establishment of national standards.
• NCCAOM PEDC Chair, Michael Taromina, will lead an honest and frank panel discussion on the best pathways forward to reverse the decline and set a permanent course of stability and growth.

Come join us and be a part of securing the future for the profession.

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Friday Breakfast Symposium - One Voice, Big Evidence: A international feasibility study to change the landscape of our medicine with Marilyn Allen and Nell Smircina.

American Acupuncture Council endeavors to constantly contribute meaningfully to the forward movement of the profession. Join AAC’s Executive Director, Marilyn Allen, and Director of Development, Dr. Nell Smircina, to learn about the latest effort to elevate our profession internationally: the One Voice, Big Evidence Project. A summary of this new initiative, along with details on how to participate in this collaborative research will be discussed.

 

Chad Bailey, AP is an expert in Acupuncture, Oriental Medicine, Tui Na Massage, Qi Gong, Tai Chi Chuan, and Martial Arts, he brings an enormous wealth of knowledge and experience to each of his treatments or classes. He teaches Tai Chi Chuan, Qi Gong, Filipino Self-Defense (Progressive Arnis & Cadena de Mano), Tui Na (Chinese Massage & Manipulation), and Oriental Medicine in Miami. Chad is a state and nationally licensed acupuncturist (A.P., D.O.M.) as well as a national Diplomate of Chinese Herbology (D.C.H.).

Ting Jin is translated as Listening Energy, only listening without your ears.  We will explore methods to learn to sense energy.  We will use common Qi Gong exercises such as Wu Ji standing, Dispersing & Collecting Breathes, Three Centers Qi Gong, Silk Reeling Qi Gong, and Meridian Qi Gong to test our individual Ting Jin.  We will perform partner energy exercises (push hands) to test these concepts.

Acupuncture and Tui Na for Post COVID 19 and Post Vaccine Syndromes will focus on the lingering symptomology of both patients who contracted COVID 19 and those who received the COVID 19 Vaccine.  Common Post COVID 19 symptomology includes fatigue, memory loss, lack of concentration, muscle/ nerve damage and a list of vascular, immune and neuropsychiatric disorders.  Common Post COVID 19 Vaccine symptomology will also be discussed.  Treatment process for both cases will be discussed.

This class will focus on practical Tui Na manipulations for cervical and cranial areas and acupuncture, both local and distal.  Emphasis on Tui Na reviewed from previous FSOMA sessions, showing details and precision pertaining to these cases. Category: General  

Dr. Steven Collins LAc has been practicing as a Doctor of Oriental Medicine since 2001.  He has garnered extensive experience and understanding of both Eastern and Western schools of medical practice over the years. Before practicing Chinese medicine, he was a paramedic, an RN, and the director of education at several colleges. 
Dr. Collins gained his Masters of Acupuncture from Northwestern Health Sciences University and served on the faculty there and later at East West College of Natural Medicine in Sarasota.  Dr. Collins received his Doctorate in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine at the ATOM in Ft. Lauderdale.
He has lectured and been published both locally and nationally, addressing diverse aspects of Chinese medicine including tui na, advanced needling, herb-drug interaction, effective acupuncture techniques, and patient communication. 

Enhanced Communication Techniques for Practitioners

“Verbal Acupuncture” This workshop draws from Transactional Analysis, Neurolinguistic Programming and other theories to give you tools that will help you gain immediate rapport with patients and colleagues, and avoid conversational pitfalls. Improve your bedside manner and communication skills immensely. This interactive workshop relies on both lecture and role play to introduce these concepts. This is a fascinating and unique course, addressing an issue that is otherwise absent in our professional education.  Category: General

Cathy Goldstein LAc has been practicing acupuncture for over 30 years. She is a graduate of the New England School of Acupuncture. Cathy has been teaching advanced techniques that are based on meridian theory and TCM for over 23 years. Cathy was Dx with Crohn's disease in her mid-twenties. After long-term struggles with multiple hospitalizations and surgeries, Acupuncture saved her life, and, the cutting edge, Neuro-Emotional Technique resolved the stress that perpetuated ongoing symptoms. She is committed to keeping our profession on the cutting edge of evidence-based protocols. She is an energetic speaker that is interested in participants learning techniques that they can take back to the office and use Monday to help their patients.

We will go over the science of emotions, and research that demonstrates a TCM-based protocol can eliminate hippocampus electrical impulse, Demonstrating TCM-based protocol can change the brain stem impulse. Demonstration of protocol and practical workshops learning NET technique so you can treat patients on Monday. Learn how TCM can change brain chemistry and emotional response to trauma and daily stressors.  Learn tools for patients to help relieve stress at home. Category: General

Chinese Herbal Approaches to Addiction - This class will look at addiction from both the western medical and possible TCM patterns. We will explore the use of western and chinese herbal approaches through the various stages of withdrawal.  Participants will identify the definition criteria for substance addiction, identify stages of withdrawal and associated symptoms, identify TCM and 5 Element patterns associated with addiction and will identify common herbs and formulas to address stages of withdrawal.  Category: BIO 

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Evan Mahoney AP is the author of several books on Saam Acupuncture and Kinetic Acupuncture. In 2018 he presented at EuroSciConvention, Dublin, Ireland, and lectured at Dongguk University Los Angeles on Saam Acupuncture. In 2021 he presented at FSOMA's Convention in Fort Lauderdale on the subjects of Saam and Kinetic Acupuncture. 

Saam Acupuncture  for Headaches and the Interpretation of Dreams Part I of the lecture will present the construction of Saam Acupuncture's Harmonized Combinations (with Male and Female prescriptions)  and the use and application of Saam Techniques per Dr. Tan's Balance System Method.  Also included is Saam's Organ Centered Consciousness. Part II of the lecture will pertain to the interpretation of dreams utilizing Saam Acupuncture's Three Levels of Human Needs. The Interpretation of Dreams is the completion of Saam's  'Organ Centered Consciousness'. Category: General 

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Robert Quinn LAc recently retired from full-time teaching in The School of Classical Chinese Medicine at NUNM in Portland, OR. Before NUNM he taught at OCOM. He has also taught in the DAOM programs at YoSan, NIEAM, Bastyr, and OCOM. He also regularly teaches in Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden. Bob specializes in numerous Japanese palpation-based styles. For 14 years Bob has run a continuing education seminar-hosting business in Portland and has hosted approximately 90-weekend seminars. This has afforded him the opportunity to study with numerous masters in an ongoing manner. Bob also writes regularly for the North American Journal of Oriental Medicine (www.najom.org), as well as his weekly blog for Blue Poppy (www.bluepoppy.com).

 

Through the study of human movement, Bob has acquired a recognition of the crucial importance of the neck and how it sets the relationship between the torso (Earth) and the head (Heaven), becoming effectively the connection between Heaven and Earth. As the condition of the neck improves, many of the problems of the head experience rapid relief. We will start with a brief lecture to establish the importance of the neck, then Bob will demonstrate Enshin, Teishin, Sotai, and qigong tuina techniques. Category: General 

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Galina V. Roofener LAc is board-certified and licensed acupuncturist & Chinese herbalist in the states of Florida and Ohio. She has over 30 years of experience in health care, including 8 years at the Cleveland Clinic. She was a major contributor to the development of the Chinese Herbal Therapy program. Galina is a contributor to published journals and textbooks on the topics of prevention, wellness, health, and Eastern medicine, and is also an NCCAOM-approved continuing education provider and gives lectures at many conferences. She has authored Modern Pulse Diagnosis: Mobile ECG Based textbook, which illustrates a modern perspective on describing the TCM pulse through the interpretation of mobile ECG data.

 

Learn How to Choose Imaging Tests For Head and Neck  

• Which tests need to be ordered for suspected red flags? 
• Which tests show what - Which test shows what pathology the best.
• How to choose whether to use Xray Ultrasound, thermogram, MRI, CT scans.
• What are legal aspects of imaging ordering?
• How to read the imaging report and communicate to the patient.
• How the use of imaging affects medical decision making and billing codes. 
• Translating Imaging findings into TCM Theory
  Category: BioMedical

Case Studies: TCM Medical Decision Making & SOAP Notes Requirements  Part 1 required for Part II 
Navigating Medical Decision-Making: Ancient Medicine in the Modern World. This class presents the TCM practitioner viewpoint for note-taking, enhances the efficiency of TCM clinical practice, and facilitates the accuracy of TCM pattern differentiation diagnosis.

Based on real case studies you will learn how to write Traditional Medicine SOAP notes according to new requirements from the practitioner side. This class will discuss in detail the necessary amount of subjective and objective data that must be collected for acupuncture versus herbal SOAP notes. Learn how to arrive at the traditional medical decision and record it in the notes, including formulation and proper recording of the billable western diagnosis and non-billable pattern using new standard Traditional Medicine terminology as outlined in the ICD-11 chapter 26 for different styles of acupuncture. You will understand the specifics of additional data collection and legal language pertaining to acupuncture versus herbal SOAP notes.  Category: BioMedical & Gen  

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Amy Sear AP, Dipl. O.M. (NCCAOM) is an experienced speaker and is valued for her organized, practical, and information-filled presentations. She completed her Oriental Medical education at the Acupressure Acupuncture Institute in Miami, FL.  Amy served as President of FSOMA from 2004 to 2010 and currently teaches at two schools in Florida.  She has taught practical and clinical continuing education since 2000 and is considered an expert in laws, safety, ethics, and documentation. She has over seventeen years of experience in Integrative practice, including employee status at Memorial Healthcare Systems in Broward County, FL. She brings her years of respected teaching experience to these topics in order to help others.

 

This course was designed to be super practical and straightforward.  It provides the key tenets of ethics in medical practice, those forming the foundation of all the others, then moves on to the actual Codes of Ethics in our practice.  The most common ethical quandaries and violations in the Oriental Medical community across the country will be provided, with practical tips to reduce problematic situations in the first place. Ethics is an NCCAOM requirement. Category: GEN 

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Dr. Kristine Tohtz, a Chicago native and recent Florida transplant, is a dual licensed Chiropractic Physician and Acupuncturist.  She graduated magna cum laude from the National University of Health Sciences in April 2001. While attending chiropractic school, she also began working toward a diplomate in Acupuncture and in August 2009 received her Diplomate in Acupuncture from the American Chiropractic Association’s Council on Chiropractic Acupuncture (CCA) of which she sat on the board over 8 years in various positions and now helps coordinate educational efforts for the group as President Emeritus.  After attending two supervised medical internships in Beijing and Hangzhou, China, she found advanced studies to be warranted and obtained her Master’s of Science in Acupuncture (MsAc) through the National University of Health Sciences graduating summa cum laude in August 2014. She has also served on the Illinois DPR Acupuncture Board for 6 years.

Saturday Breakfast Symposium Integrating Western TMJ Diagnosis with Manual Care for the OM Practitioner   
However we choose to treat TMJ dysfunction, an integrated care approach is usually paramount for complex cases.   In this one hour lecture, a discussion on occlusions and muscular anatomy will be reviewed; followed by a video / hands on demonstration of intraoral manual release procedures to accentuate TCM needling methodology for oral maxillofacial pain arising from TMJ Dysfunction. 

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Brie Wieselman, LAc, MTCM is a licensed primary care provider and the medical director of Brie Wieselman Integrative Health, our virtual clinic of integrative practitioners.

She empowers her patients with a personalized map for understanding and transforming their health. Besides being an expert in hormone balance and fertility optimization, she specializes in helping people heal digestive problems such as IBS, Ulcerative Colitis, parasitic infections, Candida overgrowth, and SIBO to rebuild a bulletproof microbiome.
Prior to founding the clinic, she spent several years specializing in the integrative treatment of infertility and sub-fertility at several IVF centers and fertility practices in the San Francisco Bay Area (Nurture Acupuncture, Reproductive Science Center of the Bay area, Thrive Acupuncture), and also in a local clinic specializing in the Integrative treatment of Hepatitis C

Course:  Sunday Breakfast Symposium
Integrating Functional Medicine and Asian Medicine approached for Gastrointestinal Disorders:  Despite originating thousands of years apart, both Traditional Asian Medicine and Functional Medicine both aim to rehabilitate and maintain health by restoring the balance of body functions.  Leaky Gut Syndrome involves inflammation and changes in the gut flora that can lead to problems within the digestive tract and beyond. While the spleen-stomach theory is pivotal to the practice of Traditional Chinese medicine, the concept of Leaky Gut Syndrome has never been addressed in classical TCM, because it is a modern phenomenon. Treatment of increased gut permeability is multi-layered, and ideally suited for integration of both ancient techniques and modern nutritional tools. 

Learning objectives:

• Define Leaky gut syndrome and dysbiosis in terms of Functional Medicine and TCM Theory.
• Understand symptoms and manifestations of a dysfunctional gut barrier.
• Identify treatment principles that incorporate Eastern and Western protocols
• Introduce the importance of spores vs traditional probiotics
• Provide immediately applicable protocols for restoration of the mucosal barrier, and reconditioning of a diverse and robust microbiome.

 

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