One of the benefits of being an NUHS AOM student is having the
privilege of taking seminars taught by HB Kim. HB Kim is a
brilliant man who has conceptualized many patterns and concepts of
acupuncture and oriental medicine. He has written several books and
articles including Handbook of Oriental Medicine and
Minibook of Oriental Medicine. He has a forum on www.hbkimforum.com where many of his
articles can be located.
I took my first seminar taught by HB Kim
this weekend--Acupuncture Treatment Strategies. I learned a great
deal. I feel he took what I have been learning and fit the
knowledge into patterns that I did not see before, and I feel that
I learned many new concepts as well. Kim's seminar has shown me
that AOM is a vast medicine that in some ways has little ceiling to
what it can treat and how it can be combined.
While I thoroughly enjoy being an AOM student, the combination
of recent stressors and demands of school has caused school to feel
a bit worrisome at times. This weekend's seminar reminded me why I
fell in love with AOM. It helped me rekindle my passion for the
medicine that has been there, but had less of a flicker lately due
to recent events.
The information taught in the seminar reminded me that thousands
of years of knowledge and practice have been combined through many
great minds and masters of oriental medicine to bring us where we
are today. I have been reminded that through the simple use of
needles and herbs, combined with a strong knowledge base and skill
set, patients heal and lives change. While I realize that is not
always the case, it is nice to know it occurs much of the time and
is the goal we are striving towards.
Another aspect of this weekend's seminar that was very nice was
the fellowship of my classmates. It was so wonderful to be learning
in an environment that is based on encouragement and positivity.
Each class began at 8am, which feels rather early for a weekend. It
was comforting to be surrounded with good friends who were excited
to be learning the information together. Every student was there to
learn and was eager to gain the knowledge HB Kim was sharing. Being
surrounded by colleagues in this environment is so beneficial when
learning new information.