Our first two weeks back to in-person clinic were hectic to say the least. Integrating all the interns from both clinics and our lab classes into one building while socially distancing was a challenge, but we made it work. We rotated on and off of early mornings and late evenings to make sure all of our patients had the ability to be seen with the fewest number of people in the clinic at a time. We were given specific areas where we were able to spend our time between patient visits and I was lucky enough to secure a spot in one of our acupuncture rooms and got to enjoy a little sunlight or storm watching between appointments.

Our schedule has been busy and we have had a lot of patients returning for care, and even some new patients sprinkled in throughout. Thankfully, the SPC campuses have begun to open up and our clinic schedule is returning to normal this week. I look forward to getting back into our normal routine and finally getting set on a long-term schedule.

I also started this week with the NUHS Veteran’s Clinic. Every Friday, until the end of August, I will be providing complementary acupuncture care to veterans out of our clinic. This program is such an incredible service to our community, and I am very happy to be involved with it.

As interns, we get added practice with acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine as well as learn some new techniques. Most recently we have been learning tongue and pulse diagnosis as a way to evaluate our patients. Every patient who comes in has his or her pulse taken on both arms, and we look at the tongue before we render a diagnosis. Depending on how the pulse feels or the tongue looks, we can determine which acupuncture channels may be affected and which points we need to needle in order to encourage Qi, or blood flow and healing for our patients. It is a very delicate form of evaluation, and I will certainly need a lot of practice in the future to make it a suitable addition into my personal practice in the future.

Finally, its officially the rainy season here in Florida. We have had many powerful storms over the previous weeks. I have found it increasingly important to get out and enjoy the good weather when I can, and it appears many of the Florida critters feel the same.

Just the other day, this snapping turtle was hanging out right behind my car before I had to hurry to clinic for the day. After a little encouragement and several minutes, it finally lumbered away to a less busy resting spot.

As always, if you have any questions, please email me at [email protected].