Frank Yurasek, PhD (China), assistant dean for acupuncture and oriental medicine at National University of Health Sciences (NUHS) was invited to attend the Second World Education Congress of Chinese Medicine held recently in Beijing. The event drew leaders in oriental medicine education from around the world, and was sponsored by the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine.

While there, Dr. Yurasek was appointed to a four-year term on the Committee of Examination and Evaluation of World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies, which is in charge of evaluating educational programs in Chinese medicine worldwide.

At the conference, Dr. Yurasek chaired the meeting on social demand and assessment standardization of Chinese medicine. He also made a formal presentation to the conference titled: “How to Transition From a Private Practice to Hospital Based Practice: The New Challenge and Opportunity for Acupuncture in the United States.”

“To me, what was surprising was meeting the administrative officials of a large contingency of western schools of Chinese medicine, including schools in London, Berlin, Israel, Brazil, the Netherlands, Italy, and others. It presented an overwhelming picture of how acupuncture and oriental medicine are coming of age globally. In fact, the key concept at the conference was the ‘globalization’ of traditional Chinese medicine,” said Dr. Yurasek.

In addition to the conference, he also met with Professor Wang Hongcai, Deputy Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center of Traditional Medicine. The two doctors discussed the possibility of extending distance learning opportunities from Beijing as course electives for, as well as clinical internship opportunities to National University students–both at the Chinese Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences where Dr. Yurasek is a visiting professor, and at the China Beijing International Acupuncture Training Center.

While in China, Dr. Yurasek also visited the Red Cross International Hospital in Huaihua City, which is using acupuncture and oriental medicine exclusively to treat a wide range of severe disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), muscular dystrophy and multiple sclerosis (MS).