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University of California at San Diego (UCSD) Rimac

"My experience at UCSD's RIMAC center has been one of the most dynamic and interesting clinic experiences I've had while at PCOM. Here is what I've seen as the pros and cons for me.
PROS:
1) We see LOTS of patients - we are always either treating or co-treating, and I have seen as many as 5 patients per shift so far. This is WAY more that I am allowed in the PCOM clinic.
2) We started out a little slow, which allowed us to learn and practice the techniques that Matt uses BEFORE we were so busy with patients that there was not enough time to think about what we are doing quite so thoroughly.
3) We are treating young, healthy athletes with athletic injuries. This lets us see how powerful acupuncture can be with patients whose bodies are still in optimal condition. It allows me to really focus my energy on treating one type of condition for an entire semester, which really allows me to learn and retain more information.
4) The treatment environment is often the training room. This allows us to have constant exposure to all of the athletes and trainers who are in the room. While is does not afford a lot of privacy for the patients, it allows us as interns to have nearly constant attention from a supervisor who is able to see what is going on with everyone at the same time.
5) The inability to use internal medicine gives me a chance to see just how
powerful ACUPUNCTURE can be. We are getting GREAT results with these patients using only needles, massage, and external herbal applications.
6) The opportunity to work alongside the athletic training staff, including their orthopedic consultants, allows me to see how other medical professionals treat a patient. It also allows them to see how WE approach athletic injuries, allowing a seemingly rare opportunity to blend eastern and western techniques.
7) Between this experience and Matt's points 6 class, I am becoming much more confident in my knowledge of anatomical structures, and in my ability to do deeper and more aggressive needling with out hurting a patient. (I have typically gravitated towards a Japanese approach to acupuncture, so this style of needling is very different from what I have used in other environments. Part of why I wanted to take this shift was so I could learn these techniques and practice them under supervision.)
8) We are working with a population of people who would never have thought to try acupuncture without it being offered to them in this environment. Many patients who were skeptical at first have come back for 2nd and 3rd treatments, and are excited about the results. They are telling their friends, and referring other teammates for acupuncture. This is opening up our field to a whole new population of people.

CONS:
1) Additional cost to us for parking permits.
2) Inability to use internal medicine does not give me practice in using herbs. However, I AM getting ample opportunity to practice internal medicine in the PCOM clinic, so I don't think this is hurting my education process in herbs.
3) The pace is fast enough that I don't have quite the degree of personal interaction with my patients at RIMAC that I have in the clinic. While this is sometimes frustrating, it is also a very good experience for me to be forced to work a bit faster and talk a bit less!

As you can see, the pros far outweigh the cons! I wish I could have been in this environment for a shift every semester."

Lisa Haven - Intern