NAJOM Editorial July 2020
We Have Been Here Before
Just days after our last issue was stuffed into manila envelopes and mailed out, NAJOM members in 26 countries set down their tools, either completely closing their businesses or severely curtailing face-to-face interactions in a medicine that relies on subtle touch.
What force could overnight shutter clinics around the world with little or no protest from practitioners or patients? COVID-19’s effects on the human body are little understood, but there is no doubt the elderly and unwell who congregate in our waiting rooms are susceptible to the worst outcomes. Despite our conviction that our medicine is an “essential service” needed now more than ever, we have acceded to closures and new regulations, understanding that even acts of compassion can lead to a patient’s death.
We can track the coronavirus’s spikes and curves on daily newsfeeds. But how are NAJOM’s 600 members faring – so many of us in the US, the UK, Brazil, India, and Europe, currently shouldering the world’s highest death tolls? Even where the number of COVID cases has been relatively low, many have lost their livelihoods, sense of security, and direction.
NAJOM contributor Pam Ferguson lives and teaches in Austin, Texas where COVID-19 cases spiked dramatically late June. She describes a community of practitioners under serious strain. “Some have received compensation, some not, in the haphazard bureaucracy of the moment,” she laments. “To make ends meet many have made creative use of tele-sessions; others see a minimum of clients spaced far apart, and practice rigid PPE, but maintain strict isolation from friends and families.” Some offer free sessions to unemployed patients and consider options like doing food deliveries to pay bills. “One of my beloved Zen Shiatsu graduates, Elizabete Gomes, an acupuncturist and RN from Brazil, offers “Tea and Talk,” free group zoom sessions for clients to share their reactions to the pandemic and other current social issues. ” Elizabete also puts casseroles on the doorsteps of unemployed clients.
In the UK after a three-month shutdown, acupuncturist Jenny Craig is struggling with murky guidelines that permit her to treat only “urgent” cases. “Many practitioners like myself work part time and have another source of income. If not for my gardening job, I would not have kept up the rent payments for my clinic in rural Scotland. Many of my older colleagues are inclined to give up altogether because the new normal will involve so many restrictions and changes. Others, who have a family to support and acupuncture is their livelihood, this is not an option.” She says, “It does feel that the country is falling to bits.”
Dr Raman Kapur was forced to close his doors in New Delhi for over a month, from March 20-April 30. “Since we had warning signals of an impending lockdown, we had embedded ear needles in most of our patients and also given them self-help devices, like moxa rolls, to continue their treatment at home. We have used our life savings for our livelihood and to support our staff in this lockdown period.” The clinic has reopened, but at only half capacity, because fewer patients are coming.
In Japan, where masks have long been commonplace and compliance with safety recommendations is high, forced lockdowns have been minimal. Kampo is covered by national health insurance and acupuncture is considered an essential service, so clinics remain open. But physical distancing, public anxiety about the contagion, and widespread unemployment means there are few patients. “Many have financial problems,” says Junji Mizutani. “The Japanese government has given ￥100,000 Yen [$937USD] to all Japanese people, so far.”
Here in Victoria on Canada’s west coast, a state of emergency was declared March 18 and the streets fell empty. With clear and compassionate federal and provincial guidance, including $2000 a month for all who helped “flatten the curve” by not working, we acupuncturists have been easing back into our practices since mid-May, with reduced caseloads. My patients, with pent-up needs and clutching homemade masks, have all returned, except those still on lockdown in seniors facilities. Every evening at 7pm we join the chorus of pot-bangers expressing gratitude to frontline workers. Though our COVID wards are empty now, we watch and wait, hoping there will be no spikes or waves. No longer asking when, or if, things will return to normal.
In this issue’s 14 articles responding to the COVID-19 crisis there is reassurance, and it is this: we have been here before. Several of our contributors remind us that the Shang Han Lun was written in response to an even deadlier epidemic 2,000 years ago. It is circumstances like these that move our profession forward. We have little choice but to clear our minds, strengthen our bodies, and as a community rise to the challenge. We are grateful to all of you who are leading the way and inviting us to join.
Much will have changed by the time NAJOM # 80 reaches you in November. Our planned theme is: “Insights we have achieved when facing our own serious medical challenges,” but we encourage any insights and experience that will help us navigate these uncertain times. Our deadline is September 10, 2020.
Be kind, be calm, and be safe (as British Columbia’s Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry daily reminds us)
Best wishes,
Cheryl Coull, Editor
We Have Been Here Before
Just days after our last issue was stuffed into manila envelopes and mailed out, NAJOM members in 26 countries set down their tools, either completely closing their businesses or severely curtailing face-to-face interactions in a medicine that relies on subtle touch.
What force could overnight shutter clinics around the world with little or no protest from practitioners or patients? COVID-19’s effects on the human body are little understood, but there is no doubt the elderly and unwell who congregate in our waiting rooms are susceptible to the worst outcomes. Despite our conviction that our medicine is an “essential service” needed now more than ever, we have acceded to closures and new regulations, understanding that even acts of compassion can lead to a patient’s death.
We can track the coronavirus’s spikes and curves on daily newsfeeds. But how are NAJOM’s 600 members faring – so many of us in the US, the UK, Brazil, India, and Europe, currently shouldering the world’s highest death tolls? Even where the number of COVID cases has been relatively low, many have lost their livelihoods, sense of security, and direction.
NAJOM contributor Pam Ferguson lives and teaches in Austin, Texas where COVID-19 cases spiked dramatically late June. She describes a community of practitioners under serious strain. “Some have received compensation, some not, in the haphazard bureaucracy of the moment,” she laments. “To make ends meet many have made creative use of tele-sessions; others see a minimum of clients spaced far apart, and practice rigid PPE, but maintain strict isolation from friends and families.” Some offer free sessions to unemployed patients and consider options like doing food deliveries to pay bills. “One of my beloved Zen Shiatsu graduates, Elizabete Gomes, an acupuncturist and RN from Brazil, offers “Tea and Talk,” free group zoom sessions for clients to share their reactions to the pandemic and other current social issues. ” Elizabete also puts casseroles on the doorsteps of unemployed clients.
In the UK after a three-month shutdown, acupuncturist Jenny Craig is struggling with murky guidelines that permit her to treat only “urgent” cases. “Many practitioners like myself work part time and have another source of income. If not for my gardening job, I would not have kept up the rent payments for my clinic in rural Scotland. Many of my older colleagues are inclined to give up altogether because the new normal will involve so many restrictions and changes. Others, who have a family to support and acupuncture is their livelihood, this is not an option.” She says, “It does feel that the country is falling to bits.”
Dr Raman Kapur was forced to close his doors in New Delhi for over a month, from March 20-April 30. “Since we had warning signals of an impending lockdown, we had embedded ear needles in most of our patients and also given them self-help devices, like moxa rolls, to continue their treatment at home. We have used our life savings for our livelihood and to support our staff in this lockdown period.” The clinic has reopened, but at only half capacity, because fewer patients are coming.
In Japan, where masks have long been commonplace and compliance with safety recommendations is high, forced lockdowns have been minimal. Kampo is covered by national health insurance and acupuncture is considered an essential service, so clinics remain open. But physical distancing, public anxiety about the contagion, and widespread unemployment means there are few patients. “Many have financial problems,” says Junji Mizutani. “The Japanese government has given ￥100,000 Yen [$937USD] to all Japanese people, so far.”
Here in Victoria on Canada’s west coast, a state of emergency was declared March 18 and the streets fell empty. With clear and compassionate federal and provincial guidance, including $2000 a month for all who helped “flatten the curve” by not working, we acupuncturists have been easing back into our practices since mid-May, with reduced caseloads. My patients, with pent-up needs and clutching homemade masks, have all returned, except those still on lockdown in seniors facilities. Every evening at 7pm we join the chorus of pot-bangers expressing gratitude to frontline workers. Though our COVID wards are empty now, we watch and wait, hoping there will be no spikes or waves. No longer asking when, or if, things will return to normal.
In this issue’s 14 articles responding to the COVID-19 crisis there is reassurance, and it is this: we have been here before. Several of our contributors remind us that the Shang Han Lun was written in response to an even deadlier epidemic 2,000 years ago. It is circumstances like these that move our profession forward. We have little choice but to clear our minds, strengthen our bodies, and as a community rise to the challenge. We are grateful to all of you who are leading the way and inviting us to join.
Much will have changed by the time NAJOM # 80 reaches you in November. Our planned theme is: “Insights we have achieved when facing our own serious medical challenges,” but we encourage any insights and experience that will help us navigate these uncertain times. Our deadline is September 10, 2020.
Be kind, be calm, and be safe (as British Columbia’s Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry daily reminds us)
Best wishes,
Cheryl Coull, Editor
Information on COVID 19
Below are the official communications from the World Federation of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Societies (WFAS), in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO)
| guidelines_on_acupuncture_and_moxibustion_intervention_for_covid-19__second_edition_.pdf |
| recommandations_sur_lutilisation_de_lacupuncture_et_de_la_moxibustion_dans_le_traitement_du_covid-19.pdf |
| pautas_sobre_el_uso_de_acupuntura_y_moxibustión_para_tratar_el_covid-19.pdf |
| 新型冠状病毒肺炎诊疗方案试行第七版中医方案部分diagnosis_and_treatment_protocol_for_covid-19_chapter_of_tcm_.pdf |
| 新型冠状病毒肺炎针灸干预的指导意见（第二版）.pdf |
NAJOM’s Global Community Working Together
Here are some of the responses NAJOM members have sent in on dealing with the Coronavirus.
Here are some of the responses NAJOM members have sent in on dealing with the Coronavirus.
| Member_responses_handling_the_coronavirus.docx |
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