ACU-018 Why You Should Join Your State Association, with Beth Howlett DAOM, LAc.
AcuSprout: Acupuncture Podcast
02/18/21
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YOUR STATE ASSOCIATION IS SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS!!
Hey Sprouts! Are you feeling a little lost in all of the legal jazz your state is offering up? Trying to figure out what hoops to jump through and in what order? Not really sure where to find some help?
Did you know that your state association might have the answers you need? They may even have a detailed explanation or road map for you to follow. And even if they don’t, the ASA has mentors to help you!! Don’t know who the ASA is? Listen in to get the 411, then go join your state association. Then volunteer!
TODAY’S GUEST
Dr. Beth Howlett, DAOM, LAc, is the Vice President of Communications and Academic Services and adjunct faculty at Oregon College of Oriental Medicine (OCOM). In addition to leadership and teaching roles in the field of Chinese Medicine, Dr. Howlett also serves as the Education Working Group Co-Chair for the Academic Collaborative for Integrative Health (ACIH) and the Board Chair for the Oregon Collaborative for Integrative Medicine (OCIM).
YOU’LL LEARN
- How Oregon’s University level healthcare programs are championing collaborative systems that other states and organizations can learn from.
- How we keep students linked to their state associations from graduation to start up.
- This can happen at the school level by providing educational resources to students about what state associations have to offer.
- At the state level, welcome emails or letters to new practitioners may be a helpful entry point.
- Schools could host special events on campus around graduation time to onboard the new practitioners and create personal bonds.
- At the ASA level states could be educated on how to create meaningful packets on how to get your business started.
- States need to provide help where information is based on the specificity of the state.
- Part of the bridge program could be on having a granular herbal medicinary and prescribing.
- The Acupuncture Society of Acupuncturists has a mentorship program! The committee chair is Christine Cronin.
- Listen in as Beth gives her top 4 things Acupuncturists do that could bite you in the ass later. (My words, not hers...)
RESOURCES
- National Practitioner Survey: Attitudes and Practices Around Herb Sourcing: LINK
- Oregon Association of Acupuncturists: (OAA): LINK Facebook: LINK
- Oregon Collaborative for Integrative Medicine (OCIM): LINK
- OCOM/Kam Wah Chung Medical Collection Database: LINK
- More about Kam Wah Chung: LINK
- American Society of Acupuncturists (ASA): LINK
- American Society of Acupuncturists State Association list: LINK
WHAT TO DO NOW...
- Join your State Association and maybe even volunteer!! You can forge some pretty helpful relationships this way.
- Be sure to participate in the National Practitioner Survey.
- If your website is not ADA compliant, you need to listen to Episode 016.
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Previous Episode
IS YOUR WEBSITE ADA COMPLIANT? GET IT DONE IN 2021!
How do you make sure your website is ADA compliant? That is a huge question with multiple answers and hazy guidelines. In this episode I (Stacey) unpack the topic with attorney Rachel Schumont of Counsel For Wellness, located in California.
I was recently strolling thru Facebookland looking to see if there was anything interesting and topic worthy to dig into with the podcast when I saw that one of the Facebook Aculanders was being sued for ADA non-compliance on his website. He is a solo practitioner. Not a large corporation. It lit the acu-twitterland on FIRE! There were SO many offers of information and help but no one really had any definitive answers or solid solutions other than to hire an attorney. I genuinely think everyone wanted to help him but let’s be real, we really don’t want THAT to happen to us either!
I have been working with Rachel on a series of podcasts to present this Spring about all things legal in an Acupuncture practice. Luckily for us, she was willing to do some digging and able to offer up some education for this podcast.
FIND RACHEL HERE:
INSTAGRAM @COUNSELWELLNESSCOUNSEL FOR WELLNESS WEBSITE
YOU’LL LEARN
- The ADA is one of America's most comprehensive pieces of civil rights legislation that prohibits discrimination and guarantees that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else to participate in the mainstream of American life -- to enjoy employment opportunities, to purchase goods and services, and to participate in State and local government programs and services. (www.ada.gov)
- Healthcare providers, even solo practices can be sued for ADA non-compliance. (Yes, you too.)
- The best way to ensure your site is compliant is to hire an expert to do an audit.
- Your best practice is to align with WCAG. You can take a look at the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) here. Then, when you can’t understand what the F*** they are talking about, go ahead and hire that expert.
- It is uncertain if your malpractice insurance will cover this if you get sued.You need to check with your carrier.
- Widgets are good but they are not the firewall you are looking for. (See above. Hire an audit.)
- Rachel discusses what happens when you get sued. What can those fines look like and will you have to hire an attorney? (If you are deaf, please reach out to me and I will send you a transcript of the show.)
RESOURCES
- All things ADA.
- All things WCAG.
- Counsel For Wellness
CALL TO ACTION
- If you appreciate this podcast, please leave a review on apple podcasts. Don’t do it for me. Do it so other Acu’s can also access this info!
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Next Episode
COULD THIS BE THE PRACTICE OF THE FUTURE?
I went in search of a practitioner who was practicing medicine in the business model I was envisioning as a result of the Pandemic. A practice with multiple streams of income that housed an educational community and platform to answer questions and share the fundamentals of Chinese Medicine. A way to spotlight the spectrum of natural ways it can help people heal. I was looking for a way to treat patients in my office and remotely, and also a way to connect with an build relationships with people who want to be healthier but maybe aren’t ready for the needles while creating passive streams of income.
Here is what I found. I found a newish graduate who had a baby AND launched a practice a couple months after graduation. A social media expert who might catch up to The Rock sometime soon. A young, intelligent and well spoken woman who NEVER in ANY of our conversations let on that her life changing events were anything but motivational and helpful in her success. And I promise you that you want to stick around to the end to hear what her vision of success is.
TODAY’S GUEST
CAITRIA THIELE LAC., OWNER OF CONNECTED HEALING LLC.
Caitria's connection to the natural medicine realm began early in life, thanks to her parents who exposed her to chiropractic, acupuncture, biofeedback, and osteopathy for various issues throughout childhood. She began acupuncture school at a young age after stumbling upon a school 30 minutes from her hometown, where she felt an instant connection to TCM. Starting her practice just a few months before the birth of her daughter led to some outside-the-box marketing techniques that really paid off. She now practices in her dream clinic in Southern Wisconsin, working primarily with women's health, pediatrics, and mental health.
FIND HER HERE:
FaceBook: Connected Healing
Instagram: @connectedhealingcaitria
Website: ConnectedHealingLLC
YOU’LL LEARN
- Caitria talks about the support systems she had when she started her practice.
- The challenges of having a newborn as a single Mom and launching a practice were real, but they also catalyzed her practice to what it is today.
- Caitria is an Instagram Pro. She talks about what it takes to use social media as her main connection to attracting patients.
- I love her vision of success and you will too.
- We dive into her practice model which includes a membership and masterclasses.
- Her practice evolved because she focused on what came easy and doubled down on that.
CALL TO ACTION
- Go take a masterclass and then see if integrating this into your practice feels right for you.
- If you like the podcast please let other people know about it.
- Leave a review on Applepodcasts!
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