As a clinician, one of the most common questions I’m asked is “how did you get into this?” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Totally valid question - Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is somewhat of an ‘alternative’ path in the western world. My journey here involved majoring in human physiology, wanting to help people achieve their highest health goals, encountering my own health and having conventional medicine fail me, then turning to acupuncture where I was healed. I always knew I wanted to be a doctor, I just didn’t know what kind until I encountered the treatment that worked best for me. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Education requirements for TCM in the US vary state to state. In CA, a masters degree is the minimum. But I knew that in order to best serve my patients I needed the terminal degree in my field. For my doctorate research, I focused on herbal medicine for primary dysmenorrhea (period pain without diagnosis of an underlying condition). ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ As a practitioner, lecturer, and researcher of herbal medicine, nothing brings me greater joy than to find a healing solution for a patient who thought she had tried everything - and nothing previously had worked. I love what I do and I’m so grateful my path lead me here.