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ABORM NEWS
JANUARY 2011
In This Issue
President's Message
Board of Directors Wanted
Membership Renewal
Join Discussion Groups
Update Your Listing
Attend ABORM Exam
Practitioner Spotlight
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE


Dear ABORM Fellows and Colleagues -Ray

 

As the year of the Tiger draws to a close, and the year of the Rabbit approaches, I do hope that this ABORM Newsletter finds each of you in good health and prosperity.

 

2010 was an exciting year for the ABORM. We had a very good turnout of ABORM Fellows in attendance at the annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) in beautiful Denver, Colorado.  It was a terrific meeting, in a beautiful location, with many compelling Post Grad Courses, Scientific Sessions, and Roundtable Sessions. ABORM Fellows Sadhna Singh and Coleen Smith were voted in unanimously as President and Vice President of the Complementary and Alternative Medicine Special Interest Group for ASRM.

 

Also, ABORM Fellow and Researcher Diane Cridennda put forth a Herculean effort to compile the most up-to-date research related to Acupuncture and Infertility/ART. This document, and a companion document which compiles most of the available research in English related to Chinese Herbal Medicine and Infertility, are available for download from the ABORM website on the Research Page.

 

The ABORM Advisory Board continues to grow as we reach out to our Western Colleagues in Reproductive Medicine. I invite you to go to the ABORM Website and click on the Board Members/Advisory Board to see the amazing group of Individuals who have graciously offered there knowledge, experience and time to our organization and to each of you. Remember that these Advisors are a tremendous resource for each of you should you have clinical questions, or questions about potential research projects.

 

Related to the above, 2010 saw the introduction and growth of another amazing educational resource offered by our ABORM Fellows up in Vancouver, Canada. As if Chinese Medicine Tools.com, and Pro D Seminars weren't already enough, Lorne Brown and his Colleagues introduced Medigogy.com this year, and it has become the go-to resource for free online content/webinars related to Reproductive Medicine/Infertility and other TCM topics. Go to the Archives section of Medigogy.com and check out the incredible library of information that has been accumulated in just this year, and check out the Medigogy Calendar for upcoming scheduled webinars.


In other news, our ABORM Advisor Dr. Paul Magarelli, M.D., Ph.D., and ABORM Fellow Chris Axelrad, L.Ac. (FABORM) have each put together amazing courses related to Infertility, and both are available online via Pro D Seminars.

 

Dr. Magarelli's course is entitled, "Western Reproductive Endocrinology: The Complete Course" and it includes 12 hours of lecture and notes related to Reproductive Endocrinology/Infertility (REI). If you ever wanted to have a thorough review of the REI, including page references to ABORM Reference texts, this is the course for you.

 

Likewise, Chris Axelrad's course, "The Treatment of Male Infertility: An Integrative TCM Approach" offers some of the most advanced, yet useful, information related to the clinical assessment and management of Male Factor infertility.

 

Last, but definitely not least, we invite any ABORM Fellows who are interested in serving on the ABORM Board of Directors, to send me an email by January 31st. ABORM Directors must serve for two-years, and are required to attend the ABORM Annual Board Meeting and Examination. You can email me directly at: rtoo@earthlink.net.

Other ABORM business related to your status as Fellows:

 

1. 2009 Certified ABORM Fellows must renew their ABORM Membership by April 30th, 2011:

 

The Requirements are as follows:

 

A) 20 ABORM-Approved CEU's in the subject of Reproductive Medicine. NOTE: CEU's submitted must be ABORM approved courses (see aborm website for list) - unless they are CME's from either the Pacific Coast Reproductive Society annual meeting or the American Society for Reproductive Medicine annual meeting. You must submit CEU or CME Course Certificate with your payment for renewal of ABORM Membership.

 

B) ABORM Renewal Fees: $200.00. Checks should be made payable to the ABORM, or you can pay by Visa or Mastercard.

 

Click on the following link to download the Membership Renewal Form

 

(CEU's submitted without payment will not be processed).

 

Renewals that are late by more 30 days, will be assessed a late fee of $25.00. Renewals that are late by more than 90 days (have not been received by July 30th, 2011) will result in lapsed membership, and the practitioner will need to re-apply to take the ABORM Certification Exam to renew their membership. 

 

NOTE: Some of you wrote and submitted Examination Questions for the 2009 ABORM Exam, and for that contribution you received 10 CEU's. Please include this certificate with other CEU certificates when you renew your membership.

 

 I realize that this notification may seem premature, but I know how busy all of you are with life and practice, so planning ahead to get your CEU's is always a prudent thing.

 

 

2. Please Join the ABORM Practitioner Discussion Groups:

 

Go to the ABORM website - www.aborm.org - and click on the links to join both the ABORM Practitioner Discussion Group on google groups (at the top of the home page), and the ABORM Group Email List (at the bottom of the home page).  Please join both lists.

 

The ABORM Practitioner Discussion Group will allow any ABORM Fellow to post a question, idea, suggestion, abstract, case study, or any other area pertinent to the field of Oriental Reproductive Medicine, to the rest of the ABORM members. We have so many exceptional practitioners among us that we must tap in to the riches of knowledge and experience in our midst.

 

The ABORM Group Email list allows us to protect the environment, and alert you of any ABORM business via email, instead of the postal service. Please take the time to register for both of these groups by clicking on the links on the ABORM home page. It only takes a second.

 


3. Please update your ABORM-website listings frequently:

 

Go to: ABORM certified practitioners page

 

Fellows should regularly go to the ABORM Certified Practitioners page on the ABORM Website and check your practitioner listing to confirm that it is correct for your contact information, email and websites. If there is a discrepancy, please email us via the contact page on the ABORM website with the correct information. It is your responsibility as a Fellow to keep us updated with your current contact information that we can correspond to you, and so that patients can find you.

 

We frequently get requests for patient referrals to ABORM Certified Practitioners, and we can't get these patients to you if your contact information is outdated or incorrect.

 


4.  All ABORM Fellows are encouraged to attend the 2011 ABORM Exam and Board Meeting, and to stay on for the 2011 Southwest Symposium in Austin, Texas.

 

We wanted to let all of you know that the next ABORM Examination will be offered March 3rd, 2011 in exciting Austin, Texas, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. The Exam will be held in conjunction with the Southwest Symposium sponsored by the Academy of Oriental Medicine at Austin -- and there will a terrific lineup of courses devoted to Reproductive Medicine. We encourage you to come on out, help out with administering the Examination, relax, get some CEU's, and catch up with your other ABORM Fellows.

 

The last time that the ABORM Exam was held in Austin with the Southwest Symposium was one of the best experiences we have had. Great lectures, terrific support from the Southwest Symposium, and so much fun to be had in Austin!

 

Go to the ABORM Website for more information and click on the following link for details: 2011 Exam Details

 

We also want to invite all ABORM Fellows in attendance at the Exam and Southwest Symposium to plan on attending the ABORM Reception to be held on Thursday evening, March 3rd, @ 7:00 PM.  Spouses, children, and significant others are welcome.

 

 

Ray Rubio, DAOM, L. Ac. (FABORM)

ABORM President

 



PRACTITIONER SPOTLIGHT

Michelle Ingels, MTCM, LAc, FABORM,



Michelle Ingel photo

Michelle Ingels is a gentle acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist with more than ten years experience in fertility and reproductive medicine. Her depth of knowledge and compassionate nature have enabled her to assist many couples achieve their dream of a healthy, happy pregnancy.


Michelle specialized in women's health in her master's degree program at the Northwest Institute of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, and her passion for helping couples achieve their dream of pregnancy has continued to grow. She began her practice in Southport, Connecticut by reaching out to REI's and gynecologists in her community and continues to have successful working relationships with them. Michelle believes that patients can benefit from combining both Eastern and Western medicine. Having ABORM certification has helped the physicians she works with feel even more confident about her clinical expertise in fertility.


Michelle became interested in ABORM at its inception, and was pleased to become an ABORM certified practitioner in 2010. She is grateful to be part of a community of practitioners who share a similar passion. As an Advisor to the Endometriosis Association, she gets calls from women all over the country who have fertility problems related to endometriosis and is happy to have a reliable network of experienced practitioners that she can confidently refer to.


In addition to ABORM, Michelle is a member in good standing of the Endometriosis Association, Resolve, Inciid, AAAOM, NCCAOM, and CSOMA,