Oriental medicine featured at premiere Transcultural Practice Symposium

The science of oriental medicine will be the topic of the first-ever Transcultural Practice Symposium, featuring Hoyoon Chong, professor and practitioner at the Virginia University of Oriental Medicine, April 13-14.

The inaugural two-day event will discuss how oriental medicine and transcultural practice can fill gaps in the current healthcare system, according to Assistant Professor of Nursing Euna Lee, co-chair of the Transcultural Practice/Integrative Medicine Steering Committee and event organizer. The symposium is free and open to the public.

On Monday, April 13, Chong will present two sessions in COBE 320. The first session, beginning at 3:30 p.m., is titled "Understand your body: constitution medicine and its possible benefits for self-management." The second session, beginning at 5 p.m., is titled "Common disease management in Oriental Medicine." In these presentations, Chong will discuss the scientific basis of oriental medicine, how its practitioners understand the human body, health and disease and their approach to and treatment of disease. 

On Tuesday, as part of the Waldron College Interprofessional Symposium and Expo, Chong and other Oriental Medicine practitioners will provide individualized health consultations from 1:30-5 p.m.

Assistant Professor of Nursing Linda Ely, committee co-chair, said that collaborative efforts to exchange the scientific basis and evidences of both oriental medicine and western medicine can enhance the current Western healthcare system in a variety of ways, from disease management to health promotion to patient wellbeing and care.

The Scholar-Citizen Initiative, School of Nursing, Waldron College, International Education Center and Sigma Theta Tau International Epsilon Psi Chapter sponsor the Transcultural Practice Symposium.