How did you come to cross paths with Acupuncture?

I graduated in Homoeopathic system of medicine in the year 1999.With experience I realised that in chronic cases, patient recovery comes to a standstill after sometime and body resists any further treatments. So that is when my hunt started to remove this road block and I stumbled across acupuncture. The whole idea of energy system appealed to my thought process, which further created a curiosity to learn it and through the internet I came across Dr Sunita Kapur. In 2009 I complete PGDACP course and started practising it along with Homoeopathy. I further learned Auriculotherapy and Auriculo-medicine from France. I thank Dr Sunita Kapur & Dr Raman Kapur for helping me in my endeavour to learn Acupuncture.

Are you self employed or doing a job ?

I am self employed and have a clinic of myself.

What is a typical day at work like?

Its always full of new adventures. Every patient teaches me so much and seeing them improve further boosts by confidence in the field of acupuncture.

What do you enjoy most about your profession?

The kind of limelight you get from your patient, you are like a superhero to them and it actually makes you feel good about yourself. The challenges you take up on a daily basis and how you plan and execute the things, it's always making you go deeper and deeper into the subject. I love the continuous learning.

What would be your advice for others wanting to practice acupuncture?

I personally believe that if the idea of practising acupuncture is convincing to your thought process, only then can you imbibe that knowledge, so for learners it's like why you need acupuncture and do you believe that it will work for you. And one more thing I believe that you learn basics and then you work according to the protocols. If you want to follow somebody, one should first go with his or her own instinct in a case.

How has your career as an acupuncturist unfolded?

It has given me a new level of confidence. My understanding of the patients problems has improved and I feel I have an upper edge while treating them. I would say it's a good diagnostic tool. Even in patients where I am not doing needling, it helps me in the selection of homeopathic medicines.

How important is it for an acupuncturist to continue his/her acupuncture learning through webinars, seminars, etc. ?

I feel it's very essential as acupuncture is science where basics play a vital role and every time you go back to basics you get a new perspective. I personally feel more and more learning should be there. After ten years of my studying acupuncture I feel enthralled when I go back to five element theory and concept of yang and Yin. Point localisation is also one thing which comes with repeated teaching and practice on self. Apart from needling, the other techniques like cupping, moxibustion and bloodletting also need to be mastered to sharpen our knowledge.

What did you love about studying at IANM?

I feel it's my endeavour to be a part of IANM. The doctors are always full of new ideas and learning and their moto is knowledge sharing with a point to make people understand and work for a noble cause to spread proper acupuncture learning in India. They take up the pain to bring up various new topics of learning through webinars and seminars. I love to attend these webinars.

What are the challenges or obstacles that you face at work?

The biggest challenge which I face is patient's fear of needles. Sometimes I have to prick myself to make them understand the mechanism so that they can overcome their fear. The other challenge is that acupuncture is an endless learning process. Sometimes i feel that it's not easy to sum up a case and reach a conclusion, so I would like it if more experienced practitioners would share their knowledge bank.

What is the role of evidence based acupuncture in your practice?

Evidence based acupuncture is the future of acupuncture research and training. The more we utilise EBA, the more the chances that acupuncture will be accepted into mainstream medicine.