The word "doctor" comes from the root latin word, docere, which means "to teach." So, at the heart of it, a doctor's primary job is to teach. That is one of the reasons that I started this little blog, and why I send out my monthly DocAltMed newsletter to my patients and other interested people. I try to educate people, so that they know what the research really says about mainstream and alternative medicine, as well as give some insight as to what makes a doctor working in alternative medicine tick, and how he thinks about health, his patients, and their problems.
For several years now, I have written about everything from the folly of flu vaccines to the extraordinary success chiropractors have had as primary care physicians. But there is one thing I have never done for my faithful readership which is now, I am told, quickly approaching the double digits.
I've never given a quiz.
And if my job is, truly, to teach, then one of my primary responsibilities is to test. Because, through testing comes understanding, as China knows well. And I confess that I have clearly fallen down on the job, in letting all of this time pass without administering some kind of test.
So the time has come. But rather than present some complex multi-answer multiple choice test with an added essay at the end, I have settled on something decidedly more prosaic. A single-question quiz. The topic will be, as always, related to alternative medicine. The answer may be searchable on the internet, through the auspices of Mr. Google or Cap'n Bing. But it won't be easy to find, lest the winner of the quiz simply be the person with the most Google-fu. It will help if you are a frequent visitor to this blog or you subscribe to the DocAltMed newsletter, as the answers may have been alluded to previously.
Wait. Did I say winner? In fact, I did. Because accomplishment deserves recognition, and anyone who can answer one of these quizzes correctly deserves something more than the distant approbation of one's fellow readers.
Hold up just a minute. Did I say quizzes, as in more than one? Indeed, I did. Because their will be multiple quizzes, multiple winners and multiple prizes to be handed out.
Backup a second. Did I say prizes? Quite so. Because everybody loves a prize.
So here's the deal. Every Friday around 2 p.m., I will post a new quiz; we'll call it the DocAltMed IQ Test. The quiz will remain open to answers until Wednesday, but the first person to submit the correct answer will claim the prize! I will add a post on Wednesday with the answer to the quiz.
I can hear you now, saying "Ok, doc, that's all just dandy, but get to the good stuff. What's the prize?"
If you are the first person to answer the quiz, you get a one-time 10% discount on any supplements purchased from our Dispensary. This includes supplements from any one of the following manufacturers (in alphabetical order):
- Biotics Research
- Designs for Health
- Integrative Therapeutics
- Kan Herb
- Mayway
- Mediherb
- Nordic Naturals
- Standard Process
You can purchase any amount, and any available product from one of these companies, even if I do not have it in stock at the dispensary.
Now, as with any contest, there are some rules, and those rules are as follows:
- You can't be an employee of the Center for Alternative Medicine (sorry Teresa) or related to me (sorry, kids, but I pay for all your vitamins anyway).
- You must claim your prize within two months of winning.
- If you have won within the past month, give your keyboard a rest.
- You must be a resident of the U.S. Though I know I have a small European fan club, exporting herbs is not someplace to which I'm really willing to go.
- You must be 18 or older.
Please note that you do not have to be a patient of Dr. Jenkins in order to enter or win! You can be anybody and win!
So that's it. If you have any questions about eligibility or anything else, feel free to email me.
Now, on to the first ever DocAltMed IQ Test:
In 1972, President Richard Nixon opened diplomatic relations with China, from whom the U.S. had been estranged for the better part of its existence. As part of that process, President Nixon visited China, and of course was accompanied by a large retinue of reporters.
One of them was a rather famous reporter for the New York Times named James Reston. Mr. Reston -- to his detriment and our edification -- suffered a case of acute appendicitis on that trip, which necessitated immediate surgery. The Chinese surgery team used only acupuncture as an anaesthetic, which astounded Mr. Reston to the extent that he wrote about the experience upon his return to the states. That, coupled with the renewed interest in things Chinese in general, brought great public interest in this "alternative" health care discipline. The first acupuncturists in this country were doctors who obtained post-graduate education in the discipline.
Your question is: What institution provided the first acupuncture education for doctors in the U.S.? Submit your answer to me at alj@docaltmed.com.
Dr. Avery Jenkins is a chiropractic physician specializing in the treatment of people with chronic disorders. He can be reached at alj@docaltmed.com or by calling 860-567-5727.
