Meet Jenny Yu | Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, Licensed Acupuncturist
We had the good fortune of connecting with Jenny Yu and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Jenny, we’d love for you to start things off by telling us something about your industry that we and others not in the industry might be unaware of?
Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a complete medical system that has been used to diagnose, treat, and prevent illnesses for more than 2,000 years. The medicine is focused on treating the root cause of the illness and is based on whole-person health approach.
Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have been a Licensed Acupuncturist in California since 1997 to present. In 2001, I began to involve with the education of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine in the U.S. by becoming a faculty at Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU) in Whittier, CA, as a “practitioner faculty”, bringing real patient cases into classroom rather than just teaching from the books. In 2017, I became the Dean of the Eastern Medicine Department at SCU.
I am most proud of and excited about my contributions to elevating the education of acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine in the US. Under my deanship, SCU obtained accreditation for the first entry-level doctorate program in Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine in the US. Prior to this, students must first obtain a master’s degree in order to obtain a doctorate degree. SCU is the first university in the US to offer the program as an entry-level doctorate – students enter as a doctorate student and graduate as a doctor, without the need to have to obtain a master’s degree. This model is commonly seen in the healthcare education in the US such as medical schools, chiropractic, physical therapy, pharmacy, etc. The acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine field did not have this model until SCU obtained accreditation for such program under my deanship.
It was an extreme hardship to obtain this accreditation for the entry-level doctorate degree in the US, as there was not a precedent degree in the field. The road to success was filled with blood, sweat, and tears. There were many occasions where it seemed impossible to obtain the accreditation, but with the unconditional support from SCU President, Dr. John Scaringe, I did not give up. Along with a great academic team and colleagues who have supported me along this path, we worked together through the accreditation process and communicated effectively with the accreditation bodies to overcome the challenges.
The lesson learned along the way is to never give up and turn challenges into opportunities!
I want the world to know that SCU is the first university in the US to obtain official accreditation and state (California) approval to offer the entry-level doctorate degree in Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine. This is a huge step to elevate the education in this profession in the US. SCU made this happen when many people did not believe that this could have been achieved in the US. We did it, we made it!
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Southern California is an amazing place. Using Los Angeles as the center, there are a plethora of interesting places to visit. Going west of LA, I will plan a day tour to visit Hollywood, Getty Museum, and Santa Monica peer. Going east of LA, I will plan a 2-days trip to explore the inland empire and Palm Springs. Going south of LA, I will plan a 2-days trip to explore the orange county and San Diego. Going north of LA, I will plan a 2-days trip to explore the ventura county and Santa Barbara.
I like to eat at where the local places have to offer, many times, the “mom and pop” places.
LA is a gathering of the world when it comes to cuisine types and restaurants. One of my favorite is to find a local-recommended California style tacos place. Who can say no to tacos?
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to dedicate my shoutout to:
1. Dr. Cathryn Hu, Founder of Advanced Acupuncture Inc.
2. Dr. John Scaringe, President of Southern California University of Health Sciences
They both have been key players as my mentor.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-yu-a3a658153/
Image Credits
Southern California University of Health Sciences Marketing Department have the rights of the submitted images and has granted permission for this submission.
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