Happy Chinese New Year 2014 – Year of the Wooden Horse
A Message from the Desk of Dr. Kory Ward-Cook, CEO
January 2014

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The NCCAOM® Board of Commissioners, staff and I wish all of you a Happy Chinese New Year! January 31st 2014 marks the year of the Wood Horse. This will be a year of great energy and production for those who are ready and organized to move forward with well-researched plans. According to Chinese astrologers, like the horse, this year will be a fast and energetic one marked with productivity, especially if one has planted a lot of seeds in the previous Snake year (2013). The 2014 Horse will want room to run so organizations and individuals should have big dreams and goals worthy of a powerful steed, which will allow the Horse to ride your way bringing success and growth.

The predominant trait of the Wooden Horse is productivity and reaching onward and upward, always planning ahead. This sets the tone for a year of visioning or strategic planning where we can use the horse’s power, energy and stamina to creatively make and see plans come to fruition. The wood element in the Horse also provides influence to move ideas and plans forward.

As we celebrate the Chinese New Year, the year of the Wood Horse, let’s think about what we may achieve during this time, and how we can nourish ourselves so that the possibilities of productivity and endurance that the Wood Horse represents may unfold before us. First, we need to incorporate visioning and strategic thinking into our activities this year and consider bringing forth opportunities that will lead to growth. This involves removing the horse blinders that will prevent us from encompassing all angles and views before moving forward with plans. This will also be a significant year for decision making and transformation as the Horse’s energetic and strong spirit creates an ideal condition for expansion or change.

As a result, the NCCAOM will be channeling the positive energies from the productive Wood Horse this year to create a strategic plan that seeks to help support a preferred future for the acupuncture and Oriental medicine (AOM) profession. The NCCAOM Board and staff is currently scanning the environment and soliciting feedback from various stakeholder groups so that the NCCAOM can create an organizational plan to best meet the needs of its Diplomates and the profession as a whole. This involves using existing survey data such as satisfaction surveys, the recent job analysis and other stakeholder surveys.

As this is a year of growth and productivity, the NCCAOM will explore new collaborations and maintain exciting ones with other organizations to advance the AOM profession. One of this year’s important collaboration efforts will be to continue the important work of gaining more federal recognition. The year 2014 will provide the AOM profession another opportunity to request a unique Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) standard occupational classification code for Acupuncturists. Please look for the article in the March issue of Acupuncture Today for an update on NCCAOM’s activities related to the BLS.

As we embark on the dynamic year of the Wood Horse, I encourage all of you to “ride with us”, embrace a fresh ways of thinking, and look boldly to the future to envision a preferred future for the AOM profession. Consider how you can be a part of molding the profession’s future. Thank you all for your support of the NCCAOM and being a part of our team. Together we are positioned to have a very influential impact on the AOM profession for years to come. No matter what your personal Chinese zodiac animal birth sign is – be it the Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig, Rat, Ox, Tiger or Rabbit, you all provide the collective traits which will make this year of the Wood Horse a successful year for the AOM profession.