PDA NEWSLETTER: MAY 2022

Greg Sperber, DAOM, BMBS (Australia), Dipl. O.M. (NCCAOM^®), L.Ac
Integrated Medicine Council

NCCAOM PDA Provider #166669

The PDA Department would like to congratulate NCCAOM Board-Certified Acupuncturist^™ and PDA Provider, Gregory Sperber, as the featured Provider for the Spring 2022 issue of the PDA Newsletter. Gregory’s background in molecular biology ultimately fueled his passion for Acupuncture and Chinese herbs. Although Gregory was heavily involved in schools and educating students, his curiosity always led him back to the field of herbs. Ultimately, Gregory made the decision to become an NCCAOM PDA Provider in September 2016 and now he offers courses on Chinese herbs via the Integrative Medicine Council.

To read full article Click Here.

We are proud to introduce our newest member of the NCCAOM team – Kate Solon! Kate will be working closely with our Professional Development Activity (PDA) Providers on a day-to-day basis. Her background as an NCCAOM Board-Certified and licensed acupuncturist and in-depth knowledge of acupuncture and herbal medicine are crucial as she reviews PDA course applications. She will be the first point of contact for the PDA Department. Kate can be reached at our main phone: 1-888-381-1140 (press 2 for PDA Department).

Dr. Kate Solon received her Master of Science in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from Finger Lakes School of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine of New York Chiropractic College in 2015. She practiced acupuncture and herbal medicine on cruise ships for two years before returning to the states. Currently, she holds her Acupuncture license in Pennsylvania. In 2017, Kate completed the Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine degree at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, San Diego and opened an acupuncture practice in Sugarloaf, PA until 2021. She holds an NCCAOM Certification in Acupuncture as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish Language degree from Susquehanna University (2010). In her free time, Kate enjoys spending time with her friends, family, and dogs, being in nature, traveling, learning new languages, and scuba diving.

Please welcome Kate who is on board to provide excellent customer service to all our valuable PDA Providers! As always, we are here to help you – give us a call at 1-888-381-1140 (Press 2 for PDA) or send an email to [email protected].

The PDA staff is excited to announce three upcoming PDA Course advertising opportunities! Starting in June, PDA Providers can now advertise their course(s) in the NCCAOM^® PDA Social Media, NCCAOM^® PDA Diplomate Newsletter and NCCAOM^® PDA Flyer Distribution.

Social Media allows Providers to amplify the audience for practitioners, creating a more enhanced exposure of courses to a targeted demographic.  Posts will be automatically boosted throughout different platforms. Boosting posts optimize the exposure to specific audiences within the social media algorithms. A portion of the fee goes to the platforms’ algorithmic features.

Features:

• The NCCAOM social media channels include Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
• The application fee is $400 per course for all three social media platforms, for a period of one week.
• The Provider has the option to include their picture and/or logo in the social media post.

Facebook Ad Preview

Instagram Ad Preview

LinkedIn Ad Preview

Diplomate Newsletter allows Providers to exhibit their course(s) to over 20,000 Diplomates in the Diplomate Newsletter.

Features:

• A sliding banner display (identical to Course Highlights) within the Diplomate Newsletter to showcase PDA course(s).
• The Diplomate Newsletter fee is $400 per course per issue.
• The Provider has the option to include their picture and/or logo in the Newsletter.

Flyer Distribution allows Providers to target a particular audience by promoting their courses in specific states.  

Features:

• NCCAOM will distribute the Provider information and their PDA approved course to the active Diplomates within a state and the four (4) immediate surrounding states.
• The application fee is $300 per distribution.
• The Provider has the option to include their picture and/or logo in the flyer distribution.

We will accept applications starting at the beginning of June. The advertising applications will be posted on our website under the Provider Resources page on June 1. You can click on the Applications button on the left to find a list of all our advertising applications. All pricing and specifications for the advertisement will be listed in the application. Feel free to contact the NCCAOM PDA staff at [email protected] for more information!

Combining PDA Reminders for Advertisements

Starting in June, the PDA staff will combine all PDA Reminders for the Course Spotlight, Highlight, Social Media, Flyer Distribution, and Diplomate Newsletter into one email. The email will be sent at the beginning of each month to Providers so that the Providers can keep track of the different submission deadlines.

Reduced Fee – Spotlight

Great news! Mina Larson, Chief Executive Officer, has approved a permanent reduced fee for the NCCAOM^® PDA Course Spotlight. We recognize our Providers are enduring financial struggles with the ongoing pandemic. The fee continues permanently at $400 for all Providers.

The purpose of the NCCAOM PDA Provider Digital Badge is to promote your PDA Providership to the public. You can post the badge on multiple social media channels, on your website, as well as the signature line on your email. The main difference between the badge (left) and the logo (right) is that the PDA Provider Digital Badge promotes your Providership while the PDA Activity Logo is used on your website offering immediate recognition that your course is NCCAOM approved.

One of the biggest differences between the digital badge and the logo is that the badge is interactive, which means that the public can click onto the badge and be guided to the page shown below. This detailed page contains your Provider information, the criteria you had to meet to become a Provider, and the criteria your courses had to meet to be PDA approved. The page also provides a list of your actively approved courses within your account. You will need to link the URL from this detailed page to the Provider Digital Badge icon so that the badge becomes interactive. The ‘Embed Credentials’ button allows you to follow the instructions and insert the badge into your email signature. We highly recommend you log into your account and click on the orange ‘Certificates’ button to access your Provider Dashboard. From there, you can follow the instructions to download the PDA Provider Digital Badge as well as the Activity Logo icon.

PDA Certificate Update

The PDA Certificate now includes CE Banking status! Participants who receive the PDA Certificate can now see the status of CE Banking on the right column:

Troubleshooting/Tips:

Do’s and Don’ts of registering your practitioners:

• First and Last Name must match as registered in their NCCAOM online account. Do not include any prefix, nickname, middle name, and/or credentials.
• The NCCAOM ID # must match for successful CE Banking. Cannot contain any letters or leading 0s.
• The NCCAOM ID # is NOT the state acupuncture license #.

How CE Banking works:

1. The management system first tries to match the Diplomate’s first and last name to their NCCAOM ID#. If matched, CE Banking works.
2. If unsuccessful, the management system then tries to match the Diplomate’s first and last name to their email address. If matched, CE Banking works.

If Steps 1 & 2 are unsuccessful, CE Banking does not work.

• Diplomates will receive their PDA Certificate by email only.
• PDA Points are not reported to the NCCAOM^® Recertification Transcript.
• PDA Certificate is not uploaded to their ‘My Learning’ page.

CE Banking Success Rates:

CE Banking originally started back in 4/1/2020. To date, Providers have distributed over 208,000 certificates through the CE Banking functionality. We are proud say that 90% of the certificates uploaded successfully via CE banking! Huge thanks to our Providers for working with the Diplomates to make this happen!

Coming soon: CE Banking Verification (Ping)

The CE Banking Verification functionality will allow PDA Providers to check if a Diplomate’s registration information is eligible for CE Banking. If the information is not eligible for CE Banking, the system will clarify the reason why, so the Provider can update the Diplomate’s registration information prior to PDA Certificate distribution.

The CE Banking Ping will be coming soon for Providers who use the Bulk Distribution Upload as well as the API Bridge.

May Question:  

What is the name of the new PDA Coordinator? 

Enter a raffle drawing for a chance to win a free spot in the new NCCAOM^® PDA Course Highlights by answering the “PDA Question of the Quarter”:

Submit Your Entry Here

Hint: All answers to the PDA Question of the Quarter can be found on the NCCAOM website.