Clinical Observation

Dragon Rises Center for Wholeness: 

Clinical Observer Program, October 2025 - June 2026

Are you eager to deepen your understanding of Shen-Hammer Pulse Diagnosis and Classical Acupuncture through witnessing the application of these methods within a real-world clinical setting? Dragon Rises Center for Wholeness in Portland, Oregon, is excited to resume our Clinical Observer Program in Fall 2025! This unique opportunity is designed for intermediate and advanced practitioners of Shen-Hammer Pulse Diagnosis who are ready to refine their diagnostic skills and gain hands-on clinical insight.

As a Clinical Observer, you join a small cohort of practitioners who regularly accompany either Melinda and/or Stephen as they practice the craft of Classical Chinese medicine. Each week throughout the fall, winter, and spring terms, you’ll follow them as they “think out loud” and provide a space for you to ask questions in real time about every aspect of diagnosis, treatment, and care planning as they work with their patients.

Previous Clinical Observers have appreciated how this opportunity helped them to: 

  • Witness the formation and maintenance of long-term care relationships

  • Track changes in pulse qualities with “real patients” over time

  • Discern how to prescribe appropriate herbal formulas at various stages of treatment

  • Discover how the interplay of diagnostic signs and clinical symptoms lead to specific treatments and treatment planning, both on a day-to-day basis and over the arc of treatment 

  • Refine how to utilize the language of East Asian medicine in speaking to patients about their clinical presentations, signs, and symptoms—in ways that center a compassionate and understanding view of their unique lived experiences

What You’ll Experience:

  • Join a small group of similarly dedicated practitioners for an in-depth immersion in Shen-Hammer Pulse Diagnosis and Classical Acupuncture

  • Participate in weekly observation sessions with seasoned practitioners Stephen Higgins, MSOM, and/or Melinda Iglesias Wheeler, DSOM, as they diagnose and treat patients.

  • Witness the integration of Shen-Hammer Pulse Diagnosis and Classical Acupuncture in real-time clinical settings

  • Gain invaluable knowledge through direct exposure to patient cases and treatment approaches

  • Receive a 50% discount on Dragon Rises’ every-other-week practitioner zoom case study (currently scheduled on Tuesdays at 12-1 pm, PST; open to new members by invitation only)

Eligibility Requirements: 

To apply, you must have completed at least:

Program Commitment & Preference:

  • This opportunity is highly limited, and preference is given to practitioners who commit to and pay in advance for all three terms: fall, winter, and spring

  • Preference is also given to practitioners who have shown long-term dedication to learning the lineages of East Asian Medicine that we practice and teach

  • We welcome applications from students and licensed practitioners of East Asian medicine 

Apply Early!

We encourage all eligible practitioners to apply early, as space is limited. Please complete the application form below to be considered. Please also note that we accept applications on a rolling basis and curate a cohort of no more than four observers per term. We will consider applications for fall term through August 2025

Prerequisites

Clinical Observers must have taken at least one Comprehensive Introductory Seminar, and at least two Intromediate or Hands-On Intensives courses. We accept applications on a rolling basis and curate a cohort of no more than four students per term.