Inpatient Pediatric Program Interview with Dr. Risi Idiokitas, DAOM, of Children’s National in Washington, D.C.
3.21.2022 update
I am happy to bring you our first Issues in Hospital-based Practice live zoom session this year on Friday, April 8th, 2022, at 1000 Pacific, 1100 Mountain, 1200 Central, 1300 Eastern U.S. time. This is an interview with Dr. Risi Idiokitas, DAOM, a pediatric acupuncturist who works at Children's National in D.C.
This is the first in a series of inpatient acupuncture program interviews we hope to do at the HHP. However, we currently are in need of funding to continue this work. So, launching this first one with the hope that it sheds light on how important this information is and encourages others to support the HHP's work.
The Hospital Handbook Project for Acupuncturists and Their Hospital Sponsors is a program of Free Range Health®, a 501(c)(3) public charity. All or part of your donation may be tax-deductible as a charitable contribution. Please consult with your tax advisor. Federal Tax ID #45-4395933.
Learn how to register for this live event below. (Scroll down to “register.”)
Or, if you cannot attend live, more info below on how to access the future recording and/or notes.
About Dr. Risi Idiokitas, DAOM
I shared some of Dr. Idiokitas’s pediatric acupuncture work at the Sept 2021 IM4US conference session I co-hosted with AACIPM’s director, Amy Goldstein. And, during this April 2022 HHP Issues in Hospital-based Practice session we will have more time to dive into her work, specifically the inpatient program side of her work. She has worked both inpatient and outpatient pediatric acupuncture for the past 5 years at Children’s National (a dedicated children’s hospital) in Washington, D.C. As of 2021, she also teaches an online course, “The Bravest Littles: Pediatric Palliative Care Online Training for Acupuncturists”.
The following citations of her published work are included in the HHP’s Summary of Hospital and Healthcare System-based LAc Program Work
Elizabeth Bettini, Risi Idiokitas, Laila Aziz Mahmood, Shana Jacobs, Blachy Davila, David Steinhorn; Safety And Acceptance Of Acupuncture And Acupressure In Children And Adolescents Undergoing Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant. Pediatrics March 2021; 147 (3_MeetingAbstract): 290.10.1542/peds.147.3MA3.290a
Mahmood LA, Thaniel L, Martin B, Marguiles S, Reece-Stremtan S, Idiokitas R, Bettini E, Hardy SJ, Cohen I, Connolly M, Darbari DS. Integrative holistic approaches for children, adolescents, and young adults with sickle cell disease: A single center experience. Complement Ther Med. 2021 Aug;60:102680. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2021.102680. Epub 2021 Feb 15. PMID: 33601015.
Reece-Stremtan S, Mahmood L, Margulies S, Martin B, Rohatgi R, Idiokitas R, Cohen IT, Zhang A, Thaniel L, Hardy SJ, Darbari DS. Acupuncture as an Adjunctive Treatment for Pain in Hospitalized Children With Sickle Cell Disease. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2021 Dec;62(6):1239-1244. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2021.06.003. Epub 2021 Jun 9. PMID: 34118373.
Some questions we explore in the “Inpatient Acupuncture Services” workgroup, which includes this interview
Basic information about the program, her role, and the patient population
How is the program funded?
How are patients referred to your service?
Structure of the program
What barriers have you encountered? Did you overcome them? How did you do so?
How are patients referred to your service?
What knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) beyond acupuncture school did you have to learn or hone for this work?
What KSAs do you recommend other acupuncturists or acupuncture students focus on if they are interested in this practice setting (subjects to study, shadowing, preceptorships, residencies, courses, experiences, etc. Or skills to hone like team communication, public speaking, documentation skills, etc.)?
How has your work been affected or changed because of the pandemic?
Come join us for this session with Dr. Idiokitas!
How to Join
Registration links are available in the following locations.
The following options are available for registration
The event is free for current HHP members. Please see details on how to register below.
Go to this page to buy a ticket without becoming an HHP supporting member.
For HHP community members & non-members:
Register through the Issues in Hospital-based Practice online resource via this lecture.
Issues in Hospital-based Practice online resource is open to anyone who wants to subscribe. It includes access to content from this series from previous years. Access is $25/month.
For current HHP Tier 1 & Tier 2 community members:
This event has been posted on the platform earlier this month. You can register by going to "events" and finding this event, scheduled for April 8th. No extra cost to register. Access to the live version of this presentation is included in your membership. Recording access is only available to Tier 2 members and those subscribed to the Issues in Hospital-based Practice online resource.
Tier 1 "General Access" membership is $10/month. This is equivalent to a couple of coffeehouse coffees/month.
Tier 2 "Big Bundle" membership is $30/month and, per community request, is only open to current healthcare system LAcs and program managers. It includes access to many of the deep dive online resources, including access to the Issues in Hospital-based Practice online resource.
I have updated the landing page for this resource for ease of printing and sharing with your workplace's admin as part of your request for partial or full reimbursement of membership as part of your "professional development" and/or "leadership development" employee benefits. (This is usually the same type of common employee benefit for professional practice clinicians as conference and continuing education courses.)
For First Steps online resource subscribers, and HHP members on the tenured platform
You can register via this lecture in "Community News & Events".
Access to Recordings and Notes
At this time (3.21.2022) access to a possible recording of the session and notes will be available in the Issues in Hospital-based Practice online resource.
HHP community platform members who subscribe at “Tier 2 Big Bundle” have access to Issues in Hospital-based Practice online resource as part of their “bundle” with the membership at Tier 2.