Sarah is a senior lecturer, clinic supervisor and point location co-ordinator at ICOM. She also runs a busy private practice locally.
Here’s what Sarah says about how she came to study acupuncture:
I was always a bit of a frustrated medic, I guess. I loved science, especially Biology, at school and really considered going into medicine following my ‘A’ levels. However I became intensely and deeply aware of the fact that although I wanted to work in healthcare what really interested me were the tools and methods for diagnosis and what put me off was the reliance upon medicines to treat the problems.
Sarah Major
Coming from a family background that favoured natural health cures and opted for low level intervention from doctors in health related issues I realised that I would need to consider my priorities for a career in health carefully.
I really wanted to find something that would allow me help people to recover using a natural therapy and their own healing powers. I considered Osteopathy but finally ended up on an art course following my schooling. I stayed a year before realising that it was not for me and took some time travelling.
I returned to take a job with a computer company – but it gave me no satisfaction and so, taking my, well timed redundancy payment, I reviewed my original ideas for a career and enrolled at ICOM to study acupuncture and commence the course on my 25th birthday.
I loved every minute of the course and was lucky enough not to have any commitments that distracted me from the intensity of the study. I found the program intensely challenging but massively enjoyable and was strongly supported from both my cohort and the faculty.
Following my graduation I went straight into practice and was able to incorporate my work with my then growing family commitments. Through many life changes I have been able to adapt my working hours, increase my skills base with further study in Herbal Patent Remedies as well as consolidate my main interest in pregnancy, fertility and birth by joining the Zita West fertility practitioners network, and gaining valuable training and experience by undertaking continual professional development course in this field.
Six years ago I returned to ICOM to lecture and following a year’s teaching course at Brighton University (completing the PGCert in 2009) I have remained working happily here at this wonderfully inspiring institution.