Today we’d like to introduce you to Dorian Kramer.
Hi Dorian, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I first became exposed to the problems facing our current medical system while working for FDNY EMS in Harlem, New York, during the late 90’s. During the decade of my employment there, I witnessed a revolving door of individuals who were in-and-out of hospitals, but never resolved their conditions. Instead, they were constantly placed on heavier and heavier medications with many detrimental side-effects. Discouraged by the treatment options available through this system, I began to explore new ways that I could help patients. A fellow paramedic, who was also ready to leave his position, spoke with me about his plan to become an acupuncturist. I quickly became intrigued by the idea of a system that saw the patient as a whole integrated system, rather than as a series of symptoms. So, when I was ready to leave the job following the 9/11 attacks on our country, I decided that a career in acupuncture would be my new path.
I committed the next three and a half years to my Graduate program, spent almost $100,000, and devoted countless hours to apprenticeships, studying, and training with other practitioners. After earning my degree in Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine, I moved to northern New Hampshire in hopes of bringing East-Asian medicine to a rural setting with an underserved population. However, I quickly realized how unprepared I was to step into the world as a practitioner of Chinese medicine.
I opened my practice with only a rudimentary understanding of the business skills needed to succeed. As I developed my skills as a practitioner, I grew increasingly concerned with both the quality and level of education I had received. I also noticed that beyond the private practice model, there were extremely limited opportunities for employment for acupuncturists. So, I spent the next decade traveling and studying with the most knowledgeable practitioners in the field, and investing in my continuous education to learn the skills I needed to effectively treat my patients.
During this time my private practice grew into one of the most financially successful Integrative Health Centers in the region. Additionally, I began working to help with the significant drug and opioid addiction plaguing New England. At that time, New Hampshire ranked 49th in the country for available treatment options, and the county I lived in tied for last place in the state. Together, alongside other like-minded concerned citizens, I worked to start the state’s first non-medication based Intensive Outpatient Treatment Program.
Through my work within the Outpatient Treatment Program, and with the large veteran population I saw in my private practice, I discovered a drive to focus on treatment of emotional and physical trauma. My personal history of struggles with CPTSD/DTD, and my passion for research and study into both emerging understandings of treatments within the field of psychoemotional dysfunctions, and Traditional Chinese Medicine methods for care, helped develop my expertise in treating these conditions.
Although I managed to further develop my skills, knowledge, and practice through my own efforts outside of a formalized educational institution, I continued to desire a more thorough depth of knowledge and diverse skill enhancements. I pursued my Doctoral degree, graduating in 2000. However, I remain very concerned about the level of education I received, and the level of education that others in my profession were bringing to the world. Acupuncture Colleges need to place a higher demand on themselves to provide the type of education that will put highly trained and successful professionals in the field. I believe that these Colleges also need to step up and be a vehicle for professional growth, as well as promote and spread the medicine through internships, research, community service and professional connections.
With those ideas in mind, my family and I made the move from New Hampshire to Sarasota, Florida, where there are greater opportunities to work with colleges towards these goals. I accepted a position with East West College of Natural Medicine, and while I quickly moved up from Faculty to Department Head, I left due to significant moral and philosophical differences with the College’s owner. Since then, the College has recently been shut down.
In 2022, I started working with Dragon Rises College of Oriental Medicine as both Faculty and Academic Dean and had the opportunity to spearhead the plan to open their new campus here in Bradenton. Along with a new location, I instituted a change in the focus of their curriculum. Rather than a program with a niche focus on only the work of the College’s founder, I expanded the program to include a broader approach to the medicine.
In 2024, the Governing Board of the College asked me to step into the Executive Director position, allowing me to further navigate the school towards becoming the premier Integrative Medicine College in the country. Since then, I have not only begun further assessing the curriculum, but have also developed the clinic, formed connections for offsite internships in healthcare settings, recruited staff and faculty with exceptional expertise, and developed a strategic plan to help us achieve our goals. We aim to prepare our students to not only successfully navigate the difficulties of private practice, but also be prepared to work in an integrative modern health system.
It is my goal that Dragon Rises College of Oriental Medicine will grow to become a destination University offering doctoral degree programs with a multitude of specialty tracks and providing research opportunities that bring about effective changes for healthcare and patients nationwide.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As trite as it may sound every road is as smooth as it needs to be,and it is the bumps and pitfalls that create our character, not the easy times. The previous info really highlights the road
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I think the main thing that sets me apart, the thing that others have noted is I am an “out of the box” thinker yet coupled with a pragmatism that allows for accomplishments. This is what has allowed me to look at my profession and medicine with an unjaundiced eye and begin the change that I believe will change the direction of my profession as well as healthcare in this country.. One of my prouder moments was sitting at my sons graduation from grade school to middle school and him receiving the award for being the kid that not only thinks out of the box, but makes that box into a rocket ship
How do you think about luck?
I don’t think I really buy into the idea of luck
Contact Info:
- Website: https://dragonrises.edu/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DragonRisesCOM/
