Her Journey into Integrative Medicine and Medical Acupuncture
As a child, Dr. Sciamanna’s parents always had a large vegetable garden that was kept free of pests by natural composting methods. She was influenced by her Mom who read books on nutrition and listened to radio broadcasts out of New York City from noted nutritionist, Dr Carlton Fredericks. In college she studied biology and nutrition and afterward worked in Collagen research at the University of Pennsylvania. She was going to get her PhD., but changed her mind. It was only natural that she chose Osteopathic Medicine which emphasizes the holistic view of the body. As an Osteopathic physician, she was taught that the body and mind are interconnected. The body has a way of self-regulation designed to restore balance.
She completed a family practice residency at Virtua Hospital in Voorhees, New Jersey and was Chief resident in her final year. After residency, she noticed so many patients with chronic disease who were at the point where Western Medicine was the only thing keeping them alive. She wanted to not just keep people alive, but prevent their chronic illnesses. She wanted to educate, not just medicate. In 1996, she attended her first functional medicine seminar in Vancouver and began a life long learning process which led to the physician she is today.
She opened an integrative medical practice in Moorestown, NJ in 1997 and also worked in a separate family practice. She continued to learn through reading books and attended seminars on functional medicine over the years. She completed a Medical Acupuncture course in 2001 through the UCLA school of medicine now the Helms Institute. She studied French Auricular Acupuncture under the renowned physician Dr Raphael Nogier. She studied Chinese Scalp Acupuncture under Dr. Jason Ji-shun Hao who brought this technique from China 40 years ago. She completed the Bredesen ReCODE protocol to help patients with Alzheimer’s disease. She is Board certified in family medicine and continues to learn each day!