Hello,
I'm looking for some material on TCM to compile a set for personal study. I'm trying to prepare for eventual education in TCM field.

Currently I'm trained as a military medic (NREMT-Basic and basic nursing). I'm working towards getting the training documented in transcript form to challenge the NCLEX-PN. I'm using Lippincott's Manual of Nursing Practice 8th edi. as well as some test prep material. I want to also study into TCM as that is where I would like to aim my education after I'm military released to reserve status. There is a college in Orlando, FL that has BA program and is in progress of setting up a Ph.d program which to my understanding is non-existant on the east coast at this time.
Florida College of Integrative Medicine
http://www.fcim.edu/index.aspx

I have Henry C. Lu's Chinese Natural Cures. I'm looking for some sources on overall system and methodology; things like yin/yang in medicine, 5 elements destructive/supportive, PT care procedure (for example in nursing there is the Nursing Care Plan), Qi, meridians and flow, etc. Though I'm not looking into really memorizing all the points and such as that's just too much without being in a classroom for me. My problem is that all the stuff I find is written to the perspective of a patient. So the info while nice, is watered down for the most part. The info in all those books can be found on any website so I don't need those so much. I'm looking more for a textbook style material...a Lippincott's for TCM if you will. As well as if there is one, a medical dictionary for TCM.

A way that I have found that helps me study is to have a book such as Fundamentals of Nursing for the overall methodology and to reference for "why are they doing this?", Clinicals of Nursing for actual procedure step-by-step and a dictionary for unfamiliar terms. This is what we used when I was in school for basic nursing. The Lippincott's I have now is more along the lines of the Clinicals of Nursing book.

I'm looking for this sort of set for TCM. As well as info on TCM dieting and herbology as my own perspective on medicine is least invasive to invasive if possible and I think that coupled with exercise could aid in recovery and eventually prevent most of the problems we see now days in medicine. Its an issue of teaching people though that they have control over their own health and stop taking all the crap that they're fed about medicine and the reactive mindset that holds everyone. For me there is nothing like impending doom when you see a patient's laundry list with 15+ medications.....

Thanks
~CJ~