The Seattle Institute of Oriental Medicine offers two professional master's degree programs leading to licensure in the field: the M.Ac.O.M. program and the M.Ac. program. Both programs are based on the philosophy that a small group of students, studying in the clinic and in the classroom with experienced faculty practitioners, gain a deep awareness of the vitality of East Asian approaches to health. There is also an educational approach in SIOM training that emphasizes learning a variety of approaches to the medicine with a hands-on focus that insures sufficient practical and clinical expertise for graduates to be competent and successful in their profession.
Both programs are three years in length and have the same prerequisites of three years of college study with some specific basic science requirements. Both programs provide a solid training in acupuncture and its application in a modern health care practice. The M.Ac.O.M. degree program includes extensive academic and clinical instruction in Chinese herbal medicine and has an integrated Chinese medical language curriculum that ensures graduates have the ability to access Chinese medical sources for additional clinical information. The M.Ac. degree program emphasizes an acupuncture education that focuses on graduates working in public health settings, community clinics and in medically underserved areas around the globe. It also is designed to provide more flexibility for students to work during their training and rely less on financial aid loans to fund their education.
Master of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (M.Ac.O.M.)
Program Description
The Master's of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (M.Ac.O.M.) degree program at SIOM provides a deep understanding of the roots of this ancient medicine, as well as a clear grasp of modern approaches to Chinese medicine. The format of instruction is unique in the field of acupuncture education. It is a result of the last fifteen years of instruction and innovation at SIOM, and supports SIOM's mission to prepare highly qualified, effective and successful practitioners.
The 3,150 hour M.Ac.O.M. program is three years (36 months) in length, with classes and clinic occurring 45 weeks out of the year in three fifteen-week trimesters. Students spend approximately 24 hours per week in clinical training and didactic courses with some weekend intensives. The courses and clinic are designed to act as a cohesive unit; therefore all students are expected to enroll on a full-time basis.
In the first year, students work with experienced practitioners to gain academic and clinical experience in the classical and contemporary traditions of Chinese medicine. The course work supports the clinical training by focusing on the skills important for treatment and understanding of the patient's condition. By the end of the first year, students acquire basic competence in diagnosis and assessment skills regarding these ancient and modern approaches to Chinese medicine. Most importantly, students experience how the theories and modalities of Oriental medicine are integrated and put to use in the clinical setting by experienced practitioners.
In the second year, students are responsible for providing care to patients. In clinic, they treat patients utilizing the skills and knowledge learned in their first year. Instruction supplements the clinical education by providing the theoretical and technical support necessary for in-depth understanding of the therapies provided.
In the third year, students work in a variety of internship and externship clinics to experience a wide range of patient conditions and hone their skills, utilizing the different approaches to practice what they have learned in the program. Academic coursework emphasizes the skills they will need to work in the health care professions and in private practice.
The strengths of the program are:
- Small class size
- Clinical preceptorship experience with experienced faculty/practitioners
- Clinic training from beginning of program
- Chinese medical language instruction integrated into whole program
- Hands-on herbal instruction
- Multiple perspectives on diagnostic and treatment approaches
- Wide range of clinical experiences and large number of patient treatments
- Strong bodywork and physical assessment/palpation training
For more information please see the school catalog.
Master of Acupuncture Degree (M.Ac.)
Program Description
The M.Ac. degree program was developed out of an increased demand in this country and abroad for a practitioner that can serve in public health settings and environments where there are little or no medical resources. These populations have specific needs that require providers to have different skills then those usually associated with a practitioner being trained for private practice in the United States. Patients in these underserved settings often cannot afford to buy or prepare herbal remedies. Their needs are for low-cost care and education in ways of living and health promotion methods that do not require external resources or equipment. To serve this growing need SIOM developed an acupuncture degree program that could focus on training a qualified practitioner to provide effective care in these settings. The program also maintains a focus on the skills that it takes for an acupuncturist to successfully develop a private acupuncture practice in states that do not require herbal training.
The 2,400 hour M.Ac. program is three years (36 months) in length, with classes and clinic occurring 45 weeks out of the year in three fifteen-week trimesters. Students spend approximately 16 hours per week in clinical training and didactic courses with some weekend intensives. The courses and clinic are designed to act as a cohesive unit; therefore all students are expected to enroll on a full-time basis.
The M.Ac. program provides instruction in a variety of approaches to acupuncture diagnosis and treatment. In addition to this training, students receive considerable clinical experiences in a wide range of public health and community clinic settings. This provides graduates with an array of experiences with different patient populations and different strategies for assisting a wide range of patient needs. Students learn a range of physical assessment and Asian physical therapy techniques that can augment diagnosis and patient care. They also study eastern and western nutrition from methods of growing and preparing foods to assessing patients and approaches to food therapy. They participate in several intensive retreats practicing qi gong, tai chi, introspective methods, and a variety of bodywork and acupuncture techniques. Coupled with this training students study sufficient biomedical clinical science to understand the western perspective of disease for assessment, referral and communication purposes.
The first year of instruction includes study of an array of approaches to acupuncture and direct observation and assisting of experienced acupuncture practitioners. In the second year, students develop their technical skills in assessment and treatment with clinical practice in the SIOM acupuncture clinic. In the third year, student interns work in a variety of clinic rotations that provide exposure to a range of patient populations and cultures. This clinical training is coupled with instruction in the cultural and medical issues faced in these health care settings.
Strengths of the program:
- Small class size
- Preceptorship with experienced faculty/practitioners
- A variety of acupuncture diagnostic perspectives learned
- Strong bodywork and physical assessment/palpation training
- Emphasis on cultivation of qi and techniques for patient self treatment
- Wide range of clinical experiences including multiple community and public health sites
For more information please see the school catalog.
|
