Table of Contents
Program Overview
We offer two Master's degrees and a certificate:
The Master's in Acupuncture Program (M.Ac.)
The Master's Degree in Acupuncture Program provides the foundational knowledge and skill in Traditional Chinese Medicine needed to pass the national (nccaom) acupuncture certifying examination, become licensed in Arizona and many other states, and work competently as a L.Ac. in private practice.
The M.Ac. Degree includes the A.B.T./Tuina Certificate course work (described below).
The M.Ac. Degree requires 3 academic years of full-time study. Students are in classroom and clinic 44 weeks a year.
Total program hours: 2,627.
Owing to the primary role of herbology in Chinese medicine, we strongly encourage students to prefer the
M.Ac.O.M. degree.
However, recognizing that some students may prefer to concentrate on—and be licensed in acupuncture—before studying herbs, we have applied to our accreditation commission for approval of a 2 year herbal certificate program. The herbal certificate program would be open to M.Ac degree practitioners who are returning to complete a national standard Chinese herbology program.
The Master in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Program (M.Ac.O.M.)
The Master's Degree in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Program is the M.Ac. Degree program, including the A.B.T./Tuina Certificate, plus courses and clinic in Chinese herbology.
Successful completion of the M.Ac.O.M. program also qualifies the student to sit for the national (NCCAOM) certifying examination in Chinese herbology.
Herbology is an essential feature of Traditional Chinese Medicine as practiced in China. While the state of Arizona does not regulate herbology and Arizona's Acupuncture Practice Act does not require training in herbology for licensing as an acupuncturist, a comprehensively trained practitioner of TCM can skillfully prescribe both loose and prepared herbs as part of a comprehensive treatment program for their patients.
The M.Ac.O.M. Degree is an intensive, comprehensive program requiring 4 academic years condensed into 3 calendar years of full-time study. Students are in classroom and clinic 44 weeks a year.
Total program hours: 3,146.
The Certificate in Asian Bodywork Therapy/Tuina (A.B.T. Certificate)
The Certificate in Asian Bodywork Therapy/Tuina is a clinically-oriented program in Chinese structural hand therapy in the tradition of the North American Tang Shou Tao Association.
The Asian Bodywork Therapy/Tuina courses are an integral part of the degree programs at ASAOM, and degree students automatically qualify for the A.B.T./ Tuina Certificate at the end of their second year of acupuncture training.
The Tuina instructors are journeymen tuina practitioners who learned their craft by apprenticeship with Dr. Vincent Black at the Four Winds Health Clinic in Tucson, AZ.
Persons who desire to become competent practitioners of Tuina without taking the full acupuncture program are welcome to enroll only for the A.B.T./Tuina Certificate. They must meet the admissions requirements for the Master's degree. In the event of a later decision to complete a degree, A.B.T./ Tuina courses are fully credited.
A.B.T./Tuina Certificate graduates are eligible for:
- Professional Membership in the American Organization of Bodywork Therapies of Asia (AOBTA), and
- the national (NCCAOM) certifying examination in Asian Bodywork Therapy
Program hours over 2 calendar years: 750, in addition to 120 hours of anatomy and physiology (8 semester credits). See a separate handout for details of the A.B.T./Tuina program.
Standards
The degree programs follow the core curriculum of the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (acaom). The A.B.T./Tuina certificate program follows the core curriculum of the Association for Bodywork Therapies of Asia (aobta).
Recognizing that there are other traditions of acupuncture and Oriental medicine besides TCM, we introduce students to several ways of practicing acupuncture, including auriculo-therapy, Master Tong's acupuncture and 5-Element acupuncture.
We encourage our teachers and students to draw on a common core of knowledge, and also to find in direct, personal experience what serves best in this time and place. We respect the master teachers of old; we also accept that the Source of Truth which inspired them continues to be directly available to us, informing and guiding us as we develop and express our talents through the remarkable medium of Chinese medicine.
Our Schools's Philosophy
We see our primary task as developing competent clinical practitioners. Therefore, our teaching methods emphasize hands-on, clinic-based problem solving in a context of close student-teacher interaction focused on patient care.
We impart a solid foundation in the approach to diagnosis and treatment known as TCM; this enables our graduates to confidently take national examinations and practice in the mainstream of American acupuncture.
We intend to graduate a comprehensively trained practitioner of Chinese medicine, a professional who is equally at home with acupuncture, tuina, and herbology.
Our acupuncture program includes both the 8-principle and 5-element approaches to diagnosis and treatment, and graduates draw on both traditions as the patient's need requires.
Recognizing that many of the problems presented to acupuncturists involve body mechanics that are most quickly and easily addressed manually, we have developed a distinctive competence in Asian Bodywork Therapy/Tuina.
Both tuina and acupuncture are palpatory arts. Learning the two together enhances the student's skill in feeling qi in meridians and tissues. Competence in the two treatment modalities substantially increases the range of problems to which a practitioner can competently respond.
Herbology is fundamental to TCM as practiced in China, and we offer a program in Chinese herbology at national standard.
Traditions of acupuncture that do not depend on herbs have evolved outside China, and there are traditions that pre-date TCM and do not rely on meridians, such as ear acupuncture and Master Tong's acupuncture. We introduce these traditions.
Believing that most concerns for which people consult an acupuncturist are lifestyle-related and can be improved with lifestyle change, we teach fundamentals of nutrition, exercise and stress reduction that draw on both Eastern and Western traditions.
Running through all that we do and drawing everything together are Qi Gong and T'ai Chi. We thoroughly teach these forms of qi cultivation, providing skills that enable students to develop their strength and vitality while in school and as a foundation for lifelong personal development.
Day Classes
Our programs start in the fall. Students who are approved to start earlier may enroll in selected courses with the permission of the Dean. Day programs usually meet four mornings, and one to three afternoons per week. Classes may occasionally be scheduled at night or on weekends.
Learning Sequence
Except for herbology, M.Ac. and M.Ac.O.M. students follow the same schedule and attend the same classes.
In the first year, students learn fundamentals of Chinese language, basic TCM theory, diagnostic skills and TCM anatomy and physiology, as well as tuina and acupuncture techniques. Meridian Qi Gong is taught along with the tuina class, and students practice daily.
Throughout the first year in Preceptorship, students watch and assist teachers treating patients in the round. In the fourth term, first-year students assist interns with patient care one afternoon a week. Herbal medicine is introduced in the first term of year one, and for those taking the MAcOM degree continues through years two and three.
In the second year students continue with acupuncture techniques and tuina and, as appropriate, herbology. Students begin Western clinical science courses, which emphasize musculoskeletal and naturopathic skills that the acupuncturist can apply in practice. T'ai Chi class meets weekly in year two and students practice daily.
In year two clinical internship meets three afternoons a week, with interns treating patients in public clinic under the close supervision of instructors. Two of the weekly internship clinics are acupuncture/ herbology, the third is tuina. Students receive the A.B.T./Tuina Certificate at the end of the second year and are qualified for certification by the AOBTA. They are also eligible to sit for NCCAOM's Asian Bodywork Therapy Certificate exam.
In year three students emphasize herbology and Western clinical science, take courses in 5-element acupuncture and Master Tong's acupuncture, professional values and skills and practice management, and do their master's project on an area of practice in which they have a special interest. Acupuncture/herbology internship meets three afternoons a week.
Overall, in keeping with the school's clinical emphasis, class work involves hands-on learning in a laboratory setting. Nearly half of TCM hours are done in clinic under the supervision of experienced practitioners, whose objective is to assist interns in developing competence and confidence toward the goal of a successful practice.
