School advice

[Guest guest]

Hi there! My name is Lauren, and I am currently researching

Acupuncture/TCM schools to apply to within the next year. I have

visited Five Branches Institute in Santa Cruz, CA and also Pacific

College of Oriental Medicine in San Diego. They both seem like great

schools, although I find it interesting that Five Branches requires

that students take college level anatomy, physiology, chemistry,

biology, and physics BEFORE enrolling in their program, and Pacific

College does not have any pre-requisites. I've noticed that this is

often the case--some schools have no prereq's and others have many.

 

I was wondering if anyone could give me any information about the

school they attended. Do you feel it was a good school? Do you work

with anyone who attended another school that you perhaps could make

some comparisons about your educations? This would be very helpful.

 

One of my concerns is that many of these schools only prepare the

student for passing the licensing exam and don't really supply the

preparation needed to become a thorough and informed practioner.

These schools are pretty expensive-Five Branches and Pacific College

are about ten thousand dollars a year. I want to make sure that I am

getting a good education. I spoke with some students at these

schools and have gotten mostly favorable reviews.

 

I would love to hear any thoughts about schools that members of the

group attended. Did you feel prepared to begin helping others? I

realize that there is much to learn about TCM and other fields of

natural healing, and it will be an ongoing process throughout my

lifetime. I don't expect to come out of a school knowing

everything. But I don't want to spend the next 4 years simply

memorizing the basics so that I can pass the licensing exam. I want

to become a true healer. Any advice would be appreciated. Also, I

would like to hear about schools from all over the country, not just

in California.

 

Thank you for your time. Lauren

[Guest guest]

Lauren D'Avirro wrote:

 

> But I don't want to spend the next 4 years simply

> memorizing the basics so that I can pass the licensing exam. I want

> to become a true healer.

 

Memorization is a big part of your TCM school experience.

 

A school won't teach you to heal, but they will teach you how not to

hurt anybody. ( " First, do no harm " ) Becoming a true healer may be

something that you discover within, anyway.

 

--

Al Stone L.Ac.

<AlStone

http://www.BeyondWellBeing.com

 

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

[Guest guest]

Hello Lauren:

 

I am neither a licensed acupuncturist, nor a student, but I have become very

interested in TCM. I have been a volunteer in a TCM clinic which was also

winding down as a teaching school. This school had a real master of TCM and

it was fascinating to watch him treat patients. I also learned a lot about

TCM, although it was very informal as I did not attend classes. Fortunately

this master enjoyed a audience and the patients and I listened to many an

shortened lecture about TCM. I would suggest that perhaps after studying

TCM, or maybe even during your studies, locating someone like this and

learning all you can from him/her. I think there are as many ways to learn

and practice TCM as there are practitioners. The trick is finding a few

really good " masters " and then learning all you can from them. Then you will

have a chance to become a true healer. I have a Chinese friend who is

studying to become an acupuncturist, learning as much as possible from others

outside the school, as well as in school (remember most teachers teach

because they cannot do that well, this is true in most every academic area).

Rather than focusing on making all 100 and studying just for tests, this

person spends hours treating patients and learning how to make an acurate

diagnosis of each patient. Trying to learn to think outside of the box so to

speak.

 

I wish you well in whatever you do in the future. I love your attitude, and

my friend feels that if you put your heart into healing you will be able to

help many people.

 

Sarah