TCM Schools

May 26, 2009

Hello All,

I am new to the group and am very interested in obtaining a Master of Acupunture

and Oriental Medicine Degree. I am currently a registered nurse and have been a

practicing nurse for 13 years. Do any of you have recommendations re: best

school for this degree? I currently live in AZ and am checking into programs in

OR, AZ, CO, NM and TX. I have been working with a naturopathic doctor for the

last year and have really developed an interest in Chinese medicine. I've done

a lot of reading and really feel this would be a great way to help others

achieve maximum health. Thanks for any advice/guidance you can give.

Joan

May 26, 2009

When deciding on an AOM (acupuncture and Oriental medicine) school, you'll

want to consider a few items.

- Passing rates on the test needed to be licensed in the state you want

to practice in. Many states use the NCCAOM testing agency. If you go to

http://nccaom.org you may be able to track down that information.

- The minimum accreditation that you'll want to look for is " ACCAOM

Candidate " . See: http://www.acaom.org

- State accreditation is probably important for the school's business

licenses but doesn't guarantee quality education. For instance, in

California, schools are also accredited by the California Bureau of Private

Post-Secondary Vocational Education. This accreditation provides consumers

with some recourse if a school goes under. It's like a tuition insurance (in

fact, that's EXACTLY what they are.) So, state accreditations aren't too

important in assessing the quality of your education there.

- All of the mature schools are accredited, not candidates. This

accreditation is for the entry-level masters degree. ACCAOM also accredits a

doctoral program called " DAOM " (Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental

Medicine). Some schools that are fully accredited for the masters are

candidates for the DAOM or don't offer the DAOM at all. DAOM is optional at

this point. There is a movement in the industry to make the DAOM the entry

level degree, but that's not widely accepted yet.

- Some of the schools have gone the extra mile to get " regional

accreditation " . ACCAOM is unique to accrediting schools of AOM, however

regional accreditation is the same body that accredits all of your

" land-grant " colleges and universities such schools that have the state's

name such as " California State University " or " University of California " . To

put this into other terms. Right now, you can transfer your biomedicine

credits into an ACCAOM school from a regionally accredited school, but the

regionally accredited school will not accept the credits from an ACCAOM

school. If the AOM school is regionally accredited, then you could possibly

transfer credits into a regionally accredited school. That isn't especially

important, this transfer issue, because no land-grant schools offer a

program in AOM. The point is, that if you're at a school that has regional

accreditation, you're at a much more mature and educationally savvy school

than at the ACCAOM accredited schools that is a much lower bar to clear.

There's a school in TX that is working toward regional accreditation. I

believe it is the one in Austin. Look for " Will Morris " as the CEO there.

It's that school.

- So enough of accreditation. Next, pay attention to the student body.

Are they " like you " ? Do you like them? I went to three different schools in

my area (Southern California happens to have a lot of schools). One was too

cold and clinical, one was too holy. and the third was just right, so I went

there.

- Do you want to study herbs too? Not every school has an herb program.

Studying acupuncutre alone will be quicker and easier. The herbs really bog

things down, but of course as is the case with any difficult task, the

outcome is that you have another tool to work with.

There are always other things to assess I guess. But these are a good start.

On Mon, May 25, 2009 at 9:07 PM, Joan Montgomery <jemontgo2004wrote:

>

> Hello All,

>

> I am new to the group and am very interested in obtaining a Master of

> Acupunture and Oriental Medicine Degree. I am currently a registered nurse

> and have been a practicing nurse for 13 years. Do any of you have

> recommendations re: best school for this degree? I currently live in AZ and

> am checking into programs in OR, AZ, CO, NM and TX. I have been working

> with a naturopathic doctor for the last year and have really developed an

> interest in Chinese medicine. I've done a lot of reading and really feel

> this would be a great way to help others achieve maximum health. Thanks for

> any advice/guidance you can give.

>

> Joan

>

--

, DAOM

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

May 26, 2009

I just graduated with my masters in TCM. I have attended Pacific College of

Oriental Medicine, Samra University of Oriental Medicine, Yo San University and

I shopped Emperors, Tri-state, Swedish Massage and Dung kok. Going on the Acaom

certification is useless for quality. Since the bar is so low on the

certification that one of the worst schools has certification. When you shop

have treatments at the school by different interns and befriend them and then

listen to what they say about the school. Students many times are afraid to

admit the problems in these schools. I started in New York and transferred to

Los Angeles after a brief stint in San Diego. There are many problems with these

schools so you will not find a fantastic one. What I did notice is that a

co-hort system is best for the consistent progression of your education. Some of

the more mature schools can be some of the worse. Exam scores do not always

reflect the school as much as the students being admitted into school. Best

program will offer herbs and acupuncture, since some states require herbs. Many

who went to Tri-state in New York or the Swedish Massage were not able to move

to California. Make sure your school is accepted by all states including

California since if by chance you have to move here you don't have to repeat all

of your course work over which has happened to many people. This schools are for

profit no matter what they say. I went from a trimester school to a quarterly

school so I end up getting out earlier but I already had a solid foundation

before I transferred. Buyer beware! Many schools raise tuition every year

calculate how much you will owe in the end. A six figure bill is no laughing

matter.

" Tao is precious and not to be passed on, unless the student is sincere and

compassionate towards human suffering "

by: Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen, chapter 4 Truth from the Golden Chamber

On Mon, May 25, 2009 at 9:07 PM, Joan Montgomery <jemontgo2004@ >wrote: