ACAOM Accredits
Bastyr's DAOM and OCOM's DAOM
Bastyr's DAOM First In Nation to Receive Regional and Professional Accreditation: Five Year Accreditation Status from Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
August 27, 2007 – (Kenmore, Washington) Bastyr University, a leader in natural health arts and sciences education, is pleased to announce that its doctor of acupuncture and Oriental medicine program recently received five-year accreditation status with the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM). The program is one of the first in the nation to attain this professional status and Bastyr University is the only academic institution in the United States with a doctor of acupuncture and Oriental medicine (DAOM) program that is both regionally and professionally accredited.
Bastyr University and all of its academic programs are accredited by the Northwest Commission for Colleges and Universities, which is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. The University’s accreditation through the Northwest Commission for Colleges and Universities enabled the University to launch a regionally accredited doctor of acupuncture and Oriental medicine program in 2004, and allows DAOM students to qualify for federal financial aid funding. The ACAOM is the recognized accrediting agency for the approval of programs preparing acupuncture and Oriental medicine practitioners. It is not currently recognized by the U.S. Department of Education with respect to doctoral programs in the field.
“We are thrilled to complete this final step of the accreditation process for our new doctor of acupuncture and Oriental medicine program,” says Terry Courtney, dean of the School of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine at Bastyr University. “Joined with our regional accreditation status, recognition by the ACAOM shows that our doctor of acupuncture and Oriental medicine program has the appropriate professional quality assurance mechanisms in place to prepare acupuncture and Oriental medicine practitioners to excel in the field.”
The Bastyr University DAOM program was developed to address the current trend of increased collaboration between acupuncturists, physicians and other health care providers. The program’s focus in oncology and advanced pain management represents the growing clinical collaboration between traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and allopathic care in the clinical arena. Bastyr University’s DAOM program recognizes the strengths that traditional Chinese medicine contribute to enhancing quality of life for both cancer patients and those struggling with chronic pain. The rich academic resources of the University are fully utilized within the DAOM program as students work with highly experienced faculty in TCM, basic sciences and western clinical medicine.
About Bastyr University
Bastyr University in Kenmore, Washington is an accredited institution, internationally recognized as a pioneer in natural health arts and sciences education. Founded in 1978 as the John Bastyr College of Natural Medicine, the University integrates the pursuit of scientific knowledge with the wisdom of ancient healing methods and traditional cultures from around the world. Today, Bastyr is the largest university for natural health arts and sciences in the United States, combining a multidisciplinary curriculum with leading edge research and clinical training.
The University offers bachelor of science degrees in exercise science and wellness, health psychology, herbal sciences and nutrition. Graduate programs include naturopathic medicine, nutrition, acupuncture and Oriental medicine, nutrition and clinical health psychology, and applied behavioral science. Student clinical training takes place at Bastyr Center for Natural Health in Seattle’s Wallingford/Fremont neighborhood and at many external sites throughout the region. For additional information about Bastyr University and its teaching clinic, Bastyr Center for Natural Health, visit www.bastyr.edu or www.bastyrcenter.org.
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Oregon College of Oriental Medicine's (OCOM) DAOM to Receive Accreditation By Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
For Immediate Release - August 23, 2007
Portland, Oregon - Dr. Beth Burch, Dean of Doctoral Studies, announced yesterday that the Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (DAOM) program at Oregon College of Oriental Medicine (OCOM) was granted accreditation by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM).
At its August 10, 2007 meeting, the ACAOM reviewed the Site Visit Evaluation Team Summary Report of the April 14 – 16, 2007 Site Visit to the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine and the school’s written response to that report. The Commission granted initial accreditation to the Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine program for a five-year period, effective August 10, 2007.
“OCOM’s doctoral program was one of the first two DAOM programs in the country,” says Dr. Burch. This is an important accomplishment for the doctoral program and the college. Accreditation reaffirms OCOM’s leadership and excellence in acupuncture and Oriental medicine education.”
OCOM’s Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (DAOM) program was established in 2003 and graduated its first class of 19 students in July of 2005. The program is designed for licensed acupuncturists who want to deepen their knowledge in both core and specialty clinic domains. It is offered in monthly modules over a 26-month period. Every module includes both didactic (classroom) content and clinical work, including supervised treatment of patients in the doctoral clinic.
In order to achieve accreditation, OCOM’s doctoral program had to meet ACAOM’s 14 Essential Requirements: comprehensive, educational and institutional requirements for acupuncture and Oriental medicine programs. As part of the accreditation process, in 2006 the OCOM administration conducted a thorough self-analysis of the DAOM program and prepared a self-study report documenting how the program met the criteria of each essential requirement. In April of 2007, a four-member ACAOM site visit team spent three days at the OCOM campus confirming the evidence presented in the self-study report and assessing the program’s compliance with the ACAOM criteria for accreditation.
“I want to congratulate and thank everyone at OCOM for the hard work and superlative effort that achieved this five-year accreditation of the doctoral program,” says Peter Martin, Chair of OCOM’s Board of Trustees. “This is an extraordinary milestone for the college and the profession.”
About Oregon College of Oriental Medicine
OCOM trains master’s and doctoral students, conducts research, and treats patients at clinics on campus and in the community. Founded in Portland, Oregon in 1983, OCOM is one of the oldest Chinese medicine colleges in the United States. For more information about Oregon College of Oriental Medicine and the doctoral program, please visit www.ocom.edu or contact Erin Sutherland, Director of Community Relations, at 503-252-3179, esutherland@ocom.edu.