Program Competencies |  Curriculum and Clinical Education |  Research |  Financial Aid

The Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine (DACM) degree completion track enables graduates of master’s programs of acupuncture and Chinese medicine to augment their knowledge, skills, and behaviors to a level consistent with the college’s entry-level DACM standards. The DACM degree completion track enables master’s graduates to attain degree parity with licensed acupuncturists who hold the entry-level DACM by filling in any gaps between their master’s degree education and OCOM’s entry-level doctoral degree education. Graduates with a master’s degree in Chinese medicine from an accredited institution may apply to OCOM’s 360-468 hour (27-36 credit) DACM degree completion track to earn a DACM degree. This program is delivered in modular format with hybrid content delivery and consists of seven (7) four-day weekends with supplementary online coursework delivered over a 12-month period.

The Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine program is a clinically focused postgraduate degree program leading to a clinical doctorate degree, the DAOM. Graduates are naturally positioned as leaders in the field, whether as specialized practitioners skilled in the treatment of chronic and complex conditions, clinical researchers, or teachers of future generations of practitioners. Specialization in women’s health and aging adults, increased interaction with Western biomedical practitioners, a strong emphasis on clinical judgment skills, and the use of research findings to inform clinical decision making are key areas that distinguish the doctoral degree program from OCOM’s master’s program. Our terminal doctoral program is designed for practitioners who maintain an active practice and desire to reach the highest level of achievement within the profession. Licensed acupuncturists with a master’s degree in Chinese medicine from an accredited institution may apply to the doctoral program which is 1,221 hours in length (48.6 credits), including 551 didactic hours and 670 clinical hours. Three modules in the first year are five days in length. The program is designed around a series of 20 intensive teaching modules, which take place every 4-5 weeks, over a period of approximately 24 months.

Both of these courses of study are designed for practitioners to complete the degree while maintaining their practice.

 Program Competencies

Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine (DACM) Completion Track 
OCOM has defined five general competencies for the DACM program which differentiate it from the MACM. Students will demonstrate these skills in both classroom and clinical learning environments:

• Patient Care Domain including scope of practice, clinical indications, risks, and benefits for diagnostic procedures, and effective communication with other health care providers.
• Systems-based Medicine including how to guide a patient into health care systems, identify, describe, and assess possible solutions to health care disparities due to socioeconomic factors and describe the role of AOM professionals within current health care systems.
• Collaborative Care practices that recognize the impact that organizational culture and established systems have on patient care, describe the prevailing and emerging organization, structure, and responsibilities of the health care team.
• Formulating and Implementing Plans for Individual Professional Development including identifying and remediating areas of professional weakness, analyzing one’s own practice for the purpose of developing a program of learning on a lifelong learning.
• Evidence-Informed Practice into Patient Care where one can describe evidence-based and evidence-informed practices and data collection methods used to facilitate information dissemination in the field and modify treatment plans and protocols using new information from current quantitative and qualitative research.

DAOM Program
OCOM has defined five general competencies to be mastered over the course of the DAOM program. The details and emphases within each of these competencies may vary by course, specialty discipline, and stage of professional development. Mastery is determined through a variety of assessment methods.

Graduates of the DAOM program will be able to:

• Integrate advanced Chinese medical and Western biomedical concepts and clinical skills, and apply this integrated perspective to the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and long-term management of a range of complex, chronic conditions;
• Demonstrate an appreciation of advanced concepts in clinical biomedicine, and communicate these concepts clearly and effectively when collaborating on patient care with other health care providers;
• Effectively apply clinical specialization skills and knowledge to the domain of patient care;
• Identify, analyze and critically evaluate AOM-relevant research information from a wide range of sources, and apply that information appropriately in clinical settings;
• Demonstrate the potential to make significant scholarly contributions to the profession.

Format – The DAOM program is designed around a series of 20 intensive teaching modules, which take place every 4-5 weeks, over a period of approximately 24 months. Each teaching module is four days, occurring over weekends (Friday through Monday)*. Every module includes both didactic (classroom) content and clinical work, which includes supervised treatment of patients in the doctoral clinic. Between modules, students complete homework and independent study assignments, regular reading assignments, work on clinical case studies, preparing responses to case-based problems, reviewing literature and creating case reports as well as maintaining regular online communication with classmates and faculty.
*Three modules in the first year are five days in length.

The DAOM program is 1,221 hours in length (48.6 credits), including 551 didactic hours and 670 clinical hours.

 Curriculum/Clinical Education

DACM Completion Track
This program is delivered in modular format with hybrid content delivery and consists of seven (7) four-day weekends with supplementary online coursework delivered over a 12-month period.

DAOM Program
The DAOM program curriculum includes two specializations – women’s health and aging adults. The women’s health specialization covers gynecology and internal medicine conditions common in women. The aging adults specialization covers specific geriatric topics as well as internal medicine conditions that are common in the aging adult. Students will cover one year on each specialization in the program.

At each module, there are lectures in acupuncture/Chinese medicine and biomedicine, as well as clinical courses including a clinic theater with patients, discussions of cases from students’ practices, and student presentations on topics of their choosing. At selected modules, lectures in research, the classics, teaching skills and assessment skills are given. A full-day supervised clinic internship also takes place each module.

Students will also complete written case reports for patients treated in their private practice, as well as a project to support the integration of their practice with the larger health care community. Three 60-hour Clinical Selectives — most commonly externships, but also including choices of special clinical studies, supervision skills development or writing skills development — are completed. Finally, all students will complete a Capstone Research Project on a clinically relevant topic.

Refer to OCOM's academic catalog for a detailed look at the DAOM curriculum, academic policies, and module topics:

Academic Catalog  |  Academic Calendar

 Research

The DAOM curriculum includes a research course, and a Research Grand Rounds seminar series featuring nationally known complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) researchers who discuss state-of-the art studies and discoveries relevant to Chinese medicine. Students in the clinical doctorate program are required to complete a capstone project, either a completed research study, a research study proposal, or a scholarly paper.

Learn more about the OCOM Research Department.
Learn more about the DAOM Faculty.

Helpful Resources for Prospective Postgraduate Students

Doctoral Options

Which doctoral option is right for you?
Graduate Success

DACM Completion

DACM Completion course descriptions

DAOM

DAOM Overview
Eight Things Every DAOM Applicant Should Do