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Category: News

Published: March 22, 2023

It is with great pleasure that I announce that the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine (ACAHM, our institutional and programmatic accreditor) has accredited our Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine (DACM) program. In a letter received yesterday, ACAHM has issued initial accreditation to the DACM program and re-accredited the Master of Acupuncture (MAc) and Master of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine (MACM) programs for a full cycle of seven years. You can view OCOM’s updated program status on ACAHM’s website: Directory of ACAHM Accredited and Pre-accredited Programs/Institutions.

I wish to thank the vision of the OCOM Board of Trustees, administration, faculty, and the valuable input from alumni and current students, as well as the countless hours of work by current and former staff and faculty to bring about this achievement.

– Philip H. Lundberg, PhD, MHSA, OCOM President/CEO

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Category: News

Published: March 15, 2023

Philip H. Lundberg Steps Up As OCOM’s New President and Chief Executive Officer

The Oregon College of Oriental Medicine Board of Trustees is pleased to announce Philip H. Lundberg, PhD, MHSA as OCOM’s sixth President and Chief Executive Officer. He succeeds President Sherri L. Green in the position. Reflecting on his new role, Dr. Lundberg feels “honored to be selected to lead this amazing organization. OCOM has a reputation for the quality of its programs, its community service orientation, national engagement, and leadership. I look forward to helping continue and strengthening these characteristics.”

Board Chair Karen Williams expressed excitement about the appointment of Lundberg as OCOM President: “When Dr. Green decided not to continue as President of OCOM, the Board was thrilled to have someone as capable as Dr. Lundberg already in the organization, prepared and eminently qualified to assume that role. For the last four years, Dr. Lundberg has worked closely with Dr. Green on all of the major issues faced by the college. Having led us through the strategic planning process, Dr. Lundberg is uniquely qualified to assume the presidency. We are thrilled to have such a seamless transition of leadership.”

Dr. Lundberg earned a PhD in Organizational Systems from Saybrook University and a Master of Health Services Administration from Arizona State University. His doctoral program focused on culture, motivation, and high performance teams.He has built an impressive and diverse 35-year career spanning leadership roles in hospitals, consulting, training, planning, and higher education both in the United States and internationally.

Speaking of what made Dr. Lundberg an attractive candidate to be OCOM’s next president, Williams noted, “He has a proven record of leading organizations, particularly during times of uncertainty or change. He combines an ability to help clarify a unifying vision for the future with the operational skills to make that vision a reality.”

PRESS RELEASE (PDF)

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Published: December 22, 2022

Oregon College of Oriental Medicine (OCOM) has opened registration for the next Introduction to Chinese Medicine course. Following the success of past offerings, OCOM is excited to bring it back beginning Wednesday, February 8 via Zoom. 

This course, open to the public, will introduce Chinese medical theories, treatments, history, the basics of holism, and research. Participants will learn about acupoints, herbal medicine, acupuncture, moxibustion, massage, gua sha, cupping, and bleeding. Dietary therapy, channel system, organ networks, along with yin/yang theory, Chinese pathology, and concepts of qi will be explored as well. 

This five-week online class — Wednesday evenings, February 8 through March 8 — is presented by esteemed OCOM faculty members, all teaching their specialized perspectives via lecture, demonstration, and discussion. Cost is $275.

Register today for the Introduction to Chinese Medicine course

Are you a prospective student, applicant, family or friend of someone looking at Chinese medicine schools? Have you been helped by Chinese medicine and you’d like to learn more? Or, are you an alum who would value introducing the medicine to more of your patients? Are you in a career exploratory class, a pre-med club member, or perhaps a health, career, or college advisor helping students decide which careers to pursue? If so, this class is for you!

Join us Wednesday evenings, February 8 through March 8, 2023, 5:30 PM-7:30 PM Pacific, via Zoom.

OCOM faculty will lecture on the following topics:

• Introduction to Chinese theories of the body: channel system, organ networks, yin/yang theory, Chinese pathology, concepts of qi, blood, and jing
• Introduction to Chinese diagnostic methods: pulse and tongue diagnosis, 10 questions, palpation (channel and abdomen); and microsystems (ear, face, hand, and foot)
• Introduction to Chinese treatment modalities: herbal medicine, acupuncture, moxibustion, massage, gua sha, cupping, and bleeding
• Introduction to the history of Chinese medicine: Taoism and the gentleman scholar, major texts, famous physicians, current practice
• Basics of Holism in Chinese medicine: Dietary therapy; treatment according to person, place, and season; internal and external causes of illness; balance as optimum health
• Research and Chinese medicine: Empiricism, recent findings from controlled trials, and biomedical approaches to understanding Chinese medicine

Throughout the course, participants will discuss Chinese medical practices and the legally defined scope of practice. Each individual will be encouraged to reflect on the nature of wellness from a Chinese medical point of view. Opportunities to learn the location of selected acupoints and the therapeutic properties of dietary choices will be identified, and recommended reading and web resource tools will be offered for further study. 

If these topics and learning objectives resonate with you, consider joining us. If you have questions, contact Anna Grace at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Register today for OCOM's Introduction to Chinese Medicine course

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Category: News

Published: May 31, 2022

In this letter from the OCOM Board of Trustees, we seek to find a common language of appreciation for different lived experiences, and to keep the OCOM community informed regarding changes to our name. We are embracing this unique challenge to both honor the cultural heritage of our medicine and find ways to do so that are inclusive and that do not carry the weight of historical oppressions associated with earlier language used to describe our medicine.

The OCOM Board of Trustees remains acutely aware of the complexity and nuance related to changing OCOM’s name. Concerns and discussion about the use of the word “Oriental” have been central to discussions for more than a decade, both within OCOM’s community and throughout the entire profession. Despite community outreach, surveys, and meetings with the staff and students of OCOM, there has not been a clear path forward or common agreement upon alternative terminology for our medicine. We understand that some members of our community proudly self-identify as “Oriental,” while some members of our community feel that this terminology is problematic.

Although there were some trends in the findings, the most important observation was that opinions varied greatly regarding the word “Oriental” in OCOM’s name, and that our community has a tremendous amount of diversity in their lived experiences, which includes but is not limited to ethnic, cultural and racial identity, age, and immigrant status. Even among those with similar experiences, such as within families, there were differences of opinion.

OCOM continues to work to navigate a path forward, to find language that accurately describes and embraces the whole of our medicine, and that invites the whole of our learning community to be fully invested in our mission to transform health care by educating highly skilled and compassionate practitioners, providing exemplary patient care, and engaging in innovative research within a community of service and healing.

As the clouds of pandemic management continue to dissipate, we will be able to refocus resources to create a name that embodies our core culture of compassion, advocacy, and respect. Such work is a gift to us all, and we aim to find a name that honors that heritage and all the history that OCOM represents.

Karen M. Williams, JD
Chair, OCOM Board of Trustees

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Category: News

Published: April 29, 2022

OCOM’s New Integrative Health Partnership with Fora Health

After months of planning, OCOM is pleased to announce its growing partnership with Fora Health, a 92-bed center, providing medically managed acute withdrawal, residential treatment, and an expanding program of outpatient treatment. Fora Health (formerly De Paul Treatment Centers) is one of Oregon’s oldest and largest providers of residential and outpatient services for persons struggling with substance use.

Fora Health has a beautiful new building in Southeast Portland, built specifically to meet the needs of patients with substance use disorders (SUDs). Fora has separate wings for housing male and female identifying patients. They have a bright and welcoming kitchen and dining room, a gym, an art room, and a growing library! When I visited I was pleasantly surprised that I could view OCOM’s former location on Cherry Blossom drive from the front of their building.

Jennifer Hartley, PhD, MD, MSOM is the Director of Innovation and Special Projects at Fora Heath and is responsible for reaching out to OCOM to establish this relationship. Her experience as a NUNM student treating patients at Hooper Detox influenced the path of her career and gave her direct knowledge of the positive impact of having acupuncture interns treat patients in a detox clinic. She wanted to provide a similar opportunity for OCOM interns and the patients at Fora Health.

OCOM interns are treating both inpatient and outpatients at Fora with community-style group acupuncture with a focus on auricular and scalp acupuncture. The clinical supervisor, Heather Heatlie, MAcOM, LAc, has years of experience working with patients with SUDs while at Outside In, and currently treats patients with chronic illness such as HIV and Hepatitis C at the Immune Enhancement Project in Portland.

The response from Fora’s patients and staff regarding the OCOM student acupuncturists has been overwhelmingly positive. Patients greatly appreciate having another tool to help them on their road to health and recovery. OCOM plans to expand their relationship with Fora by providing community outreach opportunities where OCOM students can teach short qigong and taiji classes on a weekly basis. Dr. Hartley also envisions “pop-up clinics” providing opportunities for the Fora staff to experience acupuncture or learn about Chinese medicinal food or growing medicinal herbs in their new garden space.

I provided a lecture presentation as part of Fora’s “New Horizons in Substance Use Treatment” virtual lecture series, educating staff about the history of acupuncture and its application for substance abuse disorders. The doctors, therapists, and a wide variety of support staff in attendance were enthusiastic and had some great, insightful questions regarding the use and safety of acupuncture in an inpatient setting. In the future, there is the possibility of joint research opportunities between Fora and OCOM to explore the outcomes of somatic based care for their patients, and we are all very excited about that.

To learn more about Fora Health, visit their website: https://forahealth.org/our-story/

Katherine Annala, MAcOM, LAc
Interim Associate Dean of Clinical Education
Oregon College of Oriental Medicine (OCOM)

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Published: April 7, 2022

Dr. Mazin Al-Khafaji brings his postgraduate TCM diploma course series, Practical Dermatology with Chinese Medicine, to the OCOM campus beginning May 6, 2022. 

For many students, attending Mazin's course and mastering the material he teaches completes the missing link that changes their practice forever, and leads them to achieve dramatic and life-changing results for their patients.

Since its inception in 2005, the course has become internationally accredited, and an entire generation of doctors and herbal practitioners from all over the world have attained Mazin's Dermatology Diploma (see https://tcmdermatology.org). Many have done the classes twice, three, or even four times!

Skin disorders in their various forms are among the most common diseases suffered by mankind, accounting for no less than 20 percent of all visits to outpatient departments in the Western world.

Chinese medicine has a very significant role to play in treating the widest range of such conditions (particularly chronic disorders such as atopic eczema and psoriasis that prove so difficult to manage satisfactorily with biomedicine), and yet despite this fact, many people practicing Chinese medicine do not achieve optimal results in this field due to lack of specialist training and clinical experience.

Mazin's teaching reflects his lifetime work, and is firmly rooted in real-life clinical experience. It is a guide through the practical application of the treatment protocols that he has developed during his clinical work at Avicenna in Hove, UK. 

Chinese medicine, when applied correctly, can offer life changing and lasting results for patients.

Register for this course series via https://mazin-al-khafaji.com

*OCOM alumni, faculty and students were emailed information re: special offers on course registration for our community members.

Oregon College of Oriental Medicine COVID-19 Vaccination Requirements for Continuing Education Participants
For entry into a Continuing Education event (CE) held at Oregon College of Oriental Medicine (OCOM), participants, regardless of age, are required to show proof of full COVID-19 vaccination or a negative PCR test result (taken within 72 hours prior to the start of the course) from a health care provider.
“Full COVID-19 vaccination” means the participant has received their final vaccination dose of either the two-dose regimen of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or one dose of Johnson & Johnson at least 14 days before the course commencement date. Participants must show their proof of vaccination and a photo ID (name must match documentation).
Proof of vaccination may be in physical printed form (original vaccine card or photocopy) or in digital form (photo or scan on your mobile device).
Negative test results within 72 hours of the commencement of the course must be from a test administered by a licensed health care facility, and can also be in either print or digital form. At-home tests are not accepted at this time.
Acceptable masks for those hosting or attending a CE event: KN 95, K95, or N 95.