The DAOM program is a competency based, student-centered clinical program. As a clinically focused professional graduate program, it provides advanced didactic studies and clinical experiences in core and specialty areas. It requires continuous development of a capstone Professional Portfolio which will includes a group clinical research project. The DAOM program purpose and educational objectives are based on the doctoral standards established by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. The program was heavily informed by the standards of the Accreditation Commission for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and developed with consideration of the December 2008 California Acupuncture Board Occupational Analysis.
DAOM Students will complete 640 total hours of didactic training including 300 hours of the core curriculum training. Core courses serve as a foundation to prepare students to cope with the rigors and focus of the DAOM. Important competencies such as case study and presentation preparation, methods of consultation and collaboration, skills of clinical supervision, professional development, clinical evaluation, leadership, and research are introduced and discussed in detail. Skill and competencies in advanced patient assessment, diagnosis and advanced clinical intervention are taught and applied.
Biomedical and TCM experts will lecture in specialty training courses providing DAOM Students advanced knowledge and skill in assessment and disease etiology. DAOM Students are expected to gain consultation and collaboration skills and to build professional relationships with physicians and other healthcare professionals. Students progress through the program in a modular cycle of coursework. Course descriptions and prerequisites are listed in the catalog. Progression in the doctoral program distributes academic and clinical coursework uniformly over two years. The program allocates adequate time to complete the requirements of the program while supporting the purpose and educational objectives of the program.
Clinical Education
Specialty Training - The program involves rigorous didactics in specialization fields. DAOM Students will specialize in Integrative Pain Management. Course construction is designed to optimize learning specific to the specialty and concentrates on depth of experience. DAOM Students will demonstrate a standard of competency in their area of specialization at each evaluation period. The specialization study will encompass a minimum of 350 hours of clinical practice in the area of specialization in residency.
The DAOM is a two year program divided into eight quarters.The program totals 1290 hours; of which 640 hours will be didactic and 660 hours will be clinical. Of the 640 didactic hours of coursework, 300 hours are devoted to the core curriculum and 300 hours focus on the integrative pain management specialty. Future specialties will be programmed within this 300 hour specialty structure. The 650 clinical hours may be completed through three clinical Experiences: Clinical Residency, Preceptorship, and Mentorship.
The Capstone Project
The Doctoral research coursework will prepare students to understand issues in research design and evaluation. Critical thinking skills are developed, along with an understanding of evidence-based criteria and outcomes in health care research and clinical practice. The capstone project required in the DAOM program will provide an opportunity to synthesize the theoretical and practical/clinical aspects of Doctoral education; to demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate research and potentially contribute to the research base of acupuncture and Oriental medicine; and to enhance competencies of professional communication.
Completion of the capstone research project is one of the culminating projects for the second year of the Doctoral program. Students begin initial work on their projects in the first year of study and continue throughout the program. Mentors are assigned to provide support and advice to students as they complete their projects. Students will arrange for peer committees to assist with review, feedback and editing of their projects. The capstone projects are significant original works, demonstrating critical thinking skills and creativity and contributing new ideas and perspectives on the topic of research. Students present summaries of their projects to an audience of peers and faculty members during the culminating module of the program. A wide range of topics of relevance to the acupuncture and Oriental medical field may be considered for projects, depending on student interests. Examples include publishable case studies, research studies, literature reviews, academic papers, public policy papers, or interpretive translational research.
The Core Curriculum
The core curriculum within didactic component of the program study consists of ten courses. These ten courses of the core curriculum are the foundation of the program and designed to ensure that our graduates meet our program objectives and the competencies required within the accreditation standards.
The DAOM is constructed in modular cycles, course work may be completed in a flexible manner, however all first year class work must be completed before advancing to second year course work. Promotion to the second year of the doctoral program is based on a student's satisfactory completion of the first year
The pain management specialty includes 320 hours of didactic training. This portion of the program is designed to provide practitioners with the highest possible level of training for the multitude and diversity of patients with various pain syndromes. Advanced patient assessment, diagnosis, intervention and treatment are specifically addressed in this specialty portion of the program. The specialty curriculum emphasizes treatment methods in different styles, collaboration with and appropriate referral to other pain specialists for specific pain syndromes and pain disorders commonly seen in an acupuncturist's practice.
It will be devoted to evidence based medicine along with new approaches in the field of integrative medicine. The specialty focuses on integration and emphasize a collaborative approach to patient care, valuing both biomedicine and Oriental medicine perspectives and methodologies. Oriental medical faculty and DAOM Students will offer their perspective in areas of diagnosis, assessment and treatment planning.
The Clinical Curricum
The clinical curriculum will promote cross disciplinary interaction and improved care through the collaboration. DAOM Students will focus on gaining understanding of the physiological changes of pain and the different natural approaches to pain management of chronic medical conditions. Faculty will cover many perspectives of integration and collaboration between Oriental medicine and others in healthcare fields such as chiropractic, medical doctors, and mental health.
These courses are designed to be moSamrarly connected provides specialty competencies in patient assessment and diagnosis and clinical intervention and treatment at a level qualitatively more advanced than is achieved at the Master's level. Advanced and deepened competence in assessment, diagnosis, intervention and treatment for pain management using TCM and modalities at is the leading edge of integrative approaches.
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