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Criterion 6.2 - Special Admissions:
(a) Admissions with Deficiencies: The program may admit students with particular educational deficiencies of a limited nature who possess an ACAOM-accredited or candidate degree or its equivalent provided that such persons complete any course work deficiencies prior to taking relevant doctoral program courses for which such course work is a prerequisite.
(b) Experienced Practitioners: The program may admit students who are experienced practitioners that do not otherwise meet the criteria for standard admissions who meet all of the following criteria:
1) A thorough entrance evaluation of each candidate to establish a foundation of knowledge and skills that are appropriate for admission to a clinical doctoral program.
2) Documentation of five years of full-time clinical practice in acupuncture or Oriental medicine.
3) Successful completion of an identified curriculum from the institution’s Master’s level program to rectify any deficiencies identified through the program’s entrance evaluation and admission standards. Completion of the identified curriculum can be accomplished through the successful completion of specified courses, or by demonstrating achievementof the specific course objectives through successful completion of challenge examinations.
The program must identify the specific courses of the Master’s level curriculum that the applicant must complete, articulate and document the rationale for its decision in relation to the doctoral program, and maintain a record of this process with respect to each candidate.
Criterion 6.3 - Transfer Credit: The program may accept transfer credit for prior coursework toward the clinical doctoral program that the program judges to be equivalent to its requirements for graduation from the doctoral program. The program must demonstrate an acceptable process for assuring equivalent competence in the acceptance of transfer credit. Transfer credit awarded by the program shall be no more than one-third of the credits beyond the Master’s level program. Transfer credit may only be awarded for course work at the doctoral level that supports the program’s objectives and meets the standards for completion of the program. These credits must come from an accredited institution or its international equivalent.
Criterion 6.4 - Policy Publication: The program's admissions policies and procedures must be fully and clearly stated in institutional publications.
Criterion 6.5 - Policy Planning: The admissions policy must involve careful planning to determine whether it is serving the program’s needs and the interests of its students, and a careful assessment of how it could be doing so more effectively.
Criterion 6.6 - Recruitment: The program must observe honest, ethical and legal recruiting practices.
Criterion 6.7 - English Language Competency: English language competency must be required of all students seeking admission to the program..
Criterion 6.8 - Non-Matriculated Students Non-matriculated students who are enrolled in doctoral-level courses must meet all entry requirements and course pre-requisites for participation in particular courses or demonstrate sufficient prior education and experience to successfully complete the specific course. Doctoral programs must have clearly defined policies with respect to allowing non-matriculated students to take courses and must ensure that their participation does not adversely affect the quality of instruction.
Evaluation
ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENT 7: The program demonstrates a commitment to excellence through self-evaluation, which assures that its goals and objectives are met, enhances the quality of professional education and training obtained by its students, and contributes to the fulfillment of its institution’s mission. The program shall demonstrate and document an evaluation system that provides accurate information to the student and the program of the student’s educational progress regarding relevant knowledge, skills, competencies and attitudes.
Criterion 7.1 - Programmatic Review:
A. The program, with appropriate involvement from all program constituencies, engages in regular, ongoing self-evaluations that address:
(1) Its effectiveness in achieving program goals and objectives (i.e., its outcomes);
(2) How its goals and objectives are met (i.e., its processes); and
(3) Its procedures to make program changes as necessary.
B. The program demonstrates commitment to excellence through periodic systematic reviews of its goals and objectives, training model, and curriculum to ensure their appropriateness in relation to:
(1) The program’s mission and goals;
(2) Local, regional and national needs for Oriental medicine services;
(3) National standards of professional competency and practice;
(4) The evolving body of scientific and professional knowledge; and,
(5) Its graduates’ job placements and career paths.
C. The program must evaluate the effectiveness of its training and the accomplishment of its stated objectives by measuring and documenting the achievement of a sufficient number of students and graduates in verifiable and internally consistent ways.
Criterion 7.2 - Measurement of Student Achievement: The program must establish principles and methods for the ongoing evaluation of student achievement. A variety of evaluation measures must be systematically and sequentially applied throughout the professional program in Oriental medicine. Assessments must measure the following: advanced patient assessment and diagnosis; advanced clinical intervention and treatment; consultation, collaboration, clinical supervision and management skills; clinical research skills; and competencies in the specialty area(s) of the program. The evaluation processes must measure student performance in the professional competency areas in accord with outcome expectations as outlined in the Program of Study section.
Criterion 7.3 - Assessment of Graduates' Success: The program must make a systematic effort to record the professional career development of its graduates.
Criterion 7.4 - Standard Measurement: Equivalent methods and standards of evaluation must be applied to students at all institutional sites, including externships.
Program of Study
ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENT 8: The Doctor of Oriental Medicine shall be an English language, clinically-based, professional degree program. The doctoral program shall provide advanced graduate studies in core, clinical and specialty areas and require a clinical research project. The program must ensure that the sequencing, duration, nature and content of all didactic, practical and clinical training courses are appropriately integrated and consistent with the program’s goals and objectives.
Criterion 8.1 - Core Curriculum: The core curriculum must include instruction necessary to provide knowledge and skill development in critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills that transmit the essence of Oriental medicine and prepare graduates for leadership roles within the field. The need for life-long learning must be reflected as an integral theme of the curriculum. The core curriculum must emphasize knowledge and skill development that reflect the changing roles and responsibilities of the practitioner and the dynamic nature of the profession.
The clinical doctoral program must provide a curriculum covering the competencies in the following core areas:
1. Advanced patient assessment and diagnosis;
2. Advanced clinical intervention and treatment;
3. Consultation and collaboration;
4. Clinical supervision and practice management;
5. Clinical evaluation and research
The first two areas constitute a qualitatively advanced level of training which involves a significant broadening and deepening of those competencies achieved at the Master’s level.
Consultation and collaboration refers to the interaction between the Oriental medicine practitioner and others, including patients, clients and other health care professionals. Clinical supervision is clinical teaching with the goal of enhancing the supervisee’s competencies. Clinical practice management consists of those activities, including practical aspects, that direct or organize the provision of patient care services. Evaluation and research enables graduates to become critical consumers of the body of professional literature. These latter competencies must further encompass the competencies that will enable graduates to participate in research projects in Oriental medicine.
Across the core curriculum, the doctoral program must have an articulated, clear and coherent curriculum plan for students to acquire and demonstrate the following competencies:
1) Utilizing assessment, diagnosis, intervention and treatment modalities of Oriental
medicine with advanced and deepened competence in core, specialty and clinical areas;
2) Understanding the foundations of Oriental medicine as represented in the classical texts of acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, including interpretation and use of historical and cultural perspectives and demonstrating relevant Chinese language terminology skills sufficient to clarify essential concepts in Oriental medicine;
3) Demonstrating biomedical assessment knowledge, skills and abilities including, but not
limited to, physical exams, related laboratory tests, and narrative report writing
sufficient to evolve the practice of acupuncture and Oriental medicine and
facilitate patient care in collaboration with other health care personnel;
4) Demonstrating consultative and collaborative knowledge and skills when interacting
with biomedical health care personnel in case management;
5) Demonstrating general clinical management and supervision knowledge and skills; and,
6) Demonstrating knowledge and skills in clinical research and design sufficient to
provide an understanding of currently accepted research standards and
methodology as well as the current scientific literature in the field.
Criterion 8.2 - Clinical Training/Specialties:
(A) The doctoral program shall provide an in-depth level of practical and clinical training and experience in specific specialty areas that will distinguish the candidate as having advanced expertise in acupuncture and Oriental medicine. The training shall offer a concentration in at least one clinical specialty in Oriental medicine.
Guideline: Concentrations may include, but are not limited to: acupuncture, herbology, medical qigong, Tai Ji, Oriental body work, diet and nutrition, family or general practice, acute and critical care, pain management, rehabilitation medicine, internal medicine, immunology, cardiac and pulse disorders, neurology, dermatology, mental health, orthopedics, pediatrics, geriatrics, obstetrics, gynecology, physiotherapy and exercise, or public health.
(B) The program must provide in-depth didactic and practical training in the area(s) of clinical specialty sufficient to support the clinical experience. Clinical training for the doctoral program shall be characterized by a broader and more in-depth clinical experience than what is offered at the Masters level.
(C) Both didactic and clinical components of specialty training may be completed through joint arrangements with other institutions. All institutional sites must be ACAOM approved with the standards and rigor of training expected of a doctoral program. The program must closely and systematically monitor the structure, setting, organization, comprehensiveness, and the general quality of the specialty program provided to its students.
(D) The primary clinical experience must be in an internship, although the program may
also offer externship experiences. Clinical training must place students in
internship settings with an adequate number of professional supervisors and
provide a wide range of educational experiences.
(E) The program must provide opportunities for interns to engage in
collaborative interactions with other medical providers in appropriate
clinical settings.
(F) The clinical curriculum of the doctoral program shall provide the student with
the opportunity for assuming in-depth professional responsibilities and
demonstrating professional role modeling. This may include supervised:
teaching assignments, participation in administration of services,
quality assurance activities, clinical research activities, and
supervision responsibilities. The clinical program must promote the
integration of practice and scholarly inquiry.
Criterion 8.3 - Clinical Research Projects:
(A) Doctoral candidates must demonstrate an integration of the knowledge and skills required in the core curriculum by completing an acceptable clinically oriented research project, which is evaluated by clinical doctoral faculty, in the final phases of the program in which students incorporate the use of current literature and research in acupuncture and Oriental medicine. The project must demonstrate the necessary knowledge and skills for designing and critiquing approaches to systematic inquiry and the use of qualitative and/or quantitative methods. The products from individual clinical projects must be of such a nature that they meet academic form and style standards suitable for peer reviewed professional publications. The kinds of research projects may include the following:
Theoretical analyses
Surveys, analyses of archival data
Outcomes research
Systematic qualitative investigations
Public policy issues
Case studies
Evaluative research
Interpretive translation research, and
Educational research - professional and patient.
(B) Students shall be required to routinely conduct critical analyses of the clinical and scientific literature in Oriental medicine. The doctoral program shall provide the competencies necessary for practitioners to engage in life-long learning, scholarly inquiry and professional problem solving in the field of Oriental medicine in the context of an evolving body of scientific and professional knowledge.
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