Doctor of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine

Prerequisites - DAOM

Minimum prerequisites for the Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (DAOM) degree are a master's degree in acupuncture or acupuncture and Oriental medicine or a certificate of acupuncture with 10 years of documented clinical experience. Prospective students with certificates of acupuncture should contact the admissions office for specialized assistance. Applicants with AOM master's degrees must have graduated from an ACAOM-candidate or -accredited program and have a formalized academic training in Chinese herbs.

If applicants do not have a Chinese herb background, then they must complete the Certificate in Chinese Herbal Medicine (CCHM) as a prerequisite. Students may begin their doctoral studies if the classroom portion of the certificate has been completed. The clinical portion of the CCHM may be done concurrently with the DAOM program

Applicants to the doctoral program need to either have completed or be in the process of completing the following coursework:

Doctoral applicants must have a background in the basic sciences that is comparable to what Bastyr University requires at the master's level. Upon review of past course work, applicants may be asked to take a higher level science course or complete a competency exam. The minimum GPA for any past college level education is a 2.50.

China Externship

Many acupuncture and Oriental medicine (AOM) programs in the United States offer students a trip to China. Bastyr University offers AOM students something more: a monthlong for-credit externship in China that uniquely prepares practitioners to work in integrative settings, with high patient volumes, and with people who have serious and unusual illnesses.

About the Externship

Students in Bastyr's graduate and post-graduate AOM programs can spend a month or more in the late spring or early fall learning traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) at two of China's most prestigious schools, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine or the Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Designed as an externship, the trip is organized to maximize students' hands-on clinical training by putting them in both outpatient and inpatient settings in teaching hospitals. In a typical day, students might shadow Chinese teaching physicians as they make rounds, check tongues and pulses, perform tests if needed, make herb/medication changes, and sometimes recommend or administer acupuncture treatments.

Value for Students

The common cold, a sore back, a stroke, cancer — in China every medical condition falls under the TCM practitioner's purview. This cultural difference means TCM physicians in China see triple the daily patient load typical for practitioners in America. For students on the externship, it means exposure to conditions and situations they probably won't encounter during clinical training in the United States.

“Clinical training in the University’s main clinic, its many specialty offsite clinics and the China externship brings the theory to life and help each student understand how to apply these principles to effectively treat disease and alleviate suffering,” says Richard (Kyo) Mitchell, DAOM, LAc, a faculty member in Bastyr's School of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.

Integration Benefits U.S. Patients

Clinical training in China offers another advantage: The teaching physicians are trained in both Western and Eastern medicine. These doctors model an integrative approach to treatment, often prescribing X-rays and laboratory tests alongside TCM treatments, which acupuncturists in America cannot do.

Bastyr students spend years learning to be 'gatekeepers' — identifying when treatment is appropriate, but also when Western interventions are needed. During the the externship, students witness an extremely integrative approach.

Nicolette Behne, a recent DAOM graduate who took the trip in May 2010, says the idea of integrating Eastern and Western medicine "really hit home during the externship," and she came home with many ideas on how to integrate in her private practice.

"It's about combining TCM and Western medicine in the best way possible to help people live longer with an improved quality of life," she says, noting that in China oncology patients can receive "Western" or "herbal" chemotherapy one day and then, on a non-chemo day, take support herbs that help with the side effects. "This allows patients to continue their chemo regimen. TCM and Western medicine can work together the same way here in the U.S."

The Future of AOM in the U.S.

Not only do externship students see a more integrative model of care in China, but they are afforded a glimpse into how TCM could evolve as a health care model in the United States. As TCM becomes more familiar to the general population and as its benefits become more widely recognized, practitioners must learn how to operate in integrative settings and work within a greater scope of practice. 

“Our students are educated in traditional Chinese medical theory and western science," Dr. Mitchell says. "These two complementary perspectives deepen the students’ understanding of health and medicine beyond what can be understood from a single model perspective.”

Examples of Student Research Projects

Chinese Herbal Medicine as Adjunct Therapy for Hepatocarcinoma

Systematic review of the literature on the use of Chinese herbal medicine as supportive care for patients undergoing treatment for hepatocarcinoma. Fifteen Chinese herbs are examined in detail as a literature review.

Status: This project was completed in March, 2010.

The Feasibility of Acupuncture in the Treatment of Chemotherapy Induced Peripheral Neuropathy

Phase I trial of an acupuncture protocol in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, funded by a grant from the Whidbey General Hospital Foundation. Participant recruitment and treatment took place at Whidbey General Hospital and Skagit Valley Hospital.

Status: This project was completed in March, 2010.

Efficacy of Chinese Herbal Topical Application in the Management of Chemotherapy Induced Peripheral Neuropathy

Phase I study of the potential efficacy and safety issues of using a topical preparation for the treatment of neuropathy caused by chemotherapy. The study is being completed at the Seattle Cancer Treatment and Wellness Center.

Status: This project was completed in March, 2007.

Oncologists’ Motivation and Attitudes towards referring Cancer Patients to TCM Modalities

Development and use of a survey instrument to assess the attitudes of oncologists practicing in the State of Washington regarding referring oncology patients to providers of acupuncture and Oriental medicine.

Status: This project was completed in March, 2007.

Chinese Herbal Medicine and Prevention of Secondary Cancer in Breast Cancer Survivors: A Proposal for a Systematic Review

A systematic review of research literature listed in extensive search in the NCBI (PubMed), the Cochrane Collaboration, AMED and Natural Standard databases, as well the Bastyr University library’s print collection regarding the prevention of secondary cancers in breast cancer survivors. Literature on Chinese herbal medicine since 2000 are being reviewed.

Status: This project was completed in June 2007.

Use of TCM Earlier Detection May Help to Predict of Pancreatic Cancer

This review of Chinese medical literature has two aims. First, to define the relationship between the spleen and pancreas in terms of the classical literature of Chinese medicine and modern biomedical theories. Second, to outline the diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic cancer according to the principle of “planning treatment according to diagnosis” (Bian Zheng Lun Zhi).

Status: This project was completed in December, 2007.

The effects of Dang Gui, Pu Gong Ying, Huang Lian, Zhi Mu, Bai Hua She She Cao, Ku Shen, Ban Zhi Lian water extracts on the proliferation of human breast cancer cell line MCF-7

This study assessed the impact of aqueous extracts of seven Chinese herbs in vitro on the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7. Cell viability was assessed by trypan blue exclusion. Cell growth was assessed by measuring the reduction of 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) in the growth medium. Inhibition of growth was assessed after exposing cells to single herb and two herb combinations.

Status: Project completed in June, 2006.

Biophysics of Acupuncture and TCM

The central premise in traditional Chinese medicine is a flow of energy in the body the Chinese designated as “qi”. Since the study of energy, including its flow and behavior, falls within the realm of physics, physics may be able to explain some of the phenomenon involved in traditional Chinese medicine including “qi”. A literature review was conducted in an attempt to provide a working scientific model for the physics and physiology behind qi and related phenomenon in traditional Chinese medicine.

Status: This project was completed in June, 2006 and is the basis of an elective class currently offered at Bastyr University.

A Chinese herbal formula for the treatment of insomnia

This phase I project assessed a Chinese herbal formula for the treatment of insomnia was assessed using standard instruments used in the clinical measurement of insomnia.

Status: This project was completed in June, 2006.

A Study of the Efficacy of Cobblestone Mat Walking and Conventional Walking for Breast Cancer Patients undergoing Chemotherapy - A Case Series (Pilot Study)

The objective of this study was to determine the relative effects of indoor cobblestone mat walking, in comparison with conventional walking on nausea and vomiting levels, immune function and depression levels in breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. The study design used in this study was a randomized trial with allocation to cobblestone mat walking or conventional walking exercises and case reports.

Status: This project was completed in 2007.

Examination of the Role of the Spleen and Liver in Fu Zheng Gu Ben Therapy

An examination of the role of the spleen and liver in the treatment of cancer in Traditional Chinese Medicine by supporting the “qi”, or “Fu Zheng Gu Ben”. This paper reviewed an herbal protocol for achieving qi cultivation in these patients. By understanding both the TCM description of organ function as well as the western medical physiology, treatments can be tailored specifically to address issues associated with cancer.

Status: This project was completed in June, 2007.