College of Eastern Medicine
College of Eastern Medicine
Welcome to the College of Eastern Medicine (CEM) formerly known as the College of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine, at the Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU). SCU is a private, not-for-profit, and WASC/WSCUC accredited healthcare university. We are committed to excellence in teaching, research, and patient care in the field of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. CEM at SCU is pioneering a fundamentally new and integrated way of educating Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine practitioners for the 21st century. In addition to receiving a state-of-the-art education in traditional Eastern medicine, our students take interprofessional bioscience and Western clinical medicine courses together with students of other SCU professional healthcare programs. Their current classmates will be their future partners in delivering interprofessional, integrative, and collaborative healthcare to patients.
The College of Eastern Medicine was the first to offer the new First Professional Doctorate (FPD) program in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. Students enter with 90 units of undergraduate education, including Basic Sciences and graduate after 10 terms with an accredited doctoral degree.
The Mission of CEM is:
Provide students with a quality education in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, emphasizing health promotion and integrative healthcare.
And Our Goals are:
- Provide outstanding education in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.
- Train students to become knowledgeable, competent, conscientious, and committed healthcare providers emphasizing holistic and integrative approaches.
- Promote and encourage Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine research activities among faculty and students.
- Foster evidence-based practices and life-long learning skills.
Masters of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (MAOM) Program
Program Learning Outcomes
- Oriental Medicine Pattern Differentiation Graduates will evaluate and analyze the pathogenesis of syndromes through the application of Oriental Medicine theories and diagnostic methods.
- Acupuncture & Moxibustion Therapies Graduates will evaluate the patient in order to prescribe and perform acupuncture and related Oriental Medicine therapies.
- Herbal Therapy Graduates will evaluate patients, perform and prescribe herbal formulas and modifications.
- Biomedical Diagnosis & Treatment Graduates will integrate biomedicine and diagnostic studies into clinical practices and referrals.
- Information Literacy Graduates will appraise and apply historical and scientific information into clinical practice.
- Communication Graduates will effectively communicate verbally, non-verbally, and in written form.
- Professionalism Graduates will demonstrate leadership, integrity, and respect for all, and actively engage in ethical, moral, and legal standards of the profession.
- Inter-Professional Integration Graduates will integrate and collaborate with other healthcare professionals to improve patient outcomes.
First Professional Doctorate of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine (DACM) Program
Program Learning Outcomes
- Oriental Medicine Diagnosis Graduates will synthesize etiology and clinical manifestations to construct Oriental Medicine differential diagnoses.
- Acupuncture and Moxibustion Therapies Graduates will prescribe and formulate acupuncture, moxibustion, and related Oriental Medicine therapies.
- Herbal Therapy Graduates will plan and prescribe herbal formulas and modifications.
- Biomedical Diagnosis Graduates will synthesize pathogenesis and clinical manifestations to construct Western Medicine differential diagnoses.
- Evidence-based Practice Graduates will synthesize and apply historical and scientific evidence in clinical practice.
- Business & Clinical Practice Graduates will assess business principles to develop a clinical practice.
- Communication Graduates will effectively communicate verbally, non-verbally, and in written form.
- Professionalism Graduates will demonstrate leadership, integrity, and respect for all, and actively engage in ethical, moral, and legal standards of the profession.
- Inter-professional Collaboration Graduates will collaborate with appropriate professionals to plan and manage patient-centered care.
Our curriculum integrates the classical theory, diagnosis, and clinical modalities of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine (AOM) with those of modern Western medicine, and enables our students to view their patients through both lenses. Our clinical education develops the essential knowledge, skills and competencies in our students to become excellent AOM practitioners. This includes the ability to interpret Western medical diagnoses and to translate AOM diagnoses into Western medical terms. Students enter the clinical phase of their education as early as their third term, which enables them to see how what they learn in the classroom is applied in a modern clinical setting.
Our integrative clinic, the University Health Center, sets and maintains the highest quality assurance standards, utilizes and trains students in the use of Electronic Health Records (EHR), and provides a broad spectrum of treatment options for patients including Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine, Chiropractic,Sports Medicine, Ayurvedic Medicine, Diagnostic Imaging, and Massage. Our students complete their clerkship side-by-side with students and clinicians of other health care professions. The CEM clinical clerkship equips them with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to empower them as leaders in the modern integrative and collaborative healthcare environment.
The College of Eastern Medicine maintains strong and innovative partnerships with Traditional Chinese Medicine universities and hospitals in China and Taiwan. These include short and long-term study-abroad options.
We are confident that the College of Eastern Medicine (CEM) is uniquely positioned to produce the highest quality and most qualified AOM practitioners who will bring traditional Eastern medicine into modern integrative healthcare settings.
