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 Doctor (PD) program in Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine. Students enter with 90 units of undergraduate education, including Basic Sciences and graduate after 10 terms with an accredited doctoral degree.

CEM Mission, Vision & Goals

The College is committed to providing students with an excellent education in Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, and evidence-based, patient-focused, integrative healthcare.

Vision

The College will be recognized as the premier institution in Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine education and integrative healthcare.

CEM Goals

• Provide outstanding education in Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine.
• Train students to become knowledgeable, competent, conscientious, and committed health care providers emphasizing holistic and integrative approaches.
• Promote and encourage Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine research activities among faculty and students.
• Foster evidence-based practices and life-long learning skills.

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 Therapy. 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.