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SCU has announced that its Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine and Master of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine programs are expanding scheduling options to include evening, weekend and online class options, giving busy students and working adults the flexibility needed to pursue their degree.
“Our mission is to educate integrative healthcare professionals; and with a vision to transform and redefine health and healthcare education – we also want to meet the needs of a diverse population and non-traditional students, so we’re expanding our program scheduling options to meet student needs,” said Jenny Yu, DACM, LAc., Dean, SCU Eastern Medicine Department.
SCU’s ACM programs will begin offering evening and weekend classes with the upcoming May 2022 program intake start date.
“The graduate and doctoral-level acupuncture programs at SCU have been re-designed to help more students from almost any background get into this growing career field. Now, with more flexible class schedules, students will be able to choose what days and times that work best around their busy schedules. Instead of putting their lives on hold, students will be able to earn degrees while they continue working, or raising a family. The programs are 10-12 terms in length. An acupuncture degree from SCU can take as little as three-and-a-half years or as long as six years to complete,” said Dr. Yu.
Acupuncture is an ancient Eastern Medicine therapy that involves the use of sterile needles to stimulate key areas of the body to help alleviate pain and mobility problems and achieve optimal health outcomes.
While its popularity has only recently been increasing in the West, acupuncture is an integral part of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), a medical system that goes back thousands of years. Yet its full potential is still untapped, as it’s becoming one of the fastest-growing fields in integrative health.
Integrative health addresses the full range of a patient’s physical, emotional, spiritual, and environmental influences, focusing on therapies that extend beyond the surgeries and drugs that have historically defined Western medicine.
“From alleviating pain (e.g. arthritis, headaches, migraines, sciatica and stress) to showing therapeutic alleviation of chronic conditions such as allergies and depression, acupuncture has a wide range of practical application in modern medicine. Acupuncture is also used in the treatment of musculoskeletal conditions, such as joint pain, dental pain and chronic back pain,” said Dr. Yu.
Dr. Yu advised that “While there are many opportunities to start your own practice and work independently, more and more traditional medical practitioners are hiring acupuncturists to work alongside them as complementary medicine providers, to deliver multidisciplinary care programs for people with a wide range of conditions. There’s never been a better time to choose a career in acupuncture, as the horizons are getting wider.”
“Known for its simple, yet effective methods, acupuncture does not cause harm to patients when performed correctly,” said Dr. Yu. “Acupuncture treats many of the same conditions that modern medicine does – without having to resort to chemical pharmaceuticals or invasive surgeries, making it very attractive to those who are looking for natural, safer treatment methods for chronic or acute problems.”
“Due to the growing side effects and damages of pharmaceuticals, such as opioid prescription painkiller addiction and abuse, we’re finding increased interest in less invasive, yet effective alternative treatments, such as acupuncture,” said Dr. Yu. “The future of acupuncture is especially bright and relevant as it’s a proven effective treatment therapy for a wide array of conditions. Acupuncture helps patients overcome many health issues in a safer, more natural way.
According to the Global Advances in Health and Medicine journal, acupuncture’s use in Western countries has grown significantly. The integration of acupuncture treatment is on the rise in chiropractic clinics, primary care clinics, hospitals, pain clinics, physical therapy departments, athletic facilities, hospices massage therapy practices and private practices.
The growing acceptance of acupuncture is driving increased interest from patients and increased opportunities for acupuncturists. Dr. Yu cited several major milestones that the acupuncture profession has marked, which are spurring continued growth in acceptance and respect in the U.S., such as:
SCU has been preparing students for the rewarding profession of acupuncture for over 20 years. SCU was a pioneer in starting up the nation’s first Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine (DACM) program. The DACM degree program at SCU is the first to be awarded programmatic accreditation by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM) on the West coast in 2018. Prior to that, SCU offered the master’s degree program since 2000.
SCU ACM classes begin in May, September and January. To learn more about SCU’s ACM programs, visit the MACM and DACM program pages for more information, or call (562) 475-4604 to speak with an admissions advisor about getting started at SCU.