DAOM Program
Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (DAOM) Program
Program Description
The DAOM program of VUIM is a postgraduate, competency based, clinical program. As a clinically focused professional graduate program, it provides advanced didactic studies and clinical experiences in core clinical specialties.
DAOM students will complete a total of 1260 hours, which includes 600 hours of didactic training and 660 hours of clinical training in 8 quarters or in 2 years.
The didactic training consists of core courses and special clinical medicine courses. The core courses include: Chinese medical classics, professional advancement, clinical advancement and research. The special clinical medicine courses contain cancer care, circulatory-digestive, immune system, mental health, orthopedics, rehabilitation and reproductive system. The 660 hours of clinical training includes project paper writing, mentorship and advising training. Project paper writing and supervising can be completed through externship.
Biomedical and TCM experts will lecture in specialty training courses providing DAOM Students advanced knowledge and skill in assessment and disease etiology. DAOM Students are expected to gain consultation and collaboration skills and to build professional relationships with physicians and other healthcare professionals. Students’ progress through the program in a modular cycle of coursework. Progression in the doctoral program distributes academic and clinical coursework uniformly over two years. The program allocates adequate time to complete the requirements of the program while supporting the purpose and educational objectives of the program.
Program Objectives
The DAOM program purpose and educational objectives are as follows:
• Develop advanced knowledge and skills in Oriental medicine and integrate with relevant biomedical concepts.
• Develop ability to collaborate and integrate with other healthcare professionals to support patient outcomes.
• Apply clinical specialization knowledge and skills to AOM practice.
• Access and critically evaluate research and apply that information to strengthen clinical practice.
• Develop scientific writing skills that enable the graduate to make contributions to the field.
Graduation Requirements
General graduation requirements are as follows:
1. Satisfactory completion of all required course work and clinical hours in accordance with the Residency Requirement.
2. Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0
3. Satisfactory passing of Capstone
4. Complete the program within one and one-half time of the program length.
5. Meet all financial obligations to the University
A student must satisfy degree requirements, as outlined in the catalog in effect at the time of enrollment at Virginia University of Integrative Medicine as a degree program student, unless the student interrupts his/her program. It may become necessary to satisfy the program requirements as outlined in the catalog in effect at the time the student re-enters as a student.