rachel ([info]undercoverfox) wrote in [info]acupuncture,
@ 2008-05-05 19:10:00
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Current mood: drained

just a few questions
hi everyone :) my name's rachel and i'm new to this community. i'm still in college due to finish up my bachelors in psychology and sociology next spring. i've always wanted to help people and i've really been turned on by the more natural and holistic approach acupuncture has to offer. i'd really love to go into naturopathic medicine as well as acupuncture and oriental medicine, but there are so many schools to choose from that i feel overwhelmed; i don't even know where to begin! i don't want to fall for a school that turns out to be a beauty school or something not credible, does anyone have any recommendations for accredited schools that offer master and doctoral degrees? or any schools to stay away from? 

i've also been looking at Bastyr University in seattle, washington. if anyone goes there, what would you say your education is like? does this school have any negatives?, because it seems like such a dream. and what is it like living in seattle? i'm from san antonio, texas where the only season we have is summer. all the pictures of seattle look beautiful but i've heard all the rain makes it quite a depressing place to live. is that true?

sorry for all the questions but anything constructive anyone has to say would be greatly appreciated! 
right now i'm like a sponge.

thanks!
- rachel 

p.s. best of luck to anyone out there who's also going through finals this week


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[info]moonfruity
2008-05-06 01:19 am UTC (link)
I'm going to school at NYCC for acupuncture and oriental medicine. I have few gripes. My professor Jason went to bastyr and seems to be well educated etc. :) He hasn't endorsed it and isn't teaching there so who knows. I enjoy my college it's almost a chiropractic college so we have cadavers to use for anatomy that makes it unique. Boston and NYC has colleges too that I hear about the most. NYCC was the only school I applied or looked at but I have few problems with the curriculum and teachers. Good luck wherever you choose to go it is a great profession.

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[info]undercoverfox
2008-05-07 01:21 am UTC (link)
hey thank you, i've heard some good things about the new york schools. the cadaver thing is really interesting! but i guess my search still continues. thanks!

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[info]turtlegrrl13
2008-05-06 01:35 am UTC (link)
I graduated from Bastyr last year in the AOM program. I loved it, but it's an intense program and very expensive.

I love Seattle, but the grayness does affect me after a while. I am ready for the sun.

If you have any specific questions or want to know more you can email me mommaturtle at gmail dot com

Good luck

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[info]brynndragon
2008-05-06 02:42 am UTC (link)
I'm a first-year student at the New England School of Acupuncture, which is the oldest acupuncture school in the US. I'm really enjoying the program and it's certainly a significant chunk of time spent in the classroom and the clinic - comparable to medical school in that sense. It's a three year program including summers that results in a Masters in Acupuncture (MAc) or a Masters in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (MAOM) depending on which track you take (the MAOM includes Chinese herbal medicine, the MAc does not).

The easiest way to see if a school will let you get licensed as an acupuncturist is to see if it's accredited by the NCCAOM. All states that license acupuncturists use the NCCAOM exams, with one big exception: California. They have their own exams and their own list of schools that qualify you to sit for their exams (their requirements are more stringent than NCCAOM).

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(Anonymous)
2008-05-06 03:06 am UTC (link)
Don't go to PCOM. Period.

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[info]undercoverfox
2008-05-07 01:23 am UTC (link)
oh gosh, i don't even want to know! thank you for the warning, i'll be sure to steer clear.

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[info]karma_phala
2008-05-06 04:42 am UTC (link)
You may also want to consider Southwest Acupuncture College (SWAC) - they have campuses in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico, as well as Boulder, CO. I know several people who went to the ABQ or Santa Fe campuses and liked it.

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[info]zammis
2008-05-06 10:26 am UTC (link)
I'm currently a student at Tai Sophia (www.tai.edu) in Maryland. They offer a 3 year M.Ac., based on 5 element acupuncture- the emphasis is on communication and healing presence skills, which may be a good fit with what you are currently studying. I was an English major and there are a lot of liberal arts folks here, as well as bioscience folks.

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[info]castironpan
2008-05-08 07:17 am UTC (link)
I live in Seattle and LOVE it. It is gorgeous and a really nice, progressive place to live. The grayness is definitely overemphasized (though I'm from Boston originally), but in the winter I benefit from my sunlamp =).
I looked into Bastyr extensively, and it seems that they have a solid program. Their naturopathy track is outstanding, one of the best in the country. Many people have gripes about the acupuncture program. One is the expense; the other is the offsite clinic, in Seattle, which is about a 45 minute drive, not including traffic, from the main campus. I decided to go to SIOM, the Seattle Institute of Oriental Medicine. I'm starting next year, but I've heard nothing but good things, though it's less well-known. You have to be okay with a very small class size (the whole school is about 36 students, that's 3 classes), a very intense work load, and learning medical Chinese, which is required. The clinic is on site and the program is very hands-on. It's also not as well-known as Bastyr, in part because of size, and in part because Bastyr has an amazing reputation, mainly from their naturopathy course.
Whatever you decide, go visit, and definitely get treated in the clinic because that will tell you so much about the place and show you what the students can do!
Good luck.

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[info]undercoverfox
2008-05-10 08:00 am UTC (link)
wow thank you! that was some really helpful info i'll be sure to look into SIOM to see what they're all about. who knows, maybe i'll see you there :)

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