MSTOM - Year 2

First Academic Phase	Second Academic Phase	Third Academic Phase

As an Associate Intern in the second phase of the program, the student works as part of a medical team comprising assistants, senior interns and licensed acupuncturists. In Pacific's off-site internships, the team may be expanded to include medical students, medical doctors, nurse practitioners, athletic trainers, physical therapists, and counselors, depending on the facility. The student gets hands-on experience helping people with holistic and Oriental methods of treatment while interfacing with allied health care colleagues. The clinical experience prepares the student for the responsibility of accepting their own patients as a Senior Intern in the third phase of the program.

The second phase's classroom experience leads to a more in-depth understanding of the practice of acupuncture, Oriental medicine and biomedicine. Advanced needling techniques and advanced herbal prescriptions and modifications are practiced. The Diagnosis and Treatment of Disease courses comprise an innovative, seven-course series on integrative medicine and the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Within the paradigms of Oriental medical diagnosis and treatment, senior faculty members present and reinforce the integration of biomedical tests, therapies and community resources that are most useful in the modern Oriental medical clinic. Perhaps more important than the medical content, the student is introduced to and required to apply the principles of self-directed learning and life-long learning skills that will be necessary throughout the series and later in private practice. These are the skills that truly distinguish the Pacific graduate as an independent practitioner and one capable of interfacing with the wider medical community. A "case-based learning" curriculum emphasizes the integration and application of Chinese medicine, biomedicine and research skills to support strong clinical reasoning.