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Our Educational Philosophy, Mission & Goals

Pacific College of Oriental Medicine believes that the energetic and physiological principles of Oriental medicine are grounded in the laws of nature. While they may seem mysterious at times, they are not mystical. That is, they are knowable by the average human being without any appeal to the supernatural. Moreover, the knowledge base of this medical system can be increased through scientific inquiry. Lastly, these principles comprise a system of medicine that is applicable through natural means to the treatment of disease. Simply stated, we believe that Oriental medicine is knowable, teachable...and that you can do it.

The overarching purpose of the Doctoral of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (DAOM) is to: “foster self-directed learning and critical thinking within the framework of traditional Chinese medicine until it becomes an unshakable habit and a defining characteristic of the graduate’s professionalism.”

Practically speaking, the overarching purpose, the programmatic objectives, and the individual course objectives must be taken as a whole when defining the raison d’etre of Pacific College’s DAOM. What we have called the overarching purpose states the primary cognitive skill of doctoral graduates. Our logic for it is as follows. The doctorate is the terminal degree in our field. Thus, following graduation we believe that there is, at least figuratively, nowhere else to turn but to one’s self and one’s peers for the knowledge that one will require to continue to develop professionally. Therefore, doctoral graduates must possess a much more advanced level of self-directed learning than the initial levels exhibited by graduates of a master’s level program. Additionally, when considering outside sources of information available for synthesis into new knowledge, it is essential that doctoral graduates are able to assess its validity, thus requiring greater levels of critical thinking skills. With the explosion of information today, it has never been more important that professionals have this ability. Of course, these cognitive skills would have no foundation were it not for the specific content of each course. Similarly, the doctoral degree outcomes would have little practical clinical application if we ignored the affective and psychomotor skills required of an advanced practitioner.