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AOMA Graduate School of Integrative Medicine, formerly the Academy of Oriental Medicine at Austin, is a graduate-level college of Oriental medicine located in Austin, Texas. AOMA has been recognized for its international faculty, award-winning student clinical internship program, and comprehensive herbal medicine program.

AOMA’s mission is to transform lives and communities through graduate education in Oriental medicine by:


 * Providing excellent and innovative teaching of acupuncture and Oriental medicine to learners while developing knowledge, skills, and attitudes that lead to intellectual and personal growth
 * Delivering high quality acupuncture and Oriental medical healthcare to our patients
 * Providing leadership for the development of acupuncture and Oriental medicine professionals

The vision of AOMA is to be a leader in Oriental medicine education through engaging communities and preparing compassionate and skilled practitioners who embody the art and spirit of healing.

History
In 1993 Texas Acupuncture Institute (TAI) was founded by Stuart Watts, the first president of the school. It was later renamed Academy of Oriental Medicine at Austin (therefore the acronym AOMA). Dr. Watts was already well-known in the acupuncture and Oriental medicine profession, having established two successful schools in New Mexico. He opened the school in Austin, Texas to train acupuncturists and Oriental Medicine practitioners. Since its founding in 1993, AOMA’s size grew rapidly, from its student body (18 students in the inaugural class to more than 200 students in 2014) to its faculty, campus facilities, accreditation, community outreach, and patients served.

The first class of AOMA graduates was in 1996. The school also achieved programmatic accreditation through the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM), at which time the Master’s level Oriental medicine program was approved by the Texas State Board of Acupuncture Examiners.

In 1997 the California Acupuncture Board approved the school and in 1998 the US Department of Education approved AOMA for Title IV federal financial aid.

In 2001 AOMA initiated the Southwest Symposium Continuing Education event. In the same year, the China Study Tour study-abroad program was established. The ongoing collaboration with the Chengdu University of Traditional Oriental Medicine is a biennial program that gives students the opportunity to spend 4-6 weeks studying in China and to practice tai chi and qigong at Mount Emei.

Leadership changed in 2002, with Colonel Jim Coombes (retired) being named as the second president of the institution.

In 2004 collaboration with People’s Community Clinic began in which AOMA students provide free acupuncture to low income patients.

In 2005 William R. Morris became the third president of AOMA. The school was soon after granted authority to offer the master’s degree in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The same year, AOMA began to offer integrated clinical rotations for University of Texas graduate nurses and medical education students.

Collaboration with the Seton Family of Hospitals began in 2006 with AOMA students offering acupuncture inside of the Seton Topfer Community Clinic, and then expanded in 2008 with AOMA becoming a key partner in the creation of the Seton Williamson Medical Center GoodHealth Commons Integrative Wellness and Education Center. Candidacy for accreditation with the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) was also achieved in 2008.

In 2009 AOMA became the first stand-alone, single-degree granting school of acupuncture and Chinese medicine in the nation to be regionally accredited, and the first acupuncture school to be accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACS).

AOMA developed a new graphic identity with the tagline “Graduate School of Integrative Medicine” in 2010. In 2011, the opening of its 19,000 square foot headquarters campus addressed the needs of the college’s growing graduate program in acupuncture and demand for additional clinic space, making the AOMA campus more than six times the size of the original school space in 1993. AOMA’s collaboration with Seton Family of Hospitals expanded again in 2011 with the addition of a student clinic rotation at Seton McCarthy Community Clinic in east Austin.

In July 2013 the first cohort of the doctoral program began the 74-credit, two-year program. The clinical specialty of the Doctorate of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (DAOM) program is the care and management of pain and associated psychosocial phenomena. The program also has a focus on research and leadership.

Shortly after, AOMA added another student clinic internship at Austin Pain Associates in which senior level students have an integrative opportunity to practice acupuncture at one of the largest pain management organizations in Central Texas. AOMA student interns work with AOMA faculty supervisors to create individualized treatment plans that are shared with Austin Pain Associates' (APA) medical team.

In 2014 AOMA interns began to provide auricular acupuncture treatments (NADA protocol) at Austin Recovery’s Hicks Family Ranch, a 40 acre, in-patient addiction treatment facility just outside of Austin in Buda, Texas. Austin Recovery serves between 800-1,000 clients each year.

Master of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Program
AOMA's Master of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (MAcOM) program is rigorous and comprehensive and includes extensive clinical training. Students receive education in acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, biomedical sciences, mind-body exercise, Asian bodywork, practice management, case management, and clinical communications.

AOMA’s herbal program is reputed to be one of the strongest in the nation and AOMA is one of the few professional programs to integrate tai chi and qigong as an integral curriculum component. AOMA is also one of very few acupuncture schools to begin clinical education for students in the first term. Both AOMA’s masters-level and doctoral-level programs in acupuncture and Chinese medicine are built to prepare graduates for careers as skilled, professional practitioners. As studied and practiced at AOMA, integrative medicine includes acupuncture, herbs, nutrition, and mind-body exercise therapies. Integrative medicine is non-invasive, patient-centered care with the intent to unite the parts with the whole, linking the health of organ systems to the health of the individual and linking individuals to the world around them. The study and practice of integrative medicine at AOMA draws on the 2,000 year history and tradition of Chinese medicine, viewing the mind, body and spirit as a single interrelated system.

AOMA’s herbal program is one of the most comprehensive in the nation, with education in herbal theory, identification and function of more than 300 herbs, and the combination of those herbs in formulas to restore states of health. Resources include an herbal lab, herbal medicine center, and a learning garden where herbs are grown in conjunction with the American Botanical Council. AOMA Herbal Medicine is a retail store operated by the school and has a selection of over 350 bulk, powder, patent formulas, tablets, capsules, and extracts. AOMA Herbal Medicine carries only herbal products which fall within the certified Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) guidelines.

Doctoral Program (DAOM)
The Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (DAOM) program at AOMA offers individuals who have completed an accredited masters-level degree the opportunity to take their education to the next level while focusing on a clinical specialty. The AOMA DAOM focuses on chronic pain, including the psychological, social, and spiritual impact of pain on the lives of those who experience it. DAOM students complete coursework and research on the efficacy of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for the treatment of chronic pain and its psycho-social phenomena.

The doctoral program is a 74 credit, two-year program that is offered in a modular format, coupling week-long, intensive, and on-campus learning experiences with extended periods of home study. While the majority of the classroom and clinical instruction is delivered at the AOMA campus in Austin, the courses are arranged to allow working professionals to continue their practice while enrolled.

Research
A stated educational objective for both the doctoral and master's programs in acupuncture and Oriental medicine is that of incorporating evidence-based practices into the academics and clinical practices of both faculty and students. Research at AOMA is directed by John S. Finnell, ND, MPH, LAc who also serves as the director of the doctoral program. In order to assure that students have a foundation for evidence-based practice, AOMA strives to provide basic research literacy with the stated goal of developing practitioners who can assess and apply research findings to practice, and who can appreciate the potential strengths and weaknesses in both Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and western biomedical research approaches and designs. Research projects at AOMA are reviewed by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) to ensure professionalism, ethical responsibility, and federal regulations.

Clinics
The AOMA acupuncture clinics provide services to patients on campus, in north Austin, and in traditional Western medical settings including the Seton Healthcare Network’s clinics and at People’s Community Clinic. The integration of acupuncture and Chinese medicine is a key part of AOMA’s curriculum.

The student and professional clinics conduct nearly 20,000 patient visits annually. Graduate student interns conduct treatments at AOMA’s on-site student intern clinic under the guidance of expert faculty practitioners at a reduced rate. Many of the off-site student clinics are offered for free or at reduced prices to low-income patients.

AOMA faculty members provide acupuncture, herbal consultations, Asian bodywork therapy, and adjunct therapies pertaining to Chinese medicine. The practitioners in the professional clinic are approved in-network providers for major health insurance companies. AOMA faculty’s clinical specialties include neurology, treatment of allergies, stress, depression, facial rejuvenation, nutritional therapies, herbal practices and pain management, muscle injury, lumbago, recovery from fractures and trauma, headaches, insomnia, gastrointestinal disorders, women’s health, fertility, and weight management.

In 2013 AOMA added an integrative medical doctor, Jennifer Pollard, MD, to the team at its south Austin clinic location at 4701 West Gate Blvd. In addition to conducting annual well examinations for anyone over the age of sixteen, Dr. Pollard assists with wellness-oriented preventative care and guidance, nutritional assessment, acute problems, sick visits, chronic medical problems and integral care coordination. She is especially interested in working with patients during transitional times in their lives.

School President
The school’s current president is William Morris, PhD, DAOM, LAc, known as a leader in education and the medical professions. He served as the coalescing visionary resulting in a single national professional association for practitioners of Chinese medicine, the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AAAOM). As president of AOMA, he led the institution through regional accreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the acquisition of its own campus, and the creation of the DAOM program. He joined AOMA in 2005.

Prior to beginning his tenure at AOMA, Morris developed and obtained accreditation for two doctoral programs (DAOM) in acupuncture and Oriental medicine. While serving as consultant to the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, he organized two Institutional Review Boards to support research in acupuncture and Chinese medicine.

Morris’ academic background includes an Oriental Medical Doctorate from SAMRA University, a Doctorate of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from Emperor’s College, a PhD in Transformative Studies from the California Institute of Integral Studies and a Master of Education in Medical Education from the University of Southern California. He has studied in three family lineages of Chinese medicine (Ding, Gu, and Yang) and considers the most important education of his career to be his eight-year mentorship with Drs. Shen and Hammer in the Menghe through the Ding family lineage of internal medicine. With thirty years of focus on pulse diagnosis, his current work involves a synthesis of standard, family, and classical systems of pulse diagnosis.

In addition to leading AOMA, Morris periodically instructs special seminars in pulse diagnosis, acupuncture, Chinese herbs, personal transformation, and leadership. He is a frequent contributor to current academic developments, writing a bimonthly column for Acupuncture Today and regular articles for the American Acupuncturist. He is the author of two books on pulse diagnosis: Path of the Pulse, Chinese Medicine and Transformation and Li Shi-Zhen Pulse Studies, an Illustrated Guide.

Community Involvement
Compassion and service are core values of AOMA and it coordinates a multitude of services and programs to benefit others. AOMA serves the greater central Texas community through its student and professional acupuncture clinics; informal classes in mind-body practices such as tai chi, qigong, and meditation; collaborative forums for Eastern and Western medical practitioners including acupuncturists and herbalists; the international Southwest Symposium; and other continuing education opportunities for professionals. AOMA also offers free lectures on stress management to local businesses.

External Links and References

 * 1) Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine: Accredited Programs
 * 2) Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACS)
 * 3) California Acupuncture Board, Approved Schools
 * 4) Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB)
 * 5) Council of Colleges of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine (CCAOM)
 * 6) Texas Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (TAAOM)
 * 7) American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AAAOM)
 * 8) American Acupuncturist, March 2014; AOMA Celebrates 20 Years
 * 9) Society for Acupuncture Research
 * 10) Acupuncture Today, December 2009; AOMA Becomes First Stand-Alone AOM School to Achieve Regional Accreditation
 * 11) Acupuncture Today, May 2006; Changing of the Guard at AOMA
 * 12) AOMA Annual Report 2013, 20th Anniversary Edition
 * 13) Time Warner Cable News, May 2011; New AOMA campus signals growth in alternative medicine
 * 14) Mai Dao: Path of the Pulse