Dual Track

NESA's dual track students supplement their training in Chinese acupuncture, Western sciences, biomedicine, nutrition, Oriental bodywork and research with specialized training in both Japanese acupuncture styles and Chinese herbal medicine.

All students must complete the CAS core curriculum. Students gain a foundation in both Western and Eastern approaches to medicine, enabling them to communicate effectively with Western medical providers. Western biomedicine courses include basic sciences, anatomy, research, and nutrition, as well as Western pathophysiology and pharmacology. The course of study for the Eastern approach includes the history, theory and applications of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

The Japanese Acupuncture Styles (JAS) is taught in two main components; students first learn root treatment (honchi ho) strategies and then study local treatment (hyochi ho) strategies. To determine the appropriate root treatment, students learn to diagnose essential imbalances in patients; pinpoint the location and level of the imbalance; and establish if imbalances are superficial or deep, excess or deficient. Abdominal Diagnosis (Fukushin) and Pulse Diagnosis (Myakushin) are critical tools. Local treatment strategy will focus on streamlining the process of choosing additional specific needle techniques and modalities to support the root treatment and to achieve the best results.

Students in the CHM track study the actions and effects of individual Chinese herbs and how to create formulas for clinical application. This sophisticated methodology of herbal medicine is examined in three stages. The first is the detailed study of the Chinese pharmacopoeia (materia medica): the functional categories, the unique properties of individual herbs, and their therapeutic actions and indications. Formulas courses then analyze the composition and therapeutic functions of herbal formulas. Last, internal medicine courses review the etiology and pathology of disease and teach students the application of formulas for clinical use. Through this course of study and clinical internships, students learn the principles and strategies for writing formulas to address individual patient health concerns.

Full-time students complete dual program requirements in a minimum of 36 months and receive the Master of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine degree (MAOM).