Pain Management

The Pain Mangement (PM) track produces broad-minded, highly sophisticated pain management professionals, with a comprehensive understanding of both Eastern and Western approaches to pain.

The PM track, offered in conjuntion with Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM), combines the rigorous NESA core curriculum with extensive coursework at TUSM. It provides students with the expertise needed to effectively practice alongside Western medical providers in an allopathic medical setting. Graduates of the PM track are acupuncturists well-versed in the scientific and Western understandings of pain treatment as assessed by scientific criteria.

All students must complete the core curriculum and master Chinese acupuncture styles. Students gain a foundation in both Western and Eastern approaches to medicine. 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.

Full-time students complete PM program requirements for graduation in a minimum of 33 months and earn the Master of Acupuncture degree from NESA and the Master of Science in Pain Research, Education and Policy from TUSM. NESA students who are interested in studying pain and who do not wish to complete the entire PM Track may opt to complete TUSM's certificate program in pain management (approximately half the length of the PM track) in addition to completing another NESA track.