Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine Program

FCIM offers a unique 3-year program that integrates the teachings and techniques of Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine with a foundation of Western medical sciences. The purpose of this integration is to produce a balanced knowledge base that is appropriate for the practice of Integrative Medicine in America's evolving healthcare landscape, where our graduates can communicate and collaborate effectively with other healthcare professionals and properly assess how Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine may interact with traditional Western medical treatment to achieve better, more holistic results for their patients.

0.jpg

As more patients seek out alternative medical solutions for chronic and life-threatening illnesses—relief from cancer treatment, muscular-skeletal injuries, arthritis, depression, chronic pain, exhaustion, colds, and much more—they are finding results in Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine, which can be incorporated into their daily lives and therapies and enhance their healing processes.

FCIM's Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine courses are taught by highly qualified faculty members who are duly licensed to practice Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine in America. Each brings outstanding Chinese Medicine training, practice, and teaching experience to their classroom instruction. In our on-campus clinic, students have the opportunity to work under the masterful guidance of acupuncture physicians while treating patients with the modalities of acupuncture, moxibustion, herbology, Tui-Na (Chinese medical massage), nutritional counseling and lifestyle counseling.

 

Our Accreditation & Licensure



Accreditation:  The professional Master’s Level of Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine Program of the Florida College of Integrative Medicine (FCIM) is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine (ACAHM), which is the recognized accrediting agency for the approval of programs preparing acupuncture and herbal medicine practitioners. ACAHM is located at  8941 Aztec Drive, Eden Prairie, MN55347 Phone: (952) 212-2434 ~ Fax: (952) 657-7068

Licensure:  The Florida College of Integrative Medicine is licensed by the Commission for Independent Education, Florida Department of Education, License No. 2621.

Commission for Independent Education, Florida Department of Education is located at 325 West Gaines St., Ste. 1414 Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400.  Tel: (850) 245-3200 Toll Free: 1-888-224-6684.

Degrees

Upon completion of our program, graduates receive both a Bachelor of Science Degree in Professional Health Studies and a Master of Science in Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine.

FCIM is duly authorized by the Florida Department of Education to award both a Bachelor's Degree and Master's Degree to students who successfully complete FCIM's dual-degree program, where the Master's Degree is also fully accredited by ACAOM. The two degrees will be awarded simultaneously to successful FCIM graduates and not separately.

Click here for more information on our ACCREDITATION DISCLOSURE.

Successful graduates of the FCIM’s dual-degree program are eligible to take the national board exam administered by the National Certification Commission of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM), which then makes the graduate eligible to apply with the relevant state for licensure as an Acupuncture Physician.  In the state of Florida, an Acupuncture Physician is a Primary Care Provider.

Curriculum Overview

FCIM is unique in that we integrate teachings and techniques of Chinese Medicine with a foundation of Western medical sciences. Please see below some basic information about the core subjects we cover.

Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine

  • Traditional Acupuncture

  • Moxibustion and Adjunctive Therapies

  • Yin/Yang and Five Element Theory

  • Pulse Diagnosis

  • Tongue Diagnosis

  • Chinese Herbology

  • Chinese Bodywork/ Tui-na

  • Cupping

Western Medicine

  • Human Anatomy and Physiology

  • Western Pathology

  • Western Diagnostics

  • Integrated Medicine and Clinical Psychiatry

  • Medical Microbiology and Immunology

  • Radiology

  • Western Pharmacology

  • Medical Red Flags

 

Accreditation Compliance and Ongoing Assessment


To ensure that our graduates get the full benefit of an accredited degree, we diligently review each course within our curriculum every semester with regard to course hours and content and make improvements on an ongoing basis to achieve the maximum educational benefit for our students.

FCIM uses ACAHM's clock-hour-to-credit-hour conversion formula: 15 hours of classroom instruction or 30 hours of supervised clinical training equal one credit hour.

The curriculum and training directly support the mission and objectives of the program. Classroom instruction and clinical training are  broken down into specific categories as follows:

  • Acupuncture & Chinese Medical Theory: 808 hours | 53.8667 credits

  • Chinese Herbal Study: 616 hours | 41.0667 credits

  • Western Biomedical Science: 660 hours | 44.0000 credits

  • Clinical Training: 900 hours | 30.0000 credits

  • Business & Counseling: 108 hours | 7.2000 credits

  • Total: 3092 hours | 176.1334 credits

To graduate, students must complete all coursework and clinical training (including at least 350 patient treatments). Training in the program is both challenging and rigorous, requiring students to demonstrate both breadth and depth of knowledge and skills.

Course scheduling follows normal course sequencing from semester to semester. For example, students normally take Acupuncture Point Location I before taking Acupuncture Point Location II. However, the Dean may grant permission for a student to be scheduled in related courses concurrently. The Dean may also allow non sequential scheduling of courses for transfer students, licensed physicians and others with previous training.

The type of course is designated as follows:

  • A = Acupuncture

  • H = Herbology

  • W = Western Science

  • C = Clinical

  • B = Business/Counseling

  • Hour-to-credit conversion formula: 15 hours of class instruction = 1 semester credit

  • 30 hours of clinic training = 1 semester credit