March 1 2009, Five Branches University held its first graduation ceremony conferring the degree Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, upon 36 graduates. Keynote speaker, Marilyn Allen, M. Sc., Editor of Acupuncture Today, announced that this first graduating class has become Traditional Chinese Medicine’s “Ancestors” in the West. While Five Branches University has offered a Masters in Traditional Chinese Medicine for 25 years, co-founders Ron Zaidman and Joanna Zhao recognized a need to offer a higher degree.
According to a new government survey, 38 percent of adults and 12 percent of children use Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). The survey results released in December 2008, in a National Health Statistics Report by the National Center for Health Statistics, NCHS a of the CDC, are based on data from more than 23,300 interviews with American adults.
The increasing use of alternative medicine calls for the highest level of training. The extraordinary student body was composed of long time clinicians, professors, authors and a local health talk-show host. Graduates included the co-founders of Five Branches University, Zaidman and Zhao. Alameda acupuncturist and host of the Balancing Point weekly health radio show, John Nieters, delivered a poignant speech on behalf of his fellow graduates. Dr. Nieters spoke of the great honor to be among this group of classmates and to have had the opportunity to study from the giants and innovators in this field, many of whom were flown in from China.
Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine which represents the highest degree available in the United States, includes a 1280 hour program and relies on partnerships with Stanford University and Zhejiang Medical University in China. Drs. Rozenn and Nieters are also pursing PhDs in the exciting field of Integrated Western and Chinese Medicine through Zhejiang University. The modern integrative curriculum offers students an opportunity to glean the best from East and West.
Media note: For the full report and downloadable graphics of the CAM survey visit http://nccam.nih.gov/news/camstats/.