Program Goals & Outcomes

Statement of Purpose

To prepare graduates for advanced professional practice integrating acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine in collaborative, interprofessional healthcare settings. Building on foundational clinical competencies, the program emphasizes advanced clinical assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of complex conditions, along with professional leadership, scholarly engagement, and health systems navigation. Graduates are prepared to function as integrative healthcare providers across diverse clinical environments.

Program Goals

1. Graduates demonstrate integrity, compassion, legal compliance, and equitable and culturally responsive care, and model professional conduct for peers and interprofessional team members.

2. Graduates incorporate laboratory and imaging data, formulate complex integrated AHM and biomedical differential diagnoses, and demonstrate mastery with multifactorial conditions.

3. Graduates differentiate evidence-based from evidence-informed practice, critically analyze research design and methodology, and synthesize findings from diverse sources to advance AHM.

4. Graduates assume expanded interprofessional roles, mentor peers and students in AHM reasoning, and contribute to AHM integration in mainstream healthcare delivery.

5. demonstrate habits of inquiry, reflective practice, and intellectual rigor necessary for career-long professional growth and contribution to the AHM profession.

6. Graduates articulate AHM’s role in the healthcare ecosystem, advocate for equitable AHM access, and apply structural health equity analysis to clinical practice and professional leadership.

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine program, graduates will demonstrate all master's-level outcomes and will additionally:

1. Model professional conduct for peers and interprofessional team members; foster a culture of patient safety; and demonstrate resilience and self-care.

2. Perform advanced clinical assessment incorporating laboratory and diagnostic imaging interpretation; and formulate complex integrated AHM and biomedical differential diagnoses.

3. Lead collaborative case management and care transitions; and apply interprofessional team knowledge to advance patient outcomes across care settings.

4. Differentiate evidence-based from evidence-informed AHM practice; and synthesize diverse scholarly sources for advanced clinical decision-making and contribution to the AHM evidence base.

5. Engage in scholarly inquiry that generates and applies new AHM knowledge; and contribute to the AHM evidence base through synthesis and critical analysis.

6. Educate and mentor peers, students, and interprofessional team members in AHM clinical reasoning, evidence-informed practice, and the role of AHM in collaborative healthcare delivery.

7. Articulate the role of AHM within broader healthcare systems; advocate for equitable AHM integration; and apply structural health equity analysis to clinical practice and professional leadership.

8. Synthesize interprofessional information for collaborative clinical decision-making; facilitate continuity of care across providers and settings; and contribute to quality improvement initiatives.

Note: These outcomes are in addition to all master's-level program learning outcomes (including Chinese herbal medicine outcomes), which all DAC CHM graduates also demonstrate.