Mission Statement

The Chicago College of Oriental Medicine is established to trail-blaze new ways to educate, train and graduate our traditional healthcare professionals. Our curriculum and clinical experience are uniquely designed to promote the philosophy of medical pluralism, fostering cooperation between TCM and other medical models, and preserving the integrity of each through multidisciplinary education and open communication.

Statement of Purpose

The purpose of the Chicago College of Oriental Medicine is to instill into its students and equip them with the knowledge and skills necessary to become competent practitioners of acupuncture and Oriental Medicine with the ability to participate as independent health care providers in a variety of settings. This will be done through classroom instructions, clinical practices, research and specialization opportunities.

Philosophy

The philosophy of CCOM is to unify the educational forces between the medical traditions of the East and the West. CCOM strives to help students understand the culture from where Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine originated. Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine must also be studied, learned, and practiced in a way that blends it into modern Western approaches to healthcare. CCOM transforms students into healers who treat the whole person as an energetic system and promotes well-being that establishes balance and harmony in a person’s body, mind, and spirit.

Vision

To be meaningful, medicine must be relevant. To do this, the medicine must be inclusive, while facing the health challenges that face everyone. CCOM’s vision statement is predicated on the premise that medicine is a universal right that should embrace Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Given that tenet, CCOM aspires to address healthcare inequity by providing natural, fast, effective, safe, and affordable medicine for all patients. To do this, the medicine must answer where the profession is going and where does it need to go, and then train students to meet the future challenge. That challenge lies in advancing the practice of hospital-based and research-based training for the students CCOM trains and by delivering the education to those already practicing.

Institutional Program Goals for Chicago College of Oriental Medicine

Graduates of the Masters of Acupuncture program at Chicago College of Oriental Medicine will:

• Accurately formulate comprehensive treatment plans based on differential diagnoses utilizing acupuncture.
• Be technically competent in applying adjunctive therapies including tui na, moxibustion, cupping, auricular therapy, and diet and lifestyle principles.
• Be knowledgeable and have a fundamental understanding of the body from the biomedical perspective and identify conditions requiring referral to other healthcare providers when necessary.
• Communicate professionally and knowledgeably with their patients, other healthcare providers and their community about the efficacy, safety and principles of acupuncture and Chinese medicine.
• Understand the ethical and legal requirements of the acupuncture and Chinese Medicine profession and enter the profession with the knowledge and skills necessary to provide compassionate, ethical, and professional services to their communities.
• Be assets to the larger community of Chinese medicine practitioners, supporting state, national and international organizations that promote the practice and education of Chinese Medicine.

Graduates of the Masters of Oriental Medicine program at Chicago College of Oriental Medicine in addition to the above will

• Accurately formulate comprehensive treatment plans based on differential diagnoses utilizing Chinese herbal medicines.
• Be trained in the clinical skills required to apply herbal knowledge safely and effectively to the treatment of illness and the maintenance of health of their patients.
• Be provided with a foundation in basic biosciences and a fundamental understanding of clinical biomedicine in patient care.
• Be able to communicate professionally and knowledgeably with their patients, other healthcare providers and their community about the efficacy, safety, and principles of Chinese herbal medicines.

Educational Objectives

In addition to meeting the college’s goals as outlined above, CCOM graduates will also be able to:

• Demonstrate a solid understanding of the philosophy, theories, and systems of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.
• Demonstrate a fundamental understanding of Western medical science and incorporate those principles into patient care.
• Demonstrate the ability to perform clinical research including accessing healthcare information, utilizing general medical resources, analyzing, and interpreting scientific data, and critically appraising medical literature.
• Effectively combine the skills and knowledge of the two medical approaches in the clinical setting.
• Meet all the requirements for licensure and practices in Illinois and the National Commission for Certification of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) and pass the State and national board certification examinations.

Core Values

• Compassion and Service
• Harmony and Balance
• Flexibility and Openness
• Diversity and Inclusiveness
• Excellence and Integrity
• Integration and Innovation
• Accountability and Transparency

Message from the Founder

Thank you for choosing the Chicago College of Oriental Medicine. We appreciate your interest and consider it a privilege to participate in fulfilling your educational goals.

CCOM offers science-based graduate education through the Master’s of Acupuncture and the Master’s of Oriental Medicine programs. The academic programs are backed by dedicated faculty, a resourceful learning network, and a strong academic support system. Specifically, CCOM is dedicated to the integration of proven traditional methods with Western medicine practices. CCOM provides students with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes learned from the ancient wisdom that has developed over 4,000 years and makes them relevant to the healthcare environment in the 21st-century.

Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine has been my life for over 30 years. It brings me great joy to practice this time-honored profession. My dream, through CCOM, is to introduce you to the satisfaction of this holistic learning experience, which realizes your professional career along with achieving your personal growth.

We invite you to visit our beautiful campus in Chicago downtown for an individual info session. You will have the opportunity to evaluate the programs first-hand. Meanwhile, visit our website at http://www.ccoom.org to explore what CCOM has to offer.

If, at any time, you have questions or concerns, please contact us. It is imperative that we build a culture of continual improvement. Your input, therefore, is critical to CCOM’s growth. Being here says that you care about others and are willing to heal the hurting. Together we can make you better. I am honored that you are with us and I wish you all the best.

Sincerely,
Dr. Yong Gao Wang.
Founder