The Chinese Medicine Doctor on Green Street

How can Chinese Medicine be used for your health? Using herbs, specific complaints, acupuncture, and other methods, Chinese Medicine can improve your overall well being. But, what how do we know that Chinese Medicine is credible? Dr. Steve shares how he became a DAOM, and the credentials needed to be an acupuncturist. 

Dr. Steve has received his Masters from Northwestern Health Sciences University College of Oriental Medicine in Minnesota in 2001 and completed his doctoral training at the Atlantic Institute of Oriental Medicine in Ft. Lauderdale in 2018.

“I have always believed that a patient or client should know who is about to stick needles in them”

Let’s first clarify that acupuncture is the most popular treatment in the toolbox of Chinese medicine. However, there are many other treatment modalities such as tui na (Chinese medical bodywork), cupping, dietary therapy, herbal therapy, qi kung and more. To utilize these modalities correctly requires a great deal of training. While some aspects of Chinese medicine may seem easy to do, it takes an education and experience to fully understand how and when to use the treatments that will best benefit the individual’s health. 

The average course of education is three to four years of Chinese medical school following college. Students graduate with a Master’s level degree in Chinese Medicine that also includes several years in the clinic treating patients under the supervision of experienced practitioners. Following graduation, one must then sit for boards administered by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. Most states, including Georgia, require board certification before one can be licensed to practice. In Georgia, the license is granted by the Composite Board of Medical Practice, the same board that licenses MD’s and DO’s.

Within the past decade or so, the opportunity for practitioners to advance their education has come about in the form of two different doctoral programs. The first is essentially an extension of the Master’s level training by about six months. This leads to the “first professional” doctorate, similar to what a Doctor of Chiropractic receives. The second form of doctorate is the academic equivalent to the PhD and requires a full two additional years of intensive training. As this program is regionally accredited and recognized by other conventional universities, the Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine is a far more valuable and respected degree. As such, there are estimated to be less than three hundred DAOM practitioners in the country.

Learn more about Chinese Medicine for your health by clicking the link below or call us to schedule an appointment with Dr. Steve at 678-450-1570

spaongreenstreet.com/eastern-medicine/