Education Requirement for admission: Satisfactory completion of at least two academic years (60 semester credits or 900 classroom hours) of education at the baccalaureate level that is appropriate preparation for graduate level work. The school must be accredited by an agency recognized by the Department of Education.
Education Requirement for graduation (aka Co-Requisites): 420 hours (28 semester or 42 quarter credits) of Western Bio-Medicine / Science are required to graduate from POCA Tech and must be completed before graduation. These classes are not taught at POCA Tech.
Required classes are Anatomy and Physiology I and II. Medical Terminology and Pathophysiology are recommended but not required. Additional classes may include: Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Statistics, Nutrition, Physics, Psychology and relevant social sciences such as sociology, anthropology, gerontology, global health, etc. (Please consult the registrar.) Please note: Students who plan to practice in Washington must include a class in microbiology and biochemistry; students who wish to practice in New York must have a total of 9 semester credits in biology. These co-requisite classes are in addition to the Basic Education Requirement. Additional co-requisite classes are Clean Needle Technique, First Aid, and CPR. Clean Needle Technique must be completed before Clinic Observation, and First Aid and CPR must be completed before graduation.
FAQ
Will you accept a class that I took a long time ago?
POCA Tech is flexible in which classes it accepts for credit. However, students should be aware that they will have to pass the NCCAOM Biomedicine exam in order to become licensed in most states. If you took a class a long time ago, you might need to retake it in order to pass the exam, or at least be prepared to study very hard.
Do you care where I took my classes?
We will accept classes as long as you took them at an accredited institution. We recommend community college classes when possible to save money.
I would love to be a community acupuncturist but I have no college/not enough college classes. What should I do?
We recommend you check out University of the People, particularly their Associate in Health Sciences or Associate in Business Administration.
Is it a good idea to take all my co-requisite classes while at POCA Tech?
We recommend you take as many co-requisite classes as you can before starting POCA Tech.
Why don't you teach the bio-medicine co-requisite classes at POCA Tech like other acupuncture schools?
We believe that you will get a better Western Bio-Medicine education at a community college with expert science teachers. So far this approach seems to be working well to prepare students for the NCCAOM Bio Med exam.