The mission of the POCA Technical Institute is to train students to provide acupuncture to underserved communities and to establish an academic foundation for the practice of Liberation Acupuncture.
Vision and Values
Guided by the values of cooperation, solidarity, and healthcare equity, POCA Tech generates skilled, socially conscious, and dedicated acupuncturists who are committed to impacting their communities for the common good, with a preferential option for our neighbors who are navigating precarity - lives with unpredictable and limited resources.
We train acupuncturists to practice as independent health care providers in a variety of settings. Our students will be prepared for self-employment settings such as sole proprietorships, partnerships, and group practices as well as employment in institutional settings such as cooperatives and working in partnership with public health agencies.
The specific goals of POCA Tech are to:
1. Lower barriers for students who might not otherwise be able to access an acupuncture education or entry into the acupuncture profession, with a preferential option for students who have a strong commitment to serving marginalized communities after graduation;
2.Train students in an affordable, trauma-informed educational setting that emphasizes healthcare equity;
3. Provide opportunities for students to learn organizational management through the praxis of school and clinic operations;
4. Provide professional development coaching for students to strengthen the key capacities for working in and/or starting up a small business: resiliency, initiative, personal maturity, risk tolerance, and leadership skills;
5. Develop the principles, mechanisms, and implications of Liberation Acupuncture within an interdisciplinary context.