| National Oriental Medicine Accreditation
Agency (NOMAA) establishes entry-level doctorate
accreditation standards for independent primary
health care practitioners of oriental and Chinese
medicine. In the East Asian nations of China, Taiwan,
and Korea, where Oriental Medicine has equal status
with "western" medicine, five to six
year programs are invariably a prerequisite to
license doctors of "Traditional Chinese Medicine" or "Korean
Oriental Medicine." In the United States,
Oriental Medicine is the only form of primary healthcare
that has not yet established or required entry-level
doctorate education. NOMAA is filling this void.
As patient visits to Oriental Medicine
practitioners increases, the risk of malpractice
by commission and/or ommission will also increase,
and qualitative and quantitative improvements
are needed in the educational standards under
which institutions that offer such programs.
Most Oriental Medical practitioner professional
associations have determined that increases in
education and accreditation standards are needed
for competent, safe and effective delivery of
primary care.
NOMAA accreditation standards address
: (1) increase in number of hours required (didactic & clinical
internship) for graduation from a Doctorate level
program; (2) integrated education of Oriental & Western
medical sciences; (3) national competency exams.
NOMAA standards are intended to
improve the quality of education that will lead
to an increase in the quality of patient care.
NOMAA representatives have been in contact with
the U.S. Dept. of Education, in order to determine
the most expedient and proper method to obtain
official "recognition" of NOMAA as
the accreditation agency establishing doctorate-level
training standards for Oriental Medicine.
|
