Phoenix Institute of Herbal Medicine & Acupuncture Reviews

"Phoenix Institute of Herbal Medicine & Acupuncture (PIHMA) is not your typical school when you think of a University or Graduate School simply because Oriental Medicine school is a small population of students. Therefore, the school does its best to adjust for the students and their schedules. The teaching quality for the most part is wonderful due to the professors who are truly passionate and live by the medicine they teach. Like other alternative medicine schools, there are struggles when it comes to how best to handle a small student population such as scheduling and on occasion a class being cancelled due to under enrollment. With that said, something many students appreciate is we have a strong petition system when we need a certain class in order to keep our graduation track moving smoothly which administration does pay attention to. While it may not be a perfect system, as a student you are able to have a voice along with your peers. At PIHMA your professors know you by name and get to know you as a person. This is something I have found very valuable to me throughout my education career when working in small groups. There are always changes that happening in the administrative setting but students are not strongly effected by this. PIHMA does its best to be at the cutting edge when it comes to best curriculum delivery and accessibility for students while holding students to a high standard of credit hours beyond what is required for an Oriental Medicine degree at other schools. Plus, by offering night and weekend classes I have the ability to work during the daytime while still being a full time oriental medicine graduate student, this is something I most appreciate about PIHMA compared to other schools. The financial department is progressing and PIHMA allows students to access financial aid from the government, which has allowed me to go to school and pursue my path as a healer. The student clinic is a great place to learn and practice as a student. The clinic is always busy for the students so there is plenty of time to practice, establish patient rapport, and allow students to have a client base after they graduate. Students are encouraged to take patients with them once they complete their time at PIHMA. The student population has a large amount of diversity from medical doctors, naturopathic doctors, recent graduates of undergrad, or people looking for a career change. Many of us come from different cultures and ages of life but all have found our way to PIHMA. People are all there for the same reason, to become better healers and to help others."