More Than Skin Deep: Dragon Rises College Becomes the 1st Acupuncture School in the Region to Offer Student Cadaver Lab
On the Bradenton campus of Dragon Rises College of Oriental Medicine (DRCOM) students now have access to the area’s first student acupuncture cadaver lab. This trimester, eleven students from the Master’s degree program had the opportunity to gain first-hand experience dissecting specimens, strengthening their understanding of anatomy, and expanding their knowledge of the acupuncture channels alongside experts in the field.
Although East-Asian medicine is most commonly associated with surface anatomy, having a profound understanding of what lies beneath the skin is essential in developing as a practitioner. “Dissection of human cadavers is by far the best way to know which tissues you need to reach with the needle and which you must avoid,” explains Dr. Brian Lau, AP, C.SMA, the primary Cadaver Lab Instructor, “Very few acupuncture schools offer dissection at any level, and those that do use chemically treated specimens which have been pre-dissected.” Using non-chemically treated and intact specimens makes DRCOM one of only three other Acupuncture Colleges in the nation offering this curriculum addition to students.
However, anatomical knowledge and hands-on experience are just some of the reasons why DRCOM’s Executive Director, Dr. Dorian Kramer, DACM, LAc included the Cadaver Labs in the College’s new offerings. As he shares,“We’re putting doctors out there that have to have an actual in-depth understanding of anatomy in addition to the acupuncture meridians and treatment, and learning how to conduct oneself in an environment like the cadaver lab is just another layer of how we teach professionalism.”
The Cadaver Lab is offered once per semester as part of a three part series incorporating dissection of different anatomical regions. Dr. Kramer hopes the addition of the Cadaver Lab to the Master’s degree curriculum will set them apart from other Acupuncture Physician programs available and students who have attended already agree. Says second semester student Annette Brody, “It was an amazing experience, to be able to see how everything we are learning in class correlates to the body. Seeing anatomy up close and how the needles go through each layer really helped seal the gap between what we are being taught and what is happening on the body. It is a great experience and I can’t wait for the next lab!” Classmate Kristina Killpatrick agrees adding, “I find myself constantly referencing the lab as my classes progress. It helped me understand deeper levels of many of my classes, especially anatomy and meridians. The information really made an impact.”
Students of all semesters are invited to attend each semester’s Cadaver Lab during an intensive weekend course. Dr. Kramer hopes that as the school grows, the course will become further enmeshed in the curriculum and college’s ongoing research. “Our enrollment has already grown 59% since opening our Bradenton campus, further evolving our program, research opportunities, and partnerships within the community will only strengthen the impact of integrative medicine improving the health and lives of our community and beyond.”
Dragon Rises College of Oriental Medicine (DRCOM) is setting the standards of East Asian Medicine through educating and inspiring the next generation of practitioners and leaders in their field, while creating pathways for integration into Western medicine to transform modern healthcare. For more information, visit https://dragonrises.edu
