Pacific College of Health and Science Programs: A Holistic Approach to Healthcare Education
Pacific College of Health and Science (PCHS), formerly Pacific College of Oriental Medicine (PCOM), stands as a leader in acupuncture and East Asian medicine education in the United States. Since its founding, the college has maintained a philosophy that health extends beyond the absence of disease, encompassing the balance of mind, body, and spirit. This perspective shapes the college's preventative, holistic, and patient-centered approach to medicine.
A Vision for Integrative Health
Pacific College aims to be the "recognized leader in delivering traditional medicine and integrative health science education to practitioners and the public." The college is expanding its offerings beyond existing massage therapy programs, acupuncture, and Chinese medicine programs. A holistic nursing division and a new undergraduate program are planned for launch in 2024.
Community and Culture
PCHS fosters a culture of loving kindness and community support. Benefits and resources reflect the college's commitment to body/mind/spirit values. The college's community extends across 27 states, with faculty and staff participating in online events such as the yearly Pacific Symposium.
On-Campus Wellness Clinics
Pacific College's on-campus wellness clinics treat over 50,000 patients annually. The college also maintains an extensive network of offsite clinic opportunities, including collaborations with the University of California - San Diego Heath Center and the New York Harm Reduction Clinic. Electronic health records were integrated into the campus clinics in 2022.
Pacific University's College of Health Professions
Pacific University's College of Health Professions, located in Hillsboro, Oregon, has grown since its opening in 2006 to include eight schools. These include the schools of Audiology, Dental Hygiene Studies, Healthcare Administration and Leadership, and Pharmacy. The college also offers an undergraduate pre-health professions program, post-professional graduate certificates, internships and fellowships in specialized practice areas, and post-professional continuing education for professional licensure maintenance.
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The College of Health Professions offers master’s, doctoral, and PhD degree programs with an emphasis on diversity, equity, inclusion, immersive scholarship, service, research, and academic leadership. The faculty and staff mentor and inspire students to think, care, create, and pursue justice. The college prepares the next generation of leaders to practice innovative, evidence-based healthcare for a diverse global community and is committed to strong academic programs leading to licensure in healthcare practice at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Pacific University's School of Health Sciences
The School of Health Sciences (SHS) at Pacific University builds on the university's long-standing reputation for educating health care professionals. The school features innovative curricula, accelerated programs, extensive experiential learning, and clinical training for all students. All programs incorporate interprofessional education experiences to prepare students for team-based healthcare delivery.
The school embraces interprofessional education (IPE) as a critical means to prepare students for real-world collaborative practice, since patients benefit when health professionals work together. Experiential clinical education is fundamental to the school's educational philosophy.
Core Values
The School of Health Sciences is guided by a set of shared values:
- Student-centered: Students come first in everything the school does.
- Academic Excellence: The school maintains high academic standards with a focus on teaching, scholarship, and experiential learning.
- Community Engagement: The school is committed to learning from and enhancing its communities.
- Diversity & Inclusion: The school respects all individuals and embraces the richness that diversity brings to the educational community.
- Integrity & Accountability: The school demonstrates integrity in its actions.
- Respect & Civility: The school demonstrates authentic respect for others and a willingness to engage in genuine discourse, seeking common ground and ways to connect with others.
Leadership
A team of experienced and dedicated leaders serve as members of the School of Health Sciences (SHS) Cabinet and function as a recommending body to the Dean of SHS. They are thought leaders in their respective professional fields, proven managers, and experts in their discipline.
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Historical Context
Pacific University has a history in health care education, dating back to 1858 when the university formed the first medical school in California, now the Stanford University School of Medicine. The university's portfolio of health care programs includes the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, founded in 1896 as the College of Physicians and Surgeons, and the Thomas J.
Program Transitions and Additions
On July 1, 2020, the School of Health Sciences (SHS) welcomed five programs: The Physician Assistant (PA) program transitioned to the SHS from the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry. The Physical Therapy, Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology, and Athletic Training programs transitioned to the SHS from the Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (TJLSPHS). These five established programs joined three new programs launched in the 2020-2021 academic year in the SHS: Social Work, Clinical Nutrition, and Occupational Therapy.
Clinical Services
The University of the Pacific Hearing and Balance Center provides evidence-based, comprehensive, and professional audiological care for individuals of all ages. The Pacific Speech, Hearing and Language Center provides speech therapy services to adults in the community, where clients work one-on-one with student clinicians in the University of the Pacific's Department of Speech-Language Pathology.
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