Will I study Western diagnosis and anatomy?
Yes — and for many students this is one of the more reassuring parts of the curriculum, because it means you're not choosing between Eastern and Western training, you're getting both, woven together on purpose.
Five Branches' DAcHM/MAcHM programs include a dedicated Western Medicine department, chaired by Alan Wong, M.D. As the school itself puts it, the goal is that a TCM practitioner can "communicate with medical doctors and other healthcare professionals" and know when a case needs referral — not just treat in isolation. This is what the school publishes on its Western Medicine curriculum page; we last checked it in 08/2026.
| Area | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Western diagnosis fundamentals | Vocabulary and clinical methods used in Western diagnostic analysis |
| Anatomy & Physiology | Human Anatomy and Human Physiology are required foundational courses |
| Lab & imaging analysis | Interpreting lab tests and diagnostic imaging, connecting results to prognosis |
| Western Case Management I–III | A capstone sequence pulling together prior Western medicine coursework, including recognizing "red flag" emergencies warranting referral to an M.D. |
| Clinical relationships | Program is enhanced by an educational/clinical relationship with Stanford and a doctoral residency with Stanford and O'Connor Hospital |
Before you even start the graduate program, you'll also need three natural-science prerequisites from a regionally accredited school — General Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, each a minimum of three semester credits — plus General Psychology, which is part of the general-education requirement rather than a natural science. Human Anatomy and Human Physiology are not admission prerequisites; you'll take them as part of the Western Medicine coursework inside the program itself (Five Branches Educational Requirements page, revised 09/2026). The three sciences may be taken concurrently with your TCM studies within the first two years of the program, though completing them before you start is highly recommended, and they can be taken at a community college or several accredited online providers.
Curious how these prerequisites are usually sequenced alongside the TCM coursework, or which of the three you might already have covered?
Sources
- Five Branches University — Educational Requirements checked 2026-08
- Five Branches University — published materials checked 2026-07
- Five Branches University — Western Medicine checked 2026-08
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