Experiences

Submitted by Kristen Tan, Ross University

My name is Kristen Tan and since working with a holistic veterinarian back home for over

3 years, I have been interested in acupuncture and integrative medicine. I have seen firsthand

how rewarding the effects of acupuncture can be and wanted to be able to provide this modality

for my future patients well. When I got into Ross University, I already knew that I wanted to enroll

in the program that Chi University offered to Rossies. It is a year-long course that combines online

learning with a few in-person wet labs, split up into 5 sessions total. After completing the

prerequisites of Gross Anatomy I and II, I enrolled and also became the Ross Acupuncture

Ambassador for Chi University in 2025. Most of the wet labs were done on Ross’ campus itself,

but the Session 5 wet labs were specifically done at Chi University’s campus because it included

the acupoint exam as well. I spent 3.5 days there going over all the acupuncture points and

TCVM theories we’ve learned throughout the year while meeting other CVA students from other

vet schools. Below is a break down of what I did each day:

December 16, 2025 (Day 1)

After registering with the Chi staff, we spent the morning reviewing everything we learned

from Sessions 1-4 with Dr. Terri Rosado. It helped reinforce everything we needed to know for the

written exam. During the lunch hour, we ate then got a tour of their small animal hospital. The

design of the hospital incorporated so many fear-free things and even had a zen garden for

clients. There was a whole physical therapy ward that included a water treadmill, obstacles, and

other modalities. Their large animal hospital had several stalls and included a whole arena for

trotting and dressage. In the afternoon, we reviewed acupoints for 4.5 hours with Dr. Shu Dai and

Dr. Suzy Brannan. We worked on clients’ dogs and practiced doing our TCVM exam. This includes

a tongue assessment, feeling their femoral pulses in 6 different areas, assessing mentation (Shen

in TCVM), and palpating acupoints and assessing for any reactions. Afterwards, we had a class

dinner with the founder, Dr. Xie, and everyone got to know each other a little bit more.

December 17, 2025 (Day 2)

This entire day was going over all the acupoints from head to tail with snack breaks in

between. There are a total of 361 points in the small animal, but we are only responsible for 185

of them. It includes both transpositional and classical points.

December 18, 2025 (Day 3)

In the morning, we went over 2 cases with live dogs. It included taking a history with the

client, performing a TCVM exam, and treating the patient after making a TCVM diagnosis. In the

afternoon, we went over the acupoints with our instructors once more.

December 19, 2025 (Exam Day)

Everyone was assigned a time to come in to take their acupoint exam. I was given 20

random points to identify on a live dog in under 10 minutes. I passed and celebrated with

everyone. Chi provided cake and tea.