Senior Director of MAcCHM Program and Distance Education, Academic Advisor
DAOM, Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, 2014
MTCM, Five Branches University, 2009
BA (Psychology), Pomona College, 2001
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Dr. Phil Garrison earned his BA in psychology from Pomona College in Claremont, California. His focus was neuropsychology, and he wrote his undergraduate thesis on creativity and the brain.
After spending several years as a gigging musician and electronic music producer while simultaneously working in various settings from a bookstore to a special needs classroom, Dr. Garrison decided to pursue a degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine at Five Branches University. As a student, Phil quickly discovered an aptitude for Chinese herbal medicine and a passion for the medical classics. In 2008, he was awarded the nuHerbs Herbal Times scholarship for his essay: "Chinese Medicine in a Quantum Universe."
Upon graduation, Dr. Garrison founded Immortal Way to Health and enrolled in the two-year postgraduate doctoral program at the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine (PCOM). In this program, Phil studied with such luminaries as Giovanni Maciocia and Alex Tiberi. He completed his academic coursework in 2012 and defended his doctoral research—a survey of the Huáng Dì Nèi Jīng in the curricula of ACAOM accredited master’s programs—in 2014.
While working on his doctorate, Dr. Garrison continued his acupuncture and herbal medicine practice in an integrative clinic, treated professional surfers as the staff acupuncturist at the O’Neill Coldwater Classic (2011-2012), taught Chinese herbal medicine at Five Branches University, and worked as an herbal consultant at Kan Herb Company.
In 2014, Dr. Garrison relocated to San Diego, where he taught the medical classics in the PCOM postgraduate doctoral program and served as the Chief Science Officer at Immortality Alchemy, a local herbal supplement company. During this time, he also founded the Scholars of Chinese Medicine group on Facebook, started two successful blogs, and interviewed noted scholars in the field for his YouTube channel.
Dr. Garrison left California in 2016 to take a position as Assistant Professor at the Finger Lakes School of Acupuncture in Oriental Medicine (FLSAOM). Shortly thereafter, he was promoted to Dean—a position he has held until his relocation to Austin. In addition to his administrative duties, Dr. Garrison continued to teach and supervise the clinic during his time at the FLSAOM. He is particularly proud to have chaired the AOM Curriculum Development Task Force, a group that developed several new and innovative curriculum options for the program and its students.
Dr. Garrison has published original research in professional academic journals, is a recognized scholar of the Huáng Dì Nèi Jīng (黃帝內經), and has been a guest lecturer at the Virginia University of Integrative Medicine (Fairfax, VA), Nazareth College (Rochester, NY), the University of Pittsburg (Pittsburg, PA), and the Western Sydney University (Australia).
Dr. Phil Garrison brings his passion, vision, and experience to AOMA, where he serves as Professor and Assistant Director of the MAcOM program.
