Commencement/Graduation

Commencement Speaker:

Kristianne Schultz DAOM, LAc, Dipl.O.M.

Kristianne Schultz has her clinical doctorate in traditional Chinese medicine, practicing acupuncture since 2009. Her practical experience is working in a hospital-based system in both acute and clinical care. She enjoys working with all imbalances; “The body is a fascinating vehicle. In traditional Asian medicine we believe there are three factors that need to be intact: mind, body and spirit. If one aspect is off, they all may eventually become off, and that is when disease and/or imbalance occurs.”

Kristianne earned her Master’s degree in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from Northwestern Health Sciences University in 2008, and her clinical doctorate from The American Academy of Health and Wellness in 2018. She has been serving as Adjunct Faculty at NWHSU since 2012. In 2009 Kristianne attended three weeks at Tianjin University in Tianjin China, studying with some of the most famous TCM physicians in modern-day China who specialize in stroke protocols. “Even though I am fortunate enough to be schooled in this medicine, I am a student for life, and my patients are my greatest teachers. Every day I learn something new, whether it is something I learned from a patient, or a treatment strategy another provider brings into our practice. I strongly believe that I am doing 20% of the work and that my patient’s—mind, body and soul is doing 80%. I passion is to help patients know that their bodies have an innate way to heal if provided the proper environment and balance. “If my patient’s health improve, I want them to know that their body did the work, it just simply needed the reminder.”

Kristianne enjoys complex cases, with many referrals being patients who struggle with chronic pain and other chronic symptoms. “I enjoy a challenge and feel honored every day a patient chooses me to be a part of their healing process.” Working within a hospital-based system has afforded Kristianne to become familiar with the treatment of idiopathic diseases, syndromes and complex pain. When patients feel frustrated that they have not found relief in the Western medicine system approach, Kristianne strongly believes that the integration of mind, body and spirit provides the patient with rebalance, and then in turn with rebalance comes the healing.

Kristianne is also a certified emergency medicine technician and has served as a firefighter for two years. “I loved the opportunity to work alongside some of the best humans in emergent situations—it provided me a deeper sense of humanity, wellness and the importance of community.”