Sarah Montesa
Attending Clinician
Sarah Montesa has been a member of the faculty since January 2023. She teaches in the acupuncture and herbal medicine program and supervises students as an attending clinician at the NUHS Whole Health Center. She’s also a presenter for the FISH (Futures in Science and Health care) program, which educates students about alternative health care careers while also providing them with a unique learning experience in the area of anatomy and physiology.
“I have always gotten enjoyment from helping others learn new things. Chiropractic, acupuncture, teaching, it’s all a second career for me so when I applied to work at NUHS, it was so that I could give back to the university that gave me the tools to find out who I wanted to be for the rest of my life,” she said.
Dr. Montesa earned her Doctor of Chiropractic, Master of Science in Oriental Medicine and her Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science from National University and a Master of Science in Human Anatomy and Physiology from Northeast College of Health Sciences. She’s also a Certified Hospice and Palliative Care Acupuncture Specialist (CHPCAS). She specializes in pain management, palliative care, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance-use disorders and mental/emotional conditions.
Before becoming a faculty member, Dr. Montesa worked in pain management in both private practice and hospital settings. In 2020, she formed her own home healthcare business, primarily catering to patients with cancer and autoimmune diseases who were worried about leaving their homes to get treatment during the pandemic.
“I have a special place in my heart for providing end of life, hospice, palliative care for patients though my acupuncture practice. There is so much that can be offered to help ease people’s transitions out of this life,” she said.
For Dr. Montesa, the best thing about teaching is seeing the look on a student’s face when they first grasp a concept that they had been struggling with.
“It is always rewarding to see students grow as they move through their programs, there is so much to be learned in any of National’s programs that the change that students go through over their course of study is sometimes profound,” she said.