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<p><a class="leftNavOff" href="asian_history.asp">History & Philosophy</a></p>
<p><a class="leftNavOff" href="asian_treat.asp">Treatment Approaches</a></p>
<p><a class="leftNavOff" href="asian_how.asp">How it works & when to use it</a></p>
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East Asian Medicine — Training</p>
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<p><b>Acupuncture Regulation, Training, and Licensure</b><br />
Acupuncture practice has become well established in the US and Europe in the last 30 years. Forty-two states and the District of Columbia regulate acupuncture, specifying education requirements and scope of practice. Laws vary from state to state and are available in print and on line . Acupuncture schools are accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM), which is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a ‘specialized and professional’ accrediting agency for Masters degree and Masters level acupuncture programs and programs in Oriental medicine. Recognition by the U.S. Department of Education qualifies students in accredited acupuncture programs to receive federal financial aid. There are 46 colleges that are accredited or have candidacy status. </p>
<p>Students applying to acupuncture school must have completed at least two years, 60 semester credits or the equivalent, of accredited postsecondary education. Some state’s require applicants to have 4 years undergraduate education prior or in addition to acupuncture education. Professional acupuncture training that leads to licensure must be at least three academic years in length, providing at least 1,725 hours (93 semester credits) of instruction over a period of at least 27 months. The professional program in East Asian or Oriental medicine must be at least four academic years in length, providing at least 2,175 hours (123 semester credits) of instruction over a period of at least 36 months. The course of study is didactic with supervised clinical internship. Minimum hours and credits have been established for specific areas such as clinical training, biomedical clinical science, and herbal medicine. Training may also include therapeutic forms of bodywork, diet, and exercise. Curriculum requirements are revised periodically to reflect the ongoing evolution and adaptation of acupuncture and East Asian medicine in the West.</p>
<p>After completion of the standard 3 or 4 years of full time study, an acupuncture candidate must pass a qualifying board exam. Most states use the exam developed by the National Commission for the Certification of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, NCCAOM. </p>
<p>Currently there are approximately 10,000 licensed acupuncturists in practice in the US that are NCCAOM board certified; with approximately 1500 new candidates certified each year. In most states, once candidates have been NCCAOM board certified and then become state licensed, they need only maintain their state license. Thus overall there are many more acupuncturists licensed to practice than remain NCCAOM-active. There are approximately 3000 practitioners that are board certified in Chinese Herbal medicine. www.NCCAOM.org provides information on board qualified acupuncture and herbal practitioners. To inquire about the status of a provider’s license in New York State consult the New York State Office of the Professions at http://www.op.nysed.gov/ </p>
<p><b>Physician acupuncture practice (CAc)</b><br />
Laws vary by state regulating physician practice of acupuncture. Only eight states have some form of registration for physicians incorporating acupuncture into their practice. In all others, physicians may include acupuncture in their practice without any form of separate training or documentation to the state. Some states require medical doctors who use acupuncture in their practice to complete a 300 hours course of study designed for the physician. There is no way to assure an accurate count of the numbers of physicians practicing acupuncture in the US because there is no uniform requirement that they be ‘certified’ or ‘licensed’ or ‘registered’ with any agency or entity. Approximately 6000 MDs have completed the 300-hour course in a U.S. training program, with another 1000 educated in programs outside the US who may be practicing . Information on physician acupuncture practice may be found at the web site of the American Association of Medical Acupuncture, AAMA. The courses for physician certification in acupuncture do not include herbs. And there are no abbreviated courses on East Asian herbs for physicians. To be NCCAOM-board certified in East Asian herbology requires 2 years coursework in an approved program and passage of herbal examination.</p>
<p><b>Hospital privileges</b><br />
It is difficult to assess how many hospitals privilege acupuncture or acupuncture providers since there are no organizations that codify this information or promote advancing acupuncture privileges in hospital. Few non-MD providers are credentialed by hospitals; however community- based hospitals appear more open than medical teaching facilities. Non-MD providers that are credentialed by a hospital likely have that privilege limited to providing acupuncture care. They would not have admission or discharge privileges, since those decisions are based on conventional assessments. </p>
<p><b>By Arya Nielsen, MA, MS, LAc</b> </p>
<p><b>References</b></p>
<p>1. Suggested in private conversation by linguist Nigel Wiseman.</p>
<p>2. Nielsen A. Gua Sha. A TraditionalTtechnique for Modern Practice. Churchill Livingstone 1995 p.7</p>
<p>3. Epler DC. Bloodletting in Early Chinese Medicine and Its Relation to the Origin of Acupuncture. Bulletin of the History of Medicine 54:337-367 1980.</p>
<p>4. Unschuld P. The Nan-Ching. The Classic of Difficult Issues. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. 1986. p. 15.</p>
<p>5. Unschuld P. Medicine in China. A History of Ideas. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press; 1985. p97.</p>
<p>6. Consult any East Asian medical text for a more detailed description of internal organ function and for specific location of meridians or channels. </p>
<p>7. Langevin H, Churchill D, Wu J, et al. “Evidence of Connective Tissue Involvement in Acupuncture”. FASEB J. 2002. 8 (Jun 16):872-874.</p>
<p>8. Nielsen A: Gua Sha. A Traditional Technique for Modern Practice. Churchill Livingstone 1995 p.54</p>
<p>9. So J. Treatment of Disease with Acupuncture. Volume Two of a Complete Course in Acupuncture. Brookline, MA: Paradigm Publications, 1987. p. 315.</p>
<p>10. Birch S, Ida J. Japanese Acupuncture. A Clinical Guide. Brookline, MA: Paradigm Pub, 1998. p.181-210.</p>
<p>11. Epler DC. “Bloodletting in Early Chinese Medicine and Its Relation to the Origin of Acupuncture”. Bulletin of the History of Medicine. 54:337-367, 1980.</p>
<p>12. Kleinman A. Patients and Healers in the Context of Culture. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1980.</p>
<p>13. Nielsen A, Hammerschlag R. Acupuncture and East Asian Medicine. In: Kligler B, Lee R, eds. Integrative Medicine: Principles for Practice. New York: McGraw Hill; 2004.</p>
<p>14. Langevin H, Yandow J. “The relationship of acupuncture points and meridians to connective tissue planes”. The Anatomical Record (New Anat.) 269:257-265, 2002.</p>
<p>15. Travell J, Simmons D: Myofascial pain and dysfunction. The trigger point manual. William and Wilkins, Baltimore 1983.</p>
<p>16. Melzak R, Stillwell DM, Fox EJ: Trigger points and acupuncture points for pain: correlations and implications. Pain 3: 3-23 1977</p>
<p>17. Dung HC Anatomical features contributing to the formation of acupuncture points. Am J Acupuncture 12: 139-143 </p>
<p>18. Gunn, C.D., Ditchburn, F. G., King, M. H., and Renwhick, G. J. Acupuncture loci: a proposal for their classification according to their relationship to known neural structures. Am J. Chinese Med 4, 183-195, 1976</p>
<p>19. Han J Physiology of Acupuncture: Review of Thirty Years of Research. J Alternative and Complementary Medicine. Vol 3, Supp 1, 1997 p.101-108.</p>
<p>20. Pomeranz R, Stux G, eds. Scientific Bases of Acupuncture. New York: Springer-Verlag.1989.</p>
<p>21. Cheng RS, Pomeranz BH. Electroacupuncture analgesia is mediated by stereospecific opiate receptors and is reversed by antagonists of type I receptors. Life Sci. 1980;26:631-8</p>
<p>22. Han JS, Terenius L, Neurochemical Basis of Acupuncture Analgesia. Ann. Rev. Pharmocol. Toxicol.. 22:193-220 1982</p>
<p>23. Su J Electrodermal Response During Spell of Dizziness. Am. J. Acupuncture, Vol. 7 NO. 4 1979 P305309</p>
<p>24. Steinberger Anutn. Specific irritability of acupuncture points as an early symptom of multiple sclerosis. Am J Chinese Med 14:175-178. 1986.</p>
<p>25. Langevin H, Yandow J: The relationship of acupuncture points and meridians to connective tissue planes. The Anatomical Record (New Anat.)269:257-265,2002.</p>
<p>26. Han JS, Han J. Physiology of Acupuncture: Reveiw of Thirty Years of Research. J Alternative and Complementary Medicine. Vol.3 Supp 1, 1997 ppS-106.</p>
<p>27. Pert C. Molecules of Emotion. Why you feel the way you feel. Scribner NY 1997.</p>
<p>28. Wolpe P. The maintenance of professional authority: acupuncture and the American physician. Social Problems, Vol. 32, No. 5, June 1985</p>
<p>29. Alraek T. Soedal L. Fagerheim S. et al. Acupuncture treatment in the prevention of uncomplicated recurrent lower urinary tract infection in adult women. Am J Public Health. 2002;92(10):1609-1611.</p>
<p>30. Skilnand E, Fossen D, Heiberg E. Acupuncture in the management of pain in labor. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2002;81(10) (Oct):943-948.</p>
<p>31. Mitchell B. 2001 Acupuncture and Oriental medicine laws pub: National Acupuncture Foundation. www.acupuncturealliance.org, or www.aaom.org </p>
<p>32. American Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine: www.acaom.org</p>
<p>33. http://www.ccaom.org/members3.asp</p>
<p>34. www.acaom.org.</p>
<p>35. www.NCCAOM.org </p>
<p>36. American Association of Medical Acupuncture: www.medicalacupuncture.org/ C. James Dowden, personal correspondence </p>
<p>37. www.medicalacupuncture.org/</p>
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<p class="timestamp">Content last modified on Mar 8, 2004</p>
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