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Know Your Acupuncturist
Practitioners whose educational focus is in Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine receive approximately 80% of their training exclusively in this field, and undergo an extensive clinical internship averaging 3 years. Other healthcare practitioners may use acupuncture, which is one of the many therapies of Oriental Medicine, as an adjunct to their primary practice. While all of these practitioners also have training in western medical sciences, this chart is designed to illustrate the varying levels of acupuncture training generally undertaken by healthcare professionals.
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AMOUNT OF TRAINING IN ACUPUNCTURE | PRACTITIONER |
1363 hours-2000 hours in Acupuncture
(or 2000-3000 hours in Oriental Medicine) | Typically a Licensed Acupuncturist (L.Ac.) or Registered Acupuncturist whose primary training is in Acupuncture and/or Oriental Medicine, and has:
(a) Obtained a 3-4yr master's level degree or diploma from a school approved by ACAOM (Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine), and
(b) is awarded the Dipl.Ac. (Diplomat in Acupuncture) designation upon successful examination by the NCCAOM (National Commission for the Certification of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine) which is the national standard used for licensing in most states.
- Used for a broad range of health issues, including chronic disease, pain, internal medicine, rehabilitation, and prevention based on Oriental medical theory.
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300 hours or less
Medical Acupuncture
Meridian Balancing/Therapy
Chiropractic Acupuncture
Naturopathic Acupuncture
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Typically a medical doctor, osteopath, naturopath, or chiropractor who uses acupuncture as an adjunctive therapy; the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that medical doctors have 200 hours of training to know when to refer to a more fully-trained Acupuncturist or Oriental Medicine practitioner
- Most commonly used for pain and basic ailments
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Around 100 hours or less
Detox Technical Support
Chiropractic Acupuncture
Medical Acupuncture
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Typically a detoxification technician or chiropractor (detox techs should be under supervision of a Licensed Acupuncturist, see above, and are limited to 5 points on the ear)
- Most commonly used for pain management or addiction & detoxification through auricular acupuncture.
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For a list of approved schools and colleges, contact the U.S. Department of Education or:
www.ccaom.org
www.nccaom.org
www.acaom.org
* Acupuncture should only be administered by a practitioner who has specific training in this field, due to risk of improper needling, inadequate understanding of Oriental medical diagnostic procedures, transmission of disease, imbalancing of energy, or ethical violations.
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