Why should you choose a licensed acupuncturist?
Acupuncture has proven to be effective in treating various conditions like should pain, neck pain, back pain, sciatica, headache, etc. Acupuncture is gaining popularity in the US, more people are seeking help from acupuncture and oriental medicine for health issues. Many other health care practitioners like medical doctors, chiropractors, physical therapists or dentists become certified to do what is called “medical acupuncture”. But what are the differences between a licensed acupuncturist and a certified acupuncturist? And who should you go to for acupuncture? A licensed acupuncturist? A doctor? A chiropractor? A physical therapist ? Let’s take a look at the training, education, examination and licensure requirements of both licensed acupuncturists and certified acupuncturists.
Acupuncture Training in New York State
In New York State, a medical doctor is only required to get certified in acupuncture. For certified acupuncturists, usually only 300 hours of training is required for a medical acupuncture certification program. While for licensed acupuncturists, aka L.Ac., it is required to complete a professional acupuncture program (mostly a master’s degree) accredited by the accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM) or another accrediting agency accepted by the New York State Education Department. The program must consist of minimum 4,050 hours of training which includes classroom instruction, supervised clinical experience and out-of-classroom study assignments. That means, a licensed acupuncturist spent 13 times more time in training overall than a certified acupuncturist.
Also, oriental medicine is completely different from the western medicine in terms of theories, principles, perspectives and approach. The time and efforts required to fully understanding the Chinese medicine system is huge; even more time and efforts are needed for mastery of knowledge to achieve a level of competence enough to treat patients. That is why a program leading to licensed acupuncturists is usually an intensive 4 years full-time program.
Acupuncture clinical experience
The certified acupuncturists often gain their certification with comparatively little clinical experience (100 hours included in the program) or even without actual treatment done on patient. While for licensed acupuncturists, the minimum supervised clinical experience is 650 hours and treatments on patients are required in the program
Acupuncture examination & licensure
When it comes to examination for certification, certified acupuncturists do not need to pass any national certification examination or any regular continuing education to maintain the certification. Meanwhile, for the licensed acupuncturists, they must complete and pass the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine’s (NCCAOM) Acupuncture, Foundations of Oriental Medicine and Point Location Modules examinations and the Clean Needle Technique course. They are also required to fulfill continuing education requirements to maintain their national certification.
For more information on the requirement of licensure/certification of Acupuncturists in New York State, please visit the New York State Education Department :
http://www.op.nysed.gov/acupuncert.htm
http://www.op.nysed.gov/prof/acu/acupunlic.htm
Acupuncture Training in New York State
In New York State, a medical doctor is only required to get certified in acupuncture. For certified acupuncturists, usually only 300 hours of training is required for a medical acupuncture certification program. While for licensed acupuncturists, aka L.Ac., it is required to complete a professional acupuncture program (mostly a master’s degree) accredited by the accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM) or another accrediting agency accepted by the New York State Education Department. The program must consist of minimum 4,050 hours of training which includes classroom instruction, supervised clinical experience and out-of-classroom study assignments. That means, a licensed acupuncturist spent 13 times more time in training overall than a certified acupuncturist.
Also, oriental medicine is completely different from the western medicine in terms of theories, principles, perspectives and approach. The time and efforts required to fully understanding the Chinese medicine system is huge; even more time and efforts are needed for mastery of knowledge to achieve a level of competence enough to treat patients. That is why a program leading to licensed acupuncturists is usually an intensive 4 years full-time program.
Acupuncture clinical experience
The certified acupuncturists often gain their certification with comparatively little clinical experience (100 hours included in the program) or even without actual treatment done on patient. While for licensed acupuncturists, the minimum supervised clinical experience is 650 hours and treatments on patients are required in the program
Acupuncture examination & licensure
When it comes to examination for certification, certified acupuncturists do not need to pass any national certification examination or any regular continuing education to maintain the certification. Meanwhile, for the licensed acupuncturists, they must complete and pass the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine’s (NCCAOM) Acupuncture, Foundations of Oriental Medicine and Point Location Modules examinations and the Clean Needle Technique course. They are also required to fulfill continuing education requirements to maintain their national certification.
For more information on the requirement of licensure/certification of Acupuncturists in New York State, please visit the New York State Education Department :
http://www.op.nysed.gov/acupuncert.htm
http://www.op.nysed.gov/prof/acu/acupunlic.htm
