| In 1971, an acupuncture boom occurred in the United States because of stories about visits to China by various American dignitaries. Entrepreneurs began using flamboyant advertising techniques to promote clinics, seminars, demonstrations, books, correspondence courses, and do-it-yourself kits. Ill-trained and unethical "quackupuncturists" were springing up all over. Today, over forty states have established licensing standards for the practice of acupuncture, eliminating most of those problems. However, some states still allow the unregulated practice of acupuncture, and many states still allow other health care practitioners, such as physicians and chiropractors, to practice without standards for training and competency. Physicians who practice acupuncture have organized to set up voluntary standards for those in their profession who wish to be considered credible practitioners of acupuncture as a adjunctive modality. |
| Typical training for Licensed Acupuncturists, Doctors of Oriental Medicine, and Acupuncture Physicians is a three or four year training programs of 2,500-3,500 hours. Typical training for Medical Doctors who practice acupuncture is 50-100 hours of clinical training, and for chiropractors, 50-100 hours of total training. The discrepency in training standards is primarily a result of competition in the delivery of health care sevices and the relative political strength of the competing interests. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), independently trained acupuncturists should have a minimum of 2,500 hours of training in addition to basic biosciences (see WHO Guidelines for Basic Training and Safety in Acupuncture). The WHO recommends that physicians complete 1,500 hours of training to practice as a part of Oriental Medicine, but can become qualified to practice acupuncture as an adjunct to their other modalities with just 200 hours of training. WHO also recommends that chiropractors and other health care professionals complete a full 2,500 hour training or limit their practice to acupressure. |
| Education |
| In 1990, the U.S. Secretary of Education recognized the national Accreditation Commission for Schools and Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM) as an accrediting agency, so that students at schools of acupuncture and Oriental medicine can qualify for government subsidized loans and grants, and schools can qualify for government-subsidized research grants. |
| The ACAOM has set a minimal standard for a masters degree in acupuncture at 1725 hours plus a prerequisite of two years college courses. Minimal standards for the masters degree in acupuncture and Oriental medicine is set at 2025 hours plus a prerequisite of two years college courses. |
| The World Health Organization has set training standards at for acupuncture training programs at 2500 hours plus basic biosciences prerequisites. |
| The California State Legislature and the California Acupuncture Board have recently adopted the highest entry level standards for the profession in the United States, at 3,000 hours, and will be considering up to 4,000 hours. In California, acupuncturists are considered a primary health care profession, and need to meet a common standard of competence expected of all primary health care professions, such as the ability to recognize serious diseases that will require immediate referal to a specialist. Many states classify acupuncturists as technicians, with limited scopes of practice, requiring a prior physician diagnosis and referal. |
| The Council of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Associations has established that minimum standards of training for full acupuncture and oriental medicine training programs should be 3200 hours following 500 hours of college level training in basic science. |
| Examination |
| An attempt is being made to set minimal competency standards in the U.S. through certification by the National Commission for the Certification of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM), a private membership organization. Several thousand practitioners have become certified already, and some states have adopted the NCCAOM examination as part of their licensing criteria. California and few others states have set higher standards, and do not yet recognized the NCCAOM certified "diplomates" membership status. California conducts its own licensing exam, widely recognized as a superior and more thorough exam needed as a criteria to begin licensed practice. |
| Titles |
| The licensing titles given by states vary, and include Certified Acupuncturist (CA), Licensed Acupuncturist (LAc), Acupuncture Physician (AP), and Doctor of Oriental Medicine (OMD,DOM). Degrees include Master of Acupuncture (MA), Master of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (MAOM), and Doctor of Oriental Medicine (OMD/DOM). |