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Selecting An Acupuncturist
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Recently I have been coming across this same article all over the internet on the topic of how to choose an acupuncturist.They make a few good points but miss one important key factor with regards to training in medical acupuncture vs. training to be a licensed acupuncturist.
They say before you sign up for your acupuncture treatments it is a good idea to ask your friends if they have received acupuncture before.
Is the acupuncturist willing to work with your physician? I find that many do.
All the acupuncture needles must be single-use and disposable.
The article goes on to say that any acupuncture practitioner you go to should be licensed. The problem next is that they make a mistake and then refer you to the medical acupuncture group which are NOT licensed acupuncturists.
So I will help correct this mistake and refer you to licensed acupuncturists.
Here is an acupuncture directory where you can not only learn about all the benefits of acupuncture and Chinese medicine but you can also search the directory to find a licensed acupuncturist as well.
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April 3rd, 2009 at 11:42 am
Thanks for your efforts which are really protective of peoples health and trust. Many MD’s do not disclose that they are “hobbyist acupuncturists”. Your health is not the Make-A-Wish Foundation and if MD’s want to practice acupuncture I for one do not object to them going to acupuncture school and qualifying for Licensure rather than the flimsy Certification they forced into the acupuncture laws.
Meantime, I have a trunk full of chiropractors, uh.. I mean chiropractic acupuncturists (100 hours training in Florida) and I’m not sure what is the most compassionate thing to do with them. I think I’ll get them some BK veggie burgers to hold them over for now.
Seriously though, my new tv series “The Pain Whisperer” is in preproduction, sample results video can be seen at my site.
thanks again,
tc
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April 3rd, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Thank you for all of the great work you are doing to help educate the public. It is truly appreciated!
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April 4th, 2009 at 9:23 am
My patients end up at my practice confused about acupuncture due to their poor experience with md/chiropractic acupuncture. Patients are ASTOUNDED at the TCM Acupuncture treatments. In fact, several patients have expressed the fact that this style of acupuncture was “painless.” Their experience with chiropractor/md acupuncture was quite painful and left the patient actually Dreading their future treatments! I am SO PLEASED that we have advocates that not only develop & maintain this website but actually challenge the mainstream “medical acupuncture” folks! Thank-you Everyone & Let’s continue this Great Journey!!
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April 7th, 2009 at 10:47 am
Thank you for posting this very informative article. Over the years I have had many patients migrate to my practice after they received unsuccessful treatment from a “medical” acupuncturist.
These patients report to me that; the treatment did not work or caused a problem, that the acupuncturist did not spend nearly as much time as I spend with them, that they did not educate them at all about their problem nor were they given a treatment plan, so they had no idea what was going on and that they were being charged an arm and leg for all this.
Some of them had friends or relatives who got great results with acupuncture treatments so they decided that, even though they did not have a good experience, they should seek out someone more qualified.
Hopefully your article and this website will save many prospective patients their precious time and money by choosing an NCCAOM certified practitioner.
In Health,
Juliette Aiyana
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April 7th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
My own mother saw a “medical acupuncturist” who was not able to touch her sciatica- considering that he ridiculed the Chinese pattern differentiation, it is no wonder he had so little success.
Unfortunately I find that people who may have any number of MDs specializing in various conditions are quick to try only one acupuncturist and to assume that acupuncture doesn’t work, especially if they get one of the poorly trained hobbyist MD or Chiropractic “acupuncturists”. I have three real acupuncturists, one who specializes in orthopedic issues, one in dietary/endocrine conditions and another who has an herbal/infectious disease specialty.
Chinese medicine includes a variety of pillars, including acupuncture, herbalism, tuina (orthopedic massage) and martial arts. Someone who truly dedicates themselves to the study of diet, the right herbs for the right disease pattern and patient’s constitution and who has made a lifelong study will definitely be better able to deal with your underlying condition than someone with a few hundred hours of video coursework under their belt.
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May 3rd, 2009 at 5:54 pm
So, I had a few minutes between patients and on a whim decided to make a phone call to a medical acupuncturist’s office to inquire about their services.
I asked about the doctor’s acupuncture education and whether it was the same an LAc’s. The office staff member I was speaking to indicated that there is “no different education” regarding acupuncture. That all acupuncture training is the same and that the only difference is that an acupuncturist is not a medical doctor, whereas Dr. X is a doctor who is trained in acupuncture. (paraphrased)
Clearly, untrue.
I then asked if this doctor was licensed by the California Acupuncture Board, and the office staff said “well, she’s licensed in California, so I’m not sure what you mean, but she’s been certified by the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture.”
The American Academy of Medical Acupuncture is NOT an accredited school of acupuncture and Chinese medicine. Its curriculum (if one could call it that) is based on a 300-hour survey course that was originally designed with the intention to educate other medical professionals in preparation for doing research – not for utilization into private practice.
This was clearly an attempt to defraud the public (me) by the staff member who represented that particular medical acupuncturist about her qualifications to practice acupuncture.
Had I not known better, I would have had no reason to suspect that the information this staff member was telling me was anything other than honest. It is clear that we need to educate the public regarding what constitutes a licensed acupuncturist and practitioner of Chinese medicine versus a “medical” (or “research”) acupuncturist. The two are not the same.
Joy Keller, LAc
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