Are there differences between Practitioners of Acupuncture?

Qualifications for Acupuncturists

When looking for a qualified acupuncturist, it might be helpful to use the following comparison of requirements among various practitioners who offer acupuncture services.

Comparison of Licensed vs. Certified Acupuncturists

Certified/Physician Acupuncturist	Licensed Acupuncturist
Certified physician or chiropractors with 300 hours of training	Licensed acupuncturists (Lic.Ac.) with an average of 2,700 hours of master’s-level training
Training which is often comprised of home study and video-taped lectures.	Master’s level, on-site training at a nationally accredited school or college of acupuncture
Minimal clinical experience in acupuncture or no actual patient treatments before certification	Hundreds of hours of clinical experience and at least 350 actual patient treatments before licensure
Not required to complete the national certification examination to prove competency in acupuncture	Required to pass the national certification exam in acupuncture in order to become licensed
Not required to regularly complete continuing education courses	Required to do regular continuing education to maintain national certification

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even training among licensed acupuncturists can vary widely. Some graduate programs include training in all aspects of Oriental Medicine, including Chinese herbal therapy, food therapy and body work and may require as much as 3,500 hours of training.