The Science of Acupuncture
by Sarah Gray
Becoming an acupuncturist
isn't as easy as one might think.
Schools specializing in oriental medicine and acupuncture are scattered throughout the nation, and thousands of potential practitioners attend classes. A national certification board oversees most state licensing, but each state has its own requirements. As acupuncture treatments rise in number in the U.S., acupuncture training will become more and more regulated.
To become licensed in Oregon, potential acupuncturists must follow formal training in a state-approved program. Usually acupuncture schools provide a two- to three-year program offering a selection of alternative medicines in addition to acupuncture training. After receiving the required training, students must pass a national certification exam. The National Commission of the Certification of Acupuncturists certifies acupuncturists after they pass the exam. Each state has its own licensure requirements, but most, like Oregon, require that students are certified before they can apply for licensure, which is granted by the Oregon Board of Medical Examiners.
Currently, thirty-six schools in the nation offer acupuncture training. The Oregon College of Oriental Medicine in Portland, Oregon, is one of the most comprehensive in the U.S., according to Melissa Roy, who is in the public relations department at the college. In order to become an acupuncturist through the Portland school, a three-year, full-time program must be followed. Students are trained in other alternative medicines, like herbology, energy movement and body massage. The goal is to provide holistic training and not focus on one area of treatment. Then each acupuncturist can develop individual methods.
"[Acupuncture] is as much an art as a science," says Stuart Greenleaf, a licensed Eugene acupuncturist. "You develop a set of therapeutic tools. Each practitioner has his own way."
This year, one hundred seventy students take classes from the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine. They accept sixty new students each year. The average age of students at the college is thirty-four, and most are female, a sixty to forty ratio.
Most states have regulations and requirements for becoming an acupuncturist. More than thirty states formally regulate the practice of some seven thousand acupuncturists nationwide. However, fourteen states have no such regulation. As acupuncture becomes more widely used and accepted by the medical community, we will see an increase in regulations and a standardization of the treatment throughout the nation.