Acupuncture.

[Disciple]

When I graduate from a normal 4 year college, I plan to gointo a school for chiropractics, and I have heard those are an average of 2 years, but I also want to learn acupuncture. Does anyone know of any very well accredited school, and if not, what should one, atleast, look for in a school for acupuncture?

[lhommedieu]

There are two types of acupuncture schools: those which concentrate primarily on acupuncture per se, and those which combine acupuncture studies with Chinese herbology. The trend today is towards a master's level degree program - although doctoral level programs are already in place in several states and will continue to be developed in the future.

Graduation from an accredited acupuncuture school generally takes about 4 years. There are some prerequisites, which college-level science courses will more than satisfy.

The National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) provides the testing and certification requirements that 95% of the states require (in addition to a diploma from an NCCAOM acredited acupuncture college). Some states, like California, have their own testing and certification requirements - but most accept NCCAOM certification.

For a list of NCCAOM-approved schools by state, go to www.acupuncture.com and click on the "Acupuncture Schools" link.

Acupuncture colleges often focus on a particular style of acupuncture. The Pacific College of Acupuncture in San Diego and New York, for example, is a TCM-oriented college, while Tri-State College of Acupuncture in New York teaches an eclectic program that combines aspects of French meridian acupuncture, TCM, and Japanese styles. Other schools teach Five Element acupuncture, classical Chinese acupuncture, Japanese styles, etc. For this reason, it is important to know what style of acupuncture you are interested in before applying.

Best,

Steve Lamade