Acupuncturist Training
The formal training of Licensed Acupuncturists includes four years of formal education (2,800 to 3,000+ hours, 125+ credits), leading to a Master's of Science (M.S.) degree.
The structure of the standard curriculum is similar to that of Western
medical schools, where the first two years are intense academic study, followed
by a formal, comprehensive examination process that students must pass to move
on to the second two years. In the second two years of training, the academic
studies lessen and the student begins their clinical internship, working
directly with patients.
Students must pass comprehensive, cumulative exams
from their school to graduate, and they must pass national board exams in order
to gain licensure through the state.
The following information is from the Colorado School
of Traditional Chinese Medicine (CSTCM) located in Denver, though it is
representative of curriculums nation wide.
The hours of the curriculum at CSTCM breakdown as
follows.
Chinese Medical Theory and Technique
810 hrs/48 credits
Courses include:
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Basic Theory
Acu Meridian and Point Theory
TCM Diagnosis and Differentiation
AcuMoxa Techniques
Chinese Herbal Medicine
450 hrs / 20 credits
Courses include:
Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM) Prescriptionology
TCM Internal Medicine
Biosciences
510 hrs / 34 credits
Courses include:
Western Medicine Anatomy and Physiology
Biochemistry
Microbiology of Infectious Diseases
Western Medicine Pharmacology/Pharmacognocy
Clinical Observation
195 hrs / 9.5 credits
Miscellaneous
90 hrs / 6 credits
Courses include:
Qi gong and Tai ji
Clinic Internship
Acupuncture: 615 hrs / 20.5 credits
Chinese Herbal Medicine: 180 hrs / 6 credits
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