United States
In 1996, the Food and Drug Administration changed the status of acupuncture needles from Class III to Class II medical devices, meaning that needles are regarded as safe and effective when used appropriately by licensed practitioners.
As of 2004, nearly 50% of Americans who were enrolled in employer health insurance plans were covered for acupuncture treatments.
Acupuncturists in the United States are required to attend a three or four-year graduate level, accredited program to be licensed. While some schools are regionally accredited, most professional training programs are accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM). Twenty-three states require certification, by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM). A variety of titles are granted:
- Licensed acupuncturist (L. Ac), in most states
- Acupuncture physician, used in Florida
- Doctor of oriental medicine (DOM), used in New Mexico
- Doctor of acupuncture (DAC) in Rhode Island
- Diplomate of acupuncture (Dipl. Ac), a NCCAOM board certification in acupuncture
- Diplomate of oriental medicine (Dipl. OM), a NCCAOM certification which includes acupuncture and Chinese herbology
- Diplomate of the American Board of Medical Acupuncture (DABMA), a certification provided by the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture for physicians trained in medical acupuncture
- Doctor of acupuncture and oriental medicine (DAOM), a degree offered by the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine and Bastyr University as a ACAOM-sponsored terminal degree in the field
Acupuncturists are usually required to obtain continuing education credit to retain their licenses. In most states this is handled by the NCCAOM, which awards PDA points towards re-licensure for approved courses and requires Diplomates (licensed acupuncturists with NCCAOM certification) are required to obtain 60 PDA points every four years to re-certify.
California and Florida each have their own unique requirements and regulatory agencies. The State of California Acupuncture Board(SCAB) governs the re-licensure of all California licensed acupuncturists and requires fifty continuing education units (CEU’s) every two years. The Florida Board of Acupuncture governs all licensed acupuncturists in Florida and requires acupuncturists to complete 30 continuing education credit hours (CE’s) every two years.
Read more about this topic: Regulation Of Acupuncture
Famous quotes related to united states:
“God knows that any man who would seek the presidency of the United States is a fool for his pains. The burden is all but intolerable, and the things that I have to do are just as much as the human spirit can carry.”
—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)
“I incline to think that the people will not now sustain the policy of upholding a State Government against a rival government, by the use of the forces of the United States. If this leads to the overthrow of the de jure government in a State, the de facto government must be recognized.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“I have ever deemed it fundamental for the United States never to take active part in the quarrels of Europe. Their political interests are entirely distinct from ours. Their mutual jealousies, their balance of power, their complicated alliances, their forms and principles of government, are all foreign to us. They are nations of eternal war.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
“Some time ago a publisher told me that there are four kinds of books that seldom, if ever, lose money in the United States—first, murder stories; secondly, novels in which the heroine is forcibly overcome by the hero; thirdly, volumes on spiritualism, occultism and other such claptrap, and fourthly, books on Lincoln.”
—H.L. (Henry Lewis)
“We now in the United States have more security guards for the rich than we have police services for the poor districts. If you’re looking for personal security, far better to move to the suburbs than to pay taxes in New York.”
—John Kenneth Galbraith (b. 1908)