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:
“The United States is just now the oldest country in the world, there always is an oldest country and she is it, it is she who is the mother of the twentieth century civilization. She began to feel herself as it just after the Civil War. And so it is a country the right age to have been born in and the wrong age to live in.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)
“The popular colleges of the United States are turning out more educated people with less originality and fewer geniuses than any other country.”
—Caroline Nichols Churchill (1833–?)
“You are, I am sure, aware that genuine popular support in the United States is required to carry out any Government policy, foreign or domestic. The American people make up their own minds and no governmental action can change it.”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)
“The United States is a republic, and a republic is a state in which the people are the boss. That means us. And if the big shots in Washington don’t do like we vote, we don’t vote for them, by golly, no more.”
—Willis Goldbeck (1900–1979)
“In a moment when criticism shows a singular dearth of direction every man has to be a law unto himself in matters of theatre, writing, and painting. While the American Mercury and the new Ford continue to spread a thin varnish of Ritz over the whole United States there is a certain virtue in being unfashionable.”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)