Nurses practicing acupuncture

Specialties NP

Published

Most states allow physicians to take a 100-300hour course to get certified in acupuncture. HMIeducation.com is a popular source. What about nurses: CRNA, NP, CNM? How did dentists, podiatrists, physicians, and chiropractors get allowed to do this but nurses did not? Are there any states that allow nurses to do acupuncture? I've google'd it and I still need help with getting these answers...

This is not a debate about how much more awesome a licensed acupuncturist is, or about the thousands of hours it takes to train one. I don't want to open an acupuncture shop or anything like that. I don't want to spend $40,000 (more like $300,000 when you consider income lost) to learn about herbs and chinese diagnosis, neglecting my primary profession in the 3 years of training. I want to continue practicing anesthesia and augment that practice by giving treatment for 3 conditions only: nausea, pain, and anxiety. These are directly related to anesthesia, often something I am causing with the medications I have to give.

The technique I am mainly interested in is auriculotherapy. Research is out there that validates the technique and there are predetermined points. Further, this is not even rooted in Chinese medicine, as a French physician pioneered it: see auriculotherapy.org. Can we learn a technique as nurses and apply it safely? Of course. My experience with the technique is that patients become interested in acupuncture for other ailments after their successful treatment perioperatively. At that point, the patients can go to the acupuncturist down the street for a thorough diagnosis and treatment.

So my question remains: are there nurses who practice acupuncture in the US without nccaom.org -based credentials? What about this program: http://www.americanmanualmedicine.com/index2.html ? Has anyone done this or know someone who has?

Thanks to all, including LAc's that provide a valuable service.

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Specializes in Family Practice, Mental Health.

If you have/were to develop a standardized procedure, I would imagine that you would be able to perform this procedure within your scope.

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Physical therapists are now dry needing which they claim is not acupuncture and they can do it with appropriate training in many states.

A few states have limited acupuncture license for ariculotherapy for detox. I have not seen guidelines for licensure for other reasons.

Battle field acupuncture is also interesting seminar description. You might reachout to that group and see if they have any info to help you Battlefield Acupuncture » Battlefield Acupuncture Seminars | Battlefield acupuncture, Advanced battlefield acupuncture, battlefield acupuncture seminars,acupuncture, auricular therapy, auriculothrapy, ear acupuncture

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