Medical Training

A clinical graduate degree is a prerequisite to practice Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM.). Undergraduate pre-medical courses as well as a bachelor's degree are required for admission. Once accepted into an accredited TCM medical school, the program requires another four years of studying both TCM and Western medical sciences. During this time, comprehensive exams are required to be passed in order to advance from one year to another. Afterwards, a clinical internship is required to complete the graduate program in TCM. The amount of education or training required is equivalent to a doctorate program in optometry, dentistry, podiatry, pharmacy, osteopathy, etc. A state board exam is required to be passed in order to be licensed to practice or board certified. In most states, it is governed by the acupuncture board, which allows on to carry the title of Licensed Acupuncturist (L.Ac.). In California and most other states, TCM/Oriental medical practitioners with professional title of "L.Ac." are primary healthcare providers which mean that the patient does not require a referral from an M.D. (conventional medical doctor).

Since TCM is becoming more mainstream healthcare as evidenced by the enormous demand on the part of consumers for natural and holistic forms of medicine, it is important to know the difference between conventional Western allopathic medical doctors (M.D.) and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) or Oriental medical practitioners (L.Ac.).

The designation Licensed Acupuncturist (L.Ac.) is misleading because it leads one to believe that all we do is acupuncture when in fact acupuncture is only one modality of a complete medical system. Traditional Chinese medicine as it is most commonly referred to today is a complete natural and holistic medical system unto itself. Using natural diagnostic methods, a TCM holistic diagnosis is formulated and the resulting treatment is then administered. Acupuncture may or may not be part of the treatment (see other modalities defined within). Therefore, the term-licensed acupuncturist (L.Ac.) does not adequately describe the scope of our academic and clinical training. In day-to-day clinical practice the licensed acupuncturist (L.Ac.) practices medicine. If it were only acupuncture that we performed then an L.Ac. Medical practitioner would be considered a technician. However, quite the contrary is true. The laws and regulations defines a licensed acupuncturist (L.Ac.) as a primary care physician when practice within the scope of our medical field. Also, in most states including California, L.Ac's are the only health care practitioners required to study herbal medicine in order to obtain their medical degree, to be examined for competency by the state boards, and specifically licensed to prescribe herbs. The general public does not realizes that Licensed Acupuncturists have much more training than other health care professionals who have undergone a seminar or certificate program in alternative/complementary medicine, herbs, acupuncture, massage, etc.

Now let's talk about "medical acupuncture". When you come across this term it refers to a conventional allopathic physician (MD) who practices acupuncture but has no formal training in the art and science of Traditional Chinese Medicine. MDs may practice acupuncture because the American Medical Association has determined that acupuncture falls "within the scope of their training". In order to legitimize this practice, MDs have formed a separate designation of "medical acupuncture". Conventional MD doctors have attempted to formalize their practice of acupuncture within their allopathic medical practice by completing a short certificate program, home-study course, or seminar in the rudiments of acupuncture. This certificate only requires minimal amount of hours of actual acupuncture training with no clinical internship in acupuncture. On the other hand, a "LAC" clinician has an Oriental medicine degree with its emphasis on holistic and natural medicine. Further analysis of this phenomenon reveals that most if not all MDs are using acupuncture only as a "pain management" protocol. This practice misrepresents acupuncture to the public because those who seek medical care from a licensed acupuncturist know that acupuncture can treat pain as well as a myriad of internal diseases.

The American Association of Oriental Medicine holds the following position, "Abbreviated programs in acupuncture and Oriental medicine pose a potential endangerment to the public because of their inadequacies. At the same time, these programs represent an ethical breakdown." As members of the AAOM, we support this position.