Licenses granted to acupuncturists vary state to state in both name and qualifications required to practice. As a consumer, it is best to check with your state to find out if your acupuncture practitioner is licensed and certified. The state of Nevada has some of the toughest requirements in the US for licensing Oriental Medicine Doctors (the title granted to acupuncturists in Nevada). You can read the regulations here, but I will summarize:
In the state of Nevada, Oriental Medicine Doctors (i.e. licensed acupuncturists) are required to:
1. Earn a BA or BS undergraduate degree; many schools such as Wongu University require students to have BA/BS completed at time of application. Some states, such as California, allow 60 college credits to suffice for entry to school.
2. Possess a Masters of Oriental Medicine (MTOM, MSOM, MSEAM, MTCM, etc.) from an accredited Oriental Medicine College or University, completing 2500 didactic (classroom) hours and 500 clinical hours of supervised practice and observation in the campus acupuncture clinic (most programs surpass the 500 hour requirement). The Masters required for acupuncturist in most states is a four-year post-graduate degree. Most OMDs complete their program within 4-5 years.
3. Earn National Certification in Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine by passing National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) exams.
4. Pass the Nevada State Board of Oriental Medicine licensing exam, administered twice annually, with final licensing subject to the approval of the Nevada State Board of Oriental Medicine (NSBOM), after passing a background check.
These are each big hurdles, and like all professional examinations, the tests are comprehensive and high stakes (not to mention expensive!). Oriental Medicine school is a comprehensive program where students learn Western anatomy and physiology, pathology, and western physical assessment, Chinese herbs and formulas, Oriental Medicine and Acupuncture theory and practice, and other topics such as nutrition, History of Medicine, and bodywork such as acupressure and tuina. School clinics give students supervised practice to members of the public, many schools have partnerships with clinics outside of school for students to gain further supervised practice.
In short, the four years of post-graduate education that OMDs and licensed acupuncturists complete isn’t just like medical school – it IS medical school, with a difference in subjects taught. While some states allow herbal medicine and acupuncture to be licensed seperately, Oriental Medicine is an alternative therapy that has not only a long history, but a rigorous path to licensure in most states in the US.