Acupuncture Education

Between conversations on Facebook, dialogues on list serves, and college tours with my child, I’ve been thinking about acupuncture education a lot recently. There are several topics I plan to address in the next few weeks.  First off —

To those considering becoming an acupuncturist:

  • Talk to practitioners in your area. Do they recommend the school they attended? (Ask if they are employed by the school in any capacity to help evaluate their response.) Are most of their classmates are still in practice? How long did it take them to establish a successful practice? (How do they define success?) Are they easily able to make their student loan payments? Are they on an income-based repayment plan?
  • What percentage of the school’s graduates are still in practice 3/5/10 years out. The admissions office should be able to tell you this. They won’t be able to. Don’t be fooled – knowing the percentage of students passing the credentialing exams is not sufficient data to make a major investment. And make sure to ask what they mean by “still in practice.”  Here’s one school’s information about graduate success.
  • Will the education you receive at the school enable you to practice in the states you might want to practice in. Verify the information the schools provide, as many students have been misled. State requirements vary and are changing. Some only approve graduates of particular schools, some require additional education in certain subjects, some are very specific about whether the school has full ACAOM accreditation (ACAOM approved, or ACAOM candidate status won’t do it).
  • While schools may say that LAcs are employed in hospitals and other health care settings, know that this is a tiny percentage of practitioners. The vast majority of practitioners are establishing their own private practices upon graduation. What are the schools business classes like? Do they bring in marketing experts, accountants, lawyers, to give you guidance?
  • In a recent NCCAOM survey 62% of respondents reported a personal income, before taxes, of less than 65K.  Most “employment” situations for LAcs do not include sick time, paid vacation, family leave, health insurance, disability insurance, retirement savings plans, or payment for time spent on administrative tasks. If you are thinking oh, 30 clients/week at $80.00 = $124,000 — I’ll be rich, you should think again.Your ongoing expenses are likely to include fees for licensure, your NCCAOM credential, the CEU expenses to maintain that credential, malpractice insurance, liability insurance for your office, rent and utilities, marketing, supplies, taxes (of course) which are higher for the self-employed. If you intend to work within the insurance system know that while you may build a practice more quickly, the amount you receive as reimbursement can be changed at the whim of the insurance company. Expect that some amount of your time and money will be spent on additional services to help you track and pursue reimbursements.

Don’t get me wrong.  Many practitioners love what they do and wouldn’t trade it for anything.  This includes people who admit that they are struggling financially. I’m not saying don’t go to acupuncture school. I am saying do the research you would do before any other 80K (or more) purchase.

 

Copyright —

© Elaine Wolf Komarow and The Acupuncture Observer, 2013-2033. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express written permission from Elaine Wolf Komarow is prohibited. Excerpts and links are encouraged, provided that full and clear credit is given with specific direction to the original content.

13 thoughts on “Acupuncture Education

  1. Hi Everyone,

    Yes, observed you would be right. Sorry, about that. I went to two different schools. The first one being Samra University in LA, CA which tried to distinguish itself by claiming to the oldest acupuncture school in the US. I transferred in my second year because the school move over a jail holding facility and I felt that was dangerous and the school was making poor decisions. I transferred to Santa Barbara School of Oriental Medicine in CA. Unfortunately, both schools are now closed. Yo San and Emperors are the only ones left in LA although I think there might be one more still open but I can’t remember the name. At the time I attended school CA had the best schools at that time besides the schools in Boston and New Mexico. I am not sure what schools have the reputation today. This was back in the early 90’s. I hope that helps.

  2. Hi Everyone,

    I know from the close friends I went to school with which is about four of us I am the only one with an activate license. I see on line a few people I went to school with still practicing. I had about 50 people in my graduating class I would say I have seen less than half of them advertise their services. Some remained in CA and others have scattered to other states. I think the percentage of practicing acupuncturist ten years out from graduation is very low. This is just an attempt to answer your question.

    • Susan,

      It might be useful for potential students reading this to know where you went to school.

  3. All great points to consider. I might add the additional factors of considering a new career in acupuncture at mid-life. Consider what comes with advancing age and the health conditions that go with it. At the very least, you will tire more easily and may need to take more time off for health maintenance. You are very fortunate if you have benefits or retirement plan from other employment, It is possible that you may never pay off your school loans. The school loan situation has grown much more threatening since I began, and I don’t see it improving for us anytime soon. My belief in my invincibility has been considerably tempered by age. Still, even if I ‘knew’ all of this in advance, I would have still chosen to spend the rest of my life as an acupuncturist.

    • I wish we had some way of knowing how many have invested in this career who found themselves unable to spend the rest of their life in their chosen profession. I know this is not unique to acupuncturists — others have advanced degrees in fields that don’t support them.

  4. Great points. Real important stuff here. Most buyers/students never ask these questions. Two more….

    What is the daily accrual of interest on $80k at 6% annual rate?

    Once the loan comes up what is total payoff ten years out?

    I too believe an acupuncture profession is a great calling. Just be clear what you’re signing up for.

    I’m in this field because of the “people” rewards. That gratitude of a client well-served. Important to not resent the profession for the realities that I wasn’t made aware of. Most schools are not interested in providing facts. Don’t balk at asking the tough questions from clinicians.

    All the Best!
    Pete

    • One bit of data that might be easier to collect — what percentage of those who have taken out loans for acupuncture school are repaying under income based repayment plans? That would provide a good snapshot of how relatively recent grads are managing.

  5. Observed,

    Your point about scope of practice is also an important point. What disturbs me is the lack of cohesiveness in our profession as a whole. There seems to be a sense of we need more regulation from our organization (NCCAOM) and some fellow practitioners but where is the leadership that is lacking on pushing our profession forward. I feel like acupuncturist are always being scrutinized but never being recognized for the work good that we have succeed in proving. I hope that makes sense and I get my point across. I apologize if I did not.

    • No apologies necessary, Susan. One clarification — the NCCAOM is not “our” organization. The NCCAOM is a credentialing organization. Their needs and the needs of working professionals will not always be aligned. For instance, all states requiring the full NCCAOM OM credential would be good for the NCCAOM — they would make more money. It might be good for the schools, as the full OM education costs students more. Would it be good for the profession? Well, most would say that increasing the cost of our credentials and our education would not be good, especially for those of us who do not want to practice herbal medicine.

      There isn’t more cohesiveness because most of those who have been in positions of power have pushed for actions which benefit only certain segments of the professional community. There has been no attempt to identify areas that would be beneficial for all and put the resources and efforts into those areas.

  6. Elaine, this is an excellent list for aspiring acupuncturists to consider. How about specifying: conduct research about how many states now (or soon will ) require the NCCAOM qualification in Chinese Herbs, the DOM designation, or other qualifications or advanced degrees in Chinese Medicine in order to set up practice.
    And, there is always California….. I believe California requires one to have taken certain undergraduate courses such as neurobiology/neurophysiology and organic chemistry. AND you might want to add: look up the scope of practice for acupuncturists in the states where you may want to practice. I would imagine that many aspiring acupuncturists don’t even know what a “scope of practice” is – I certainly did not!

    • Thanks Nancy. Yes, I was certainly attempting to warn people to be very informed about what education and credentials they will need to practice in particular states. That is easier said than done of course. For instance, look for the credentials needed to practice in Florida and you will be very unlikely to learn that you will need the full set of NCCAOM OM exams if you are not licensed by October 1,2014. This information has not been readily available on the board website or from FSOMA.

      As for scope of practice, my caveat is that it is also important to know the implications of “scope of practice” and I find that many in our profession don’t. For instance, ask on Facebook what state has the best scope of practice for LAcs and people will float the states like Florida and New Mexico in which the written scope is detailed. However, if something like ordering labs is in your scope, you could also be held liable if you don’t order a lab when there might have been a “need” for one. And, practitioners sometimes complain about what they perceive as a limited scope in Virginia. However, while the written scope in Virginia says little, the practical scope is quite generous.

      I guess what I would say is read the things I’ve written about scope and then think about what is important to you. Which is better, for example, — a state in which herbs are in the scope but you need to have full herbal training and credentials, or a state in which the scope is silent on herbs but requires education only in acupuncture?

  7. Observed,

    Good advice!!! I wish I had read that many years ago. I do love acupuncture anyway despite the troubles I have had. I am not sure I would have pursued it as a career knowing what I know now. I think it is also important to know what kind of lifestyle you are going to have. When I went to school I was single with no child. Today, I am a single Mom and it was impossible for me to wear all the hats I needed to as an acupuncturist. I did not plan to be a single Mom it just happened. If you know certain things about yourself in advance that might also help make a good decision. Thanks for the honest evaluation.

    • You are welcome Susan. I think the take-away from what you write is that life is unpredictable. That is true regardless of your career, but without things like disability insurance and sick leave, life changes can be far more stressful and damaging to your long-term economic health. Who can be certain that their steadily employed partner who has work-associated benefits won’t lose a job or split, that they won’t themselves have an injury, or have to take care of a sick child.

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