CCAOM has released two new position papers regarding Clean Needle Technique. (No mention on the AAAOM or CCAOM sites about this important news.) We practitioners are responsible for knowing the latest standards for safe practice, so here are the new position papers on the use of gloves and skin preparation for your convenience.
NCCAOM has finally released the report on 2013 Demographics from the JTA survey. 52K as the median pre-tax income is not good news, especially since most of us get no benefits (no paid sick leave, no paid vacation, no disability or health insurance, no retirement savings plan). (Then again, many of us seem to be working part-time, often by choice. So maybe the figure isn’t so crazy?) Math lovers among my readers — feel free to share what additional number-crunching reveals. I’m not a numbers person, but I’m pretty certain that the average income will be below the median income figure.
67% of respondents hold only the NCCAOM AC credential. If this accurately reflects the overall credential distribution within the profession the states requiring the OM credentials are off-limits to 2/3 of practitioners. That can’t be a good thing. (I’m still waiting for someone to explain the public health issues that led to the upcoming change in FL. And I sure wish FSOMA and the Florida Board would do a better job of spreading word of that change.) Do those with the OM credential have a higher median income to offset the additional education and credentialing costs? The NCCAOM should collect that data next time.
The NCCAOM survey is designed to gather information from acupuncture practitioners so there is no data on how many acupuncture school grads have left the profession. I hope the CCAOM will soon require schools to track those numbers.
The California Board came in for some media scrutiny recently. If the extra attention helps eliminate some of the extra hoops (which equal extra costs) necessary to practice in California, it will be a silver lining. I hear there might be some trouble on the New Mexico board as well (no details, though). Have independent boards been a winner for the profession?
It wouldn’t be an update without a little Dry Needling talk. The vocal segment of our community obsessed with the practice hasn’t been crowing about the Tennessee AG Dry Needling ruling that IMT/TPDN is not within the current scope of Physical Therapy. (Thanks National Policy Group for keeping us informed!) No doubt the concluding paragraphs referring to a legislative fix, as happened in Utah, tempers the celebration. And while I’m on the subject, here is a legal analysis of the faulty argument that the use of acupuncture needles by non-acupuncturists is illegal. Can we please stop saying that now? (As of Spring 2015, acupuncturists were unable to get needles from California suppliers, due to labeling of acupuncture needles as dangerous devices. Around that time the NCASI FDA complaint became hidden on the NCASI site. Here’s a copy NCASI – dry-needling-violations.)
I suppose this is enough to keep everyone busy for a while….