Americans Have Began to Study Acupuncture

Americans in greater numbers have began to study acupuncture and schools of acupuncture have been established in various parts of the country. Many states now recognize the medical and therapeutic value of acupuncture.

Acupuncturists are licensed for independent practice in. fifteen states - California, Florida, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington.

Four other states (Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Utah) as well as the District of Columbia license acupuncturists to work in collaboration with other physicians.

State recognition reflects the amount of research being carried out at centres such as the University of California, Downstate Medical Center New York, Upstate Medical Center in Rochester NJ, the Lemuel Shattuck Teaching Hospital in Boston and the University of Virginia.

Since 1981, the unifying force in American acupuncture has been the American Association for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AAAOM) which serves both as a forum for the profession and an advocate for new thought and directions.

 In 1982, the National Accreditation Commission for Schools and Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine was set up as an independent body to monitor the performance, integrity and quality of the acupuncture teaching establishments in the USA.

Acupuncture is steadily growing in the USA; there are some 4,000 practitioners currently at work and at least 300 new ones are accredited each year.