To be approved by the Board, an acupuncture and Asian
medicine educational and training curriculum shall consist of at least 2,050
hours of didactic and laboratory training and at least 950 hours of supervised
clinical instruction. The curriculum shall include the following coursework
that contains the following criteria:
(a) Basic Sciences
..........................350 hours
The curriculum in basic sciences shall prepare students to
enter postsecondary upper division biomedical and clinical science courses and
shall consist of at least 350 hours of didactic and laboratory instruction in
the following basic science courses:
(1) General biology;
(2) Chemistry, including organic and
biochemistry;
(3) General physics,
including a general survey of biophysics;
(4) General psychology, including counseling
skills;
(5) Anatomy--a survey of
microscopic, gross anatomy and neuroanatomy;
(6) Physiology--a survey of basic physiology,
including neurophysiology, endocrinology, and neurochemistry;
(7) Pathology and Pathophysiology--a survey
of the nature of disease and illness, including microbiology, immunology,
psychopathology, and epidemiology;
(8) Nutrition and
vitamins;
(b) Acupuncture
and Asian Medicine Principles, Theories and Treatment
..........................1,255 hours
The curriculum in acupuncture and Asian medicine principles,
theories, and treatment shall consist of at least 1,255 hours of didactic
instruction in the following principles, theories, prescription, and treatment
procedures of acupuncture and Asian medicine:
(1) Acupuncture and Asian Medicine Principles
and Theories
(A) Asian Medicine Principles and
Theory;
(B) Acupuncture Principles
and Theory;
(C) Asian Massage
(e.g., tui na or shiatsu) Principles and
Theory;
(D) Chinese Herbal Medicine
Principles and Theory, including relevant botany concepts (This subject area
shall consist of at least 450 hours of instruction);
(E) Acupuncture and Asian Medicine
Diagnosis;
(F) Acupuncture and
Asian Medicine Specialties, including dermatology, gynecology, pediatrics,
ophthalmology, orthopedics, internal medicine, geriatrics, family medicine,
traumatology, and emergency care;
(G) Classical acupuncture and Asian medicine
literature, including Jin Gui, Wen Bing/Shang Han, Nei Jing;
(H) Modern acupuncture and Asian medicine
literature.
(2)
Acupuncture and Asian Medicine Treatment
(A)
Integrated acupuncture and Asian medicine diagnostic and treatment
procedures;
(B) Acupuncture
techniques and treatment procedures, including electroacupuncture;
(C) Asian massage (e.g., tui
na or shiatsu), acupressure, and other techniques
utilizing manual therapy and mechanical devices;
(D) Exercise therapy, including breathing,
qi gong, and taiji quan;
(E) Herbal prescription, counseling, and
preparation;
(F) Asian and Western
clinical and medical nutrition, dietary, and supplement prescription and
counseling;
(G) Cold and heat
therapy, including moxibustion and ultrasound;
(H) Lifestyle counseling, and self-care
recommendations;
(I) Adjunctive
acupuncture procedures, including bleeding, cupping, gua sha,
and dermal tacks;
(J) Acupuncture
micro therapies, including auricular and scalp therapy;
(K) Hygienic standards, including clean
needle techniques. The clean needle technique portion of this subject shall use
the "Clean Needle Technique Manual 7th edition" (rev. January 2016), published
by the Council of Colleges of Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine, which is hereby
incorporated by reference. Students shall successfully complete the clean
needle technique portion of the hygienic standards subject prior to performing
any needling techniques on human beings;
(L) Equipment maintenance and
safety;
(M) Adjunctive acupoint
stimulation devices, including magnets and beads.
(c) Clinical Medicine, Patient Assessment and
Diagnosis ..........................240 hours
The curriculum in clinical medicine, patient assessment, and
diagnosis shall consist of at least 240 hours of didactic instruction and shall
prepare the student to possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary
to utilize standard physical examinations, laboratory and imaging studies, and
International Classification of Diseases (ICD) diagnostic principles to improve
treatment efficacy, patient safety, referral, and continuity of care; to
improve communication and collaboration of care with all other medical
providers; to assist in the evaluation and documentation of patient progress;
and to improve the acupuncturist's understanding of biochemical etiology and
pathology. Clinical medicine, patient assessment, and diagnostic skills
curriculum shall include the following:
(1) Comprehensive history taking;
(2) Standard physical examination and
assessment, including neuromusculoskeletal, orthopedic, neurological,
abdominal, and ear, nose, and throat examinations, and functional
assessment;
(3) Pharmacological
assessment, emphasizing side-effects and herb-drug interactions;
(4) Patient/practitioner rapport,
communication skills, including multicultural sensitivity;
(5) Procedures for ordering diagnostic
imaging, radiological, and laboratory tests and incorporating the resulting
data and reports;
(6) Clinical
reasoning and problem solving;
(7)
Clinical impressions and the formation of a working diagnosis, including
acupuncture and Asian medicine diagnoses, and the World Health Organization's
International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10);
(8) Awareness of at-risk populations,
including gender, age, indigent, and disease specific patients;
(9) Standard medical terminology;
(10) Clinical sciences--a review of internal
medicine, pharmacology, neurology, surgery, obstetrics/gynecology, urology,
radiology, nutrition, and public health;
(11) Clinical medicine--a survey of the
clinical practice of medicine, osteopathy, dentistry, psychology, nursing,
chiropractic, podiatry, naturopathy, and homeopathy to familiarize
practitioners with the practices of other health care
practitioners.
(d) Case
Management ..........................90 hours
The curriculum in case management shall consist of at least
90 hours of didactic instruction and shall prepare the student to manage
patient care as a primary health care professional, and shall include
instruction in the following subject:
(1) Primary care responsibilities;
(2) Secondary and specialty care
responsibilities;
(3) Psychosocial
assessment;
(4) Treatment
contraindications and complications, including drug and herb
interactions;
(5) Treatment
planning, continuity of care, referral, and collaboration;
(6) Follow-up care, final review, and
functional outcome measurements;
(7) Prognosis and future medical
care;
(8) Case management for
injured workers and socialized medicine patients, including a knowledge of
workers compensation/labor codes and procedures and qualified medical
evaluations;
(9) Coding procedures
for current procedural and diagnostic codes, including Current Procedural
Terminology (CPT) and International Classification of Disease ICD-10 diagnostic
codes;
(10) Medical-legal report
writing, expert medical testimony, and independent medical review;
(11) Special care/seriously ill
patients;
(12) Emergency
procedures.
(e) Practice
Management ..........................45 hours
The curriculum in practice management shall consist of at
least 45 hours of didactic instruction and shall include the following
subjects:
(1) Record keeping,
insurance billing, and collection;
(2) Business written communication;
(3) Knowledge of regulatory compliance and
jurisprudence (municipal, California, and federal laws, including OSHA, the
Labor Code, and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996
(HIPAA));
(4) Front office
procedures;
(5) Planning and
establishing a professional office;
(6) Practice growth and
development;
(7) Ability to
practice in interdisciplinary medical settings including hospitals;
(8) Risk management and insurance
issues;
(9) Ethics and peer
review.
(f) Public Health
..........................40 hours
The curriculum in public health shall consist of at least 40
hours of didactic instruction and shall include training in the principles of
public health, including the following subjects:
(1) Public and community health and disease
prevention;
(2) Public health
education;
(3) A minimum of eight
(8) hours in first-aid and adult/child cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) from
the American Red Cross, American Heart Association, or other organization with
an equivalent course approved by the Board;
(4) Treatment of chemical
dependency;
(5) Communicable
disease, public health alerts, and epidemiology.
(g) Professional Development
..........................30 hours
The curriculum in professional development shall consist of
at least 30 hours of didactic instruction and shall prepare the student with
the skills to continue to expand their knowledge, including instruction in the
following subjects:
(1) Research and
evidence based medicine;
(2)
Knowledge of academic peer review process;
(3) Knowledge and critique of research
methods;
(4) History of
medicine.
(h) Clinical
Practice ..........................950 hours
The curriculum in clinical practice shall consist of at least
950 hours in clinical instruction, 75% of which shall be in a clinic owned and
operated by the school, which includes direct patient contact where appropriate
in the following:
(1) Practice
Observation (minimum 150 hours)--supervised observation of the clinical
practice of acupuncture and Asian medicine with case presentations and
discussion;
(2) Diagnosis and
evaluation (minimum 275 hours)--the application of Eastern and Western
diagnostic procedures in evaluating patients;
(3) Supervised practice (minimum 275
hours)--the clinical treatment of patients with acupuncture and Asian medicine
treatment modalities listed in Sections 4927(d) and 4937(b) of the
Code.
(4) During the initial 275
hours of diagnosis, evaluation and clinical practice, the clinic supervisor
shall be physically present at all times during the diagnosis and treatment of
the patient. Thereafter, for a second period of 275 hours the clinic supervisor
shall be physically present at the needling of the patient. The clinic
supervisor shall otherwise be in close proximity to the location at which the
patient is being treated during the clinical instruction. The student shall
also consult with the clinic supervisor before and after each
treatment.
