The standards for the practice of acupuncture vary from state to state.

In Massachusetts, prior to acupuncture school, one has to complete 2 years of undergraduate study at an accredited college or university plus general biology, human anatomy and physiology. Then one has to graduate from a Committee on Acupuncture approved acupuncture school and have a minimum of 1905 hours of clinical and didactic instruction of which a minimum of 100 hours must be clinical. In addition, one needs to have a minimum of 30 hours of herbal medicine training. Once the training has been completed, graduates sit for the National Board Exam given by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM), which is the only national board examination certifying Acupuncturists in the United States.

The 7 1/2 hour exam is broken up into 3 modules: Foundations of Chinese Medicine, Acupuncture and Point Location, and Biomedicine. An Acupuncturist, upon passing the NCCAOM exam is awarded the title “Diplomate of Acupuncture of the NCCAOM” (Dipl.Ac.). Certification is renewed every four years with the requirement of completing at least 60 hours of continuing education.

Ann Federowicz’s training consisted of 1336 didactic hours, 150 practice management hours, 45 senior project hours and 725 clinical practice hours.

The Committee on Acupuncture of the Board of Registration in Medicine regulates acupuncture in the state of Massachusetts. Only those who pass the NCCAOM exam are awarded the title of “Licensed Acupuncturist” (LAc.) by the state of Massachusetts. The Acupuncture and Oriental Society of Massachusetts (AOMSM) is the professional association for nationally board certified Acupuncturists in this state.

There are other standards for those calling themselves Acupuncturists in Massachusetts:

Medical Doctors (M.D.), Doctors of Osteopathy (D.O.) and Chiropractors may practice acupuncture in Massachusetts without any specific training. They call themselves “Medical Acupuncturists”.

An MD can become certified in medical acupuncture by the American Board of Medical
Acupuncture with a minimum of 300 hours of systematic acupuncture education. 100 of those hours need to be clinical training.

Ask your Acupuncturist if he or she is NCCAOM certified (Diplo.Ac) and a Licensed Acupuncturist (LAc.) with the Massachusetts Committee on Acupuncture of the Board of Registration in Medicine, to ensure that you are receiving care from a well-qualified Acupuncturist. If you have any questions about the practice of acupuncture, please call the Acupuncture and Oriental Society of Massachusetts at 617-340-9566.