Medical Acupuncture for Physicians presents the foundation of acupuncture theory, channel and point location, needling techniques, approaches to diagnosis and therapy, and patient management. It is a practice-oriented program that creates a sophisticated structure for the intelligent use of acupuncture. The course gives full dignity to both the medical tradition found in classical Chinese texts and to contemporary biomedical science, and encourages you to adapt acupuncture creatively into your specialty practice and clinical environment.
The training is organized into three units that involve lectures, home study and videocourse viewing, and closely supervised clinical training. The introductory weekend and core videocourse curriculum are the same for all participants, while the specialty videocourse curriculum and clinical units are offered in two pathways.
The primary care pathway focuses on applications of acupuncture to the broad range of clinical problems that are evaluated and treated by the primary practitioner. These problems can range from premorbid functional and stress-related disorders, to organic lesions, to neuromusculo-skeletal pain. The acupuncture models presented in the primary care videocourse and clinical units range from rarefied equilibration treatments aimed at re-establishing homeostasis, to dense neuromuscular stimulation.
The pain management pathway emphasizes acupuncture as treatment for patients referred to pain management specialty practices. This pathway addresses the pain of acute trauma, musculoskeletal problems such as myofascial pain and muscle tension headaches, pain of diskogenic lesions and peripheral neuropathies, and pain of organic and malignant lesions.
There is about an 85% overlap between the two pathways. The theoretical foundation for the pathways is identical: the introductory weekend, palpation and needling, core videocourse, textbook, syllabus, and handouts. The difference between the pathways is in the specialty videocourse lectures and in the practical emphasis in the clinical unit. Because physicians practicing acupuncture rarely treat only primary care or only pain management patients, participants following the primary care pathway are also introduced to pain management techniques, and, likewise, participants following the pain management pathway are familiarized with the full spectrum of medical applications.
The comprehensive HMI curriculum represents 300 hours of formal instruction in medical acupuncture. Participants receive the highest quality of hands-on instruction and theoretical and clinical information to enable them to integrate acupuncture responsibly into their medical practices at the conclusion of the program.
HMI offers an Intensive Training Option in the Medical Acupuncture for Physicians program. Participants in this option are given additional video and written preparatory material prior to the introductory weekend and the two clinical units, and spend more time than participants in the other pathways in supervised small groups with senior preceptors. The intensive curriculum was developed from HMI military acupuncture programs. Clinical techniques critical to physicians working in urgent care, rapid treatment, and trauma based environments are emphasized in this option, as are approaches to treating traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorders.
The Intensive Training Option is an ideal environment for physicians involved in acute pain management and rehabilitation of physically and psychologically traumatized patients. The goal for participants in this training is to have you competent and confident at the conclusion of the training, ready to launch immediately into intensive clinical service. It is demanding training and requires your full commitment and engagement. The additional fee provides expanded, comprehensive preceptor supervision and instruction in all activities as well as learning additional, specific clinical techniques useful for the urgent care environment.
Course Content
- Basic science foundations of acupuncture
- Clinical science levels of evidence
- Fundamentals of traditional acupuncture theory
- Hybrid contemporary model of acupuncture
- Channel and point function, location and palpation
- Integrated approaches to diagnosis and therapy
- Needling technique
- Patient management
- Practice building and billing
Learning Objectives
This course is designed to meet the needs of physicians seeking responsible and comprehensive training in the emerging discipline of medical acupuncture. In doing so, this CME activity addresses the demands of patients and physicians seeking a safe and time-tested complement or alternative to conventional medical therapies.If you participate conscientiously in all aspects of the training, this medical acupuncture program will enable you to:
- Apply this skill when addressing everyday musculoskeletal and headache pain problems in your practice, and thereby reduce exclusive reliance on pharmaceuticals;
- Use the acupuncture diagnostic model to interpret premorbid and stress-related problems that typically escape explanation, that is, address the "worried well" issues in your patients;
- Use acupuncture as an early intervention tool in managing chronic pain patients, as primary treatment or in collaboration with medications and other interventions;
- Treat functional and organic problems with acupuncture as either the unique approach or as a complement to conventional therapy;
- Relate on a more intimate, interactive, and practical level with your patients, and thus allow you to enjoy anew your practice of medicine.
Study Expectations
You must be prepared to devote a regular period each week to study the videos and locate points on yourself and family and friends. In this comprehensive 300-hour curriculum the clinical units taken at three and six months require five to six hours of video viewing and study each week.
Three to six months of serious independent clinical integration following the final unit will ground your experience and allow you to gain confidence and expertise in this new modality.