INTRODUCTION

Acupuncture today has become a highly respected and popular modality of medical treatment in the United States. The growing acceptance by physicians and patients is in large part due to the successful work of graduates of the Medical Acupuncture for Physicians program. This course is the most convenient, rigorous, efficient and reliable training program for busy physicians to acquire acupuncture clinical skills.

6,000 physicians have completed the program, which has been taught regularly since 1983 through the Office of Continuing Medical Education, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Beginning in 2006, several programs have been sponsored through the Stanford School of Medicine Office of Continuing Medical Education. Whether accredited by the UCLA or Stanford Schools of Medicine or exclusively by Helms Medical Institute, all Medical Acupuncture for Physicians courses consist of the same HMI curriculum and are taught by the HMI faculty.

This is a comprehensive program that has earned the reputation of conscientiously accomplishing its teaching goals and creating clinically competent physician acupuncturists.

REVISED CURRICULUM

The HMI Medical Acupuncture for Physicians curriculum has been revised to realistically accommodate the practice environments of most American physicians. This means we focus on developing clinical skills from the first session, and progressively enhance and expand theses skills unit by unit. During the introductory weekend we present the scientific and theoretical foundations of the discipline. Students are instructed in palpation and needling skills, and are trained in a half dozen acupuncture techniques to treat acute and subacute musculoskeletal pain.

At the end of the introductory weekend, you will be adequately skilled to apply these techniques in appropriate clinical circumstances. We expect at least 75 hours of conscientious home study of the printed and video material as preparation for each clinical unit. At Clinical One we train students in another half dozen acupuncture techniques to treat chronic musculoskeletal pain, along with the traditional acupuncture approach to energy circulation, patient examination, and diagnosis. By the conclusion of Clinical Two, assuming that you have studied conscientiously and practiced the techniques between clinical units, you will be comfortable treating musculoskeletal pain problems as well as general medical problems commonly accessible to acupuncture.

ABOUT HMI

HMI is dedicated to excellence in the teaching and practice of medical acupuncture. We are dedicated to cultivating and developing knowledgeable, committed, and skillful acupuncture teachers and to continual development of the curriculum.

HMI preceptors have completed a rigorous training process that stresses the highest standards of professionalism, respect for the tradition of acupuncture, attentiveness to the needs of our students, and creativity and enthusiasm in disseminating physician acupuncture education. All preceptors have completed the Medical Acupuncture for Physicians course, have passed the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture proficiency exam, and are practice members of the AAMA.

The first Medical Acupuncture for Physicians course was held in 1980 under the sponsorship of the American Holistic Medical Association. The next two courses, also under AHMA sponsorship, were held in 1980 and 1981.

Sponsorship shifted in 1983 to the Office of Continuing Medical Education of the UCLA School of Medicine, and in subsequent years course participation grew from 25 to 50 to 100 to 200 participants. In 1998 and 1999 the course expanded to 300 participants, and now requires two introductory units and six clinical sections each year. Alternate courses beginning in 2003 were co-sponsored with Stanford School of Medicine.

The HMI Medical Acupuncture for Physicians program continues to train an increasing number of physician acupuncturists each year, and continues to improve the quality of training in the basic course, the intermediate courses that follow, and in advanced and specialty courses. Our goal is to provide a thriving medical acupuncture training environment in the coming decades.

Acupuncture continues to rapidly grow in popularity, both among patients, and among physicians looking for ways to expand their practices, better serve their patients, and rekindle their passions as practitioners and healers. The demand for training led to the creation of HMI and the Medical Acupuncture For Physicians course, to enable the practice of medical acupuncture to expand in the current medical landscape as an enduring sub-specialty.