Returning Warriors

We invite graduates of past Medical Acupuncture for Physicians courses to join an upcoming class as a “Returning Warrior.”  Physicians who have completed the MAFP course within the past four years may take any or all of the four-day clinical units.  If more than four years have passed, graduates may be requested to register for all three live units due to evolving course curriculum.  Contact HMI to discuss your situation and goals.

Benefits of repeating the clinical units include:

  • Honing acupuncture skills that may have ebbed during a period of lapsed acupuncture practice;
  • Discovering deeper skills and understanding than you were able to achieve during the first time through;
  • Benefiting from improvements in the clinical sessions that have occurred since first taking the course;
  • Selecting and absorbing the video material without the pressure of having to learn the complete curriculum from scratch on a tight deadline.

Topics covered at each live unit are as follows:

Module One:

  • Auricular acupuncture
  • Surface and myofascial techniques for treating musculoskeletal pain (Surface Release, Tendinomuscular Meridians, Trigger Point Deactivation, Two-Needle Technique, Gua Sha scraping)
  • Mega Mu Shu
  • Safe Default Initial Treatments
  • Introductory work with the Principal Meridians

Module Two:

  • Energy circulation through the Principal Meridians
  • Shu-Mu subsystem
  • Percutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (PENS)
  • Deep needling and periosteal techniques
  • Five Phases and the GAM treatment
  • Introduction to Curious Meridians
  • Practice Management panel

Module Three:

  • Intermediate PENS and Periosteal stimulation
  • Distinct Meridian subsystem
  • General medical applications of acupuncture
  • Energetic balancing treatments
  • Needling proficiency and excellence in needling challenging points
  • Microsystem diagnosis
  • Patient cases

Returning Warriors have access to the homestudy videos and current course handouts. References that have been updated, including the course syllabus, will be provided; books and materials provided during a student’s original course enrollment that have not changed are expected to be provided by the returning student. Returning Warriors are expected to complete the same homework assignments as the regular students in order to receive credit for home study.

Note that spaces are limited for Returning Warriors at each session.

Tuition

  • The fee to attend Module One OR Module Two OR Module Three is $2500 (up to 125 credit hours per unit).
  • The fee to attend all three course modules is $6900 IF all application materials are received and tuition is paid in full no later than six weeks prior to the start of Module One.

For the Fall 2023 – Spring 2024 units, graduates from September 2019 and later may select which clinical units they wish to attend. For the Spring-to-Fall 2024 units, graduates from 2020 and later may select which clinical units they wish to attend. Earlier graduates may be requested to register for all three clinical units due to evolving course curriculum. Contact HMI to discuss your situation and goals.

Returning Warrior spaces are limited. To apply for a position in a current or future course, please fill out the application form below.

Testimonials from doctors who benefited from the Returning Warrior program at different points in their acupuncture study and practice:

Back-to-Back

I didn’t prepare well for my pain clinical unit. When I realized what a career-changing program this could be, I worked my tail off for the primary care unit. I’m glad I did, because now I feel ready to use acupuncture seriously.

William Tronolone, M.D., Morristown, New Jersey

The Following Season

My follow-up course gave me the opportunity to ask more directed and clinically relevant questions. Surely I must have heard the pearls and nuances the first time through, but I don’t remember it!

Richard Hays, M.D., Phoenix, Arizona

After the pain course I was able to follow and understand the thought processes of setting up an acupuncture treatment regimen, but this was a slow and hesitant process. Early after the start of the second course something clicked: The creation of a treatment plan was no longer hard labor. It became an exhilarating, playful experience.

Froukje Beynen, M.D., Fountain Hills, Arizona

My experience of an additional clinical unit was positive due to the gentle guidance of all the instructors. At no time was I made to feel inadequate or uncomfortable. Several actually pulled me aside to offer words of encouragement or suggest clinical pearls.

Estelle Whitney, M.D., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Several Years Later

I took the clinical unit a second time because I didn’t feel that I had prepared adequately when I took the pain module. I had already discovered that I wanted to know more than the pain management applications. Being extra motivated after the first module, the studying for the second was much easier and I retained so much more of the material. I have a lot of fun with acupuncture and my patients love it.

Cindy Romero, M.D., Santa Rosa, California

Following completion of my first clinical unit I felt well prepared – although somewhat insecure – to begin my clinical medical acupuncture practice. After two years I began to wonder if I was still doing it right or if I could do it better. I felt there were patients and treatments that remained confusing.

I was happy to find out that repeating a clinical unit more than met my goal. I was able to refine both my palpation and needling skills, and added a level of sophistication to my understanding of the treatment protocols. I also began to use the energetic treatments I had previously avoided.

Jeff Draisin, M.D., San Francisco, California