The state of California has led the nation in the field of acupuncture, being the first to license qualified practitioners as primary health care professionals in 1979. To qualify for licensing in California, a student must attend a California Acupuncture Board-approved school to receive theoretical and clinical training and graduate with a master's degree.
Upon graduation, qualifying candidates must pass a comprehensive state licensing exam. Acupuncturists receive a license to practice only after all studies and training requirements have been scrupulously met, and the state's examination has been passed. Acupuncturists must also take continuing education courses in order to renew their licenses.
A student of acupuncture first spends at least two years in pre-acupuncture studies at a college or university. Then, the student attends an accredited college of acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine for three or four years.
In addition to having over 3000 hours of rigorous classroom studies and 900 laboratory hours, the student must serve over 1000 hours as an intern at an outpatient clinic. There, the student experiences results from hundreds of acupuncture treatments from hundreds of patients.
At the satisfactory completion of these five or more years of education and intern training, the Master's degree in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (MAOM) is conferred.
