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QUESTIONS ASKED BY LICENSING BOARDS
Do state acupuncture licensing boards utilize ACAOM educational
requirements as a basis of licensure?
What are the benefits of utilizing ACAOM accreditation and
candidacy as a requirement for licensing practitioners?
What options does a licensing board have for using ACAOM requirements?
Are ACAOM accreditation and NCCAOM certification related?
Is it better for a licensing board to use ACAOM accreditation
or NCCAOM certification for licensing practitioners?
What if a licensing board thinks that licensees should meet educational
requirements in addition to ACAOM's requirements?
Does ACAOM notify licensing boards of changes in accreditation
standards or the accreditation status of schools?
Why did ACAOM develop educational standards for an accredited doctoral
degree in Oriental medicine?
Can a state licensing board use the doctoral level educational standards
instead of master's level standards for licensing practitioners?
Do
state acupuncture licensing boards utilize ACAOM educational requirements
as a basis of licensure?
Most states that license acupuncture or Oriental medicine practitioners
utilize ACAOM's educational requirements in some capacity. For example,
some states specifically require applicants for licensure to have graduated
from an accredited or candidate school, or its foreign equivalent. Some
of the different ways that states can utilize ACAOM's requirements are examined
below.
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What are the benefits of utilizing ACAOM accreditation and candidacy as
a requirement for licensing practitioners?
Accreditation is the most widely utilized external review process in the
U.S. for ensuring the quality of educational programs. The accreditation
process involves examining a wide range of institutional and programmatic
factors, including the quality and sufficiency of faculty, the quality and
depth of academic programs, the adequacy of facilities and library resources,
the adequacy of financial resources, and many other areas. "Specialized
and Professional" accreditation agencies such as ACAOM focus only on programs
within a given field such as acupuncture and Oriental medicine, and develop
educational standards that reflect the level and depth of training necessary
to practice safely and effectively within the field. Because the accreditation
process is rigorous and demanding, accreditation is also one of the requirements
for allowing higher education institutions to participate in federal loan
programs. For these reasons, many medical professions base eligibility for
licensure on graduation from an accredited training program. States that
utilize ACAOM's accreditation process for licensure have demonstrated a
superb safety record for their licensed practitioners.
In order
to ensure that accreditation agencies carry out their work effectively,
the U.S. Department of Education has developed stringent requirements for
recognizing such agencies. ACAOM is the only USDE-recognized accreditation
agency for the field of acupuncture and Oriental medicine. Remarkably, ACAOM
was recently reviewed by the USDE and received its maximum 5-year recognition
period. Moreover, as a specialized and professional accreditation agency
for acupuncture and Oriental medicine, ACAOM is the only accreditation agency
with extensive expertise in this complex medical field. In short, by utilizing
ACAOM accreditation or candidacy status as a basis for approving educational
programs, states have the assurance that these programs have undergone a
rigorous external review and offer programs that train competent, safe and
effective practitioners. This in turn helps to protect public safety and
ensures that high quality acupuncture and Oriental medicine services are
available.
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What options does a licensing board have for using ACAOM requirements?
There are several ways that ACAOM's requirements can be incorporated into
the requirements of state acupuncture licensing boards. A common approach
is to specify in regulations that licensure applicants trained in the U.S.
must have graduated from ACAOM accredited or candidate programs. (In the
case of foreign graduates, the regulation can specify that the training
be equivalent to the level set by ACAOM.). Typically, a licensing board
will also require passage of the National Certification Commission of Acupuncture
and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) certification examination.
Another
approach is to require that licensure applicants have NCCAOM certification.
Since NCCAOM requires an individual to have graduated from an ACAOM accredited
or candidate program -- or its equivalent -- in order to sit for the certification
exam, utilizing NCCAOM certification automatically ensures education at
the ACAOM level.
Some
states simply use ACAOM's list of accredited and candidate programs as the
sole basis for deciding whether a licensure applicant has legitimate training,
but may choose not to exclude applicants who attended unaccredited programs.
While the latter approach has some benefit in terms of public protection,
it is not ideal since there are usually in existence a few substandard training
programs that are not capable of achieving ACAOM candidacy or accreditation.
ACAOM
is available to serve as a resource to states that are setting up licensing
boards for acupuncture and Oriental medicine, as well as states that are
considering changing their licensure requirements. We are happy to meet
in person or by phone with state regulators and licensing boards to discuss
our standards and accreditation process.
Are ACAOM accreditation and NCCAOM certification related?
Certification and accreditation are different, but related, procedures for
ensuring that practitioners in a field are qualified. Accreditation helps
ensure that degrees and diplomas awarded by educational institutions are
genuine indicators of quality. Professional certification, on the other
hand, is a credential given to practitioners based on passing a rigorous
examination; certification therefore ensures that practitioners have a reasonable
command of a body of professional knowledge.
In general,
a certification agency in a professional field will not allow someone to
sit for the certification exam unless they also demonstrate that they have
been formally trained in a recognized institution. This is true of the National
Certification Commission of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM),
which requires that acupuncture and Oriental medicine practitioners trained
in the U.S. be graduated from an ACAOM accredited or candidate program in
order to be eligible for certification. In addition, NCCAOM requires foreign-trained
acupuncture and Oriental medicine practitioners to have graduated from programs
equivalent to ACAOM accredited and candidate programs.
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Is it better for a licensing board to use ACAOM accreditation or NCCAOM
certification for licensing practitioners?
Either of these approaches provides a strong basis for licensure. Many states,
however, find that the most effective approach is to combine these requirements.
One way to combine the approaches is to require that licensure applicants
be graduates of ACAOM-accredited or candidate programs and also become NCCAOM
certified. Another approach is to require graduation from an ACAOM-accredited
or candidate program and to use the NCCAOM examination as the state's licensure
examination.
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What if a licensing board thinks that licensees should meet educational
requirements in addition to ACAOM's requirements?
While the vast majority of states that utilize accreditation/candidacy
as the educational basis for licensure do not require additional coursework
beyond what is included in ACAOM's acupuncture and Oriental medicine core
curriculum, there are a few states that do require additional coursework
in areas of particular concern or interest. ACAOM believes that it is
within the purview of states to require additional course work which have
been documented as necessary to serve the consumer interest, and ACAOM
is available to clarify any issues with states regarding the content of
the core curriculum. As part of the Commission's accreditation review
process, ACAOM requires that educational programs meet state requirements
for licensure and has cited programs for failure to meet applicable state
requirements. Also, ACAOM has on a number of occasions revised the core
curriculum based on the needs of state licensing agencies; we welcome
your input in this regard.
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Does ACAOM notify licensing boards of changes in accreditation standards
or the accreditation status of schools?
ACAOM recognizes that state licensing boards and other regulatory agencies
rely on accurate and timely information on the accreditation status of programs
in carrying out their regulatory functions. For this reason, ACAOM keeps
these agencies apprized of any changes in the accreditation status of individual
programs, including withdrawal of candidacy or accreditation, being put
on probation, and other adverse actions that might affect the program's
recognition within a state. All state licensure boards receive ACAOM's newsletters
and other communications regarding ACAOM's program decisions and changes
to its standards.
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Why did ACAOM develop educational standards for an accredited doctoral degree
in Oriental medicine?
The development of doctoral degree standards grew out of a strong aspiration
on the part of many practitioners and educators in the field of acupuncture
and Oriental medicine that training programs be available at the highest
degree level - a level equivalent to some other well-established medical
fields. As the profession of acupuncture and Oriental medicine has grown
and matured in the U.S., this aspiration has now become possible to achieve.
In 2000, after many years of work, educational standards for a clinical
doctorate were adopted by ACAOM.. The standards reflect a consensus within
the field of what constitutes a credible doctoral program, as well as the
level of training that exists in other medical fields that offer doctoral
level training.
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Can a state licensing board use the doctoral level educational standards
instead of master's level standards for licensing practitioners?
Currently, master's degree programs are nationally recognized as providing
training sufficient for entry-level practitioners. The master's level core
curriculum was designed, in fact, to ensure entry-level competency.
There
may be a time in the future when state licensing boards will have the option
of basing licensure on graduation from a doctoral program once there is
a critical mass of institutions offering doctoral programs. However, because
the doctoral standards were so recently developed, there are not yet any
institutions in acupuncture and Oriental medicine that offer accredited
doctoral programs in Oriental medicine. For this reason, it is currently
premature for state licensing boards to consider basing licensure on graduation
from a doctoral program.
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