People frequently ask me to explain the difference between my education and the acupuncture education of Physicians, Chiropractors, and Physical Therapists.

In the Commonwealth of Virginia, I am required to have 1,905 combined hours of education and supervised clinical training (1,245 hours of education and 660 hours of supervised clinical training) from an accredited school. I must then be certified by the NCCAOM, which means I have passed three board exams to become a Diplomate of Acupuncture. Then I can be licensed by the Board of Medicine through the Virginia Department of Health Professions.

In Virginia, physicians are required to have 200 hours of training, with 50 of those hours being clinical. They are also licensed by the Board of Medicine.

To find out the vastly different state to state requirements for physicians to practice acupuncture, visit this site: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5512332/

Chiropractors (Board of Medicine licensees) have similar requirements (200 hours of training).

States that consider Acupuncture outside the scope of practice of Chiropractors:

• California

• Georgia

• Hawaii

• Kentucky

• Michigan

• Mississippi

• Montana

• New Jersey

• New York

• Nevada

• Oregon

• Pennsylvania

• Rhode Island

• South Carolina

• Washington

• Wisconsin

Physical Therapists have less than 20 hours in training before they can perform Dry Needling.