Acupuncture for Professionals

The first record of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Huang di Nei Jing (Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine), was compiled over 2500 years ago in China. Acupuncture emerged as an important component of Oriental Medicine more than 2000 years ago. Today acupuncture has reached most parts of the globe and over the past two decades it has grown in popularity in the United States. In 1993, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimated that Americans made 9 to 12 million visits per year to acupuncture practitioners. Acupuncture is a safe medical procedure, well known for its efficacy and lack of side effects when administered by a qualified practitioner. Acupuncture has been used to treat and cure a wide variety of health problems, the most common of which include asthma, arthritis, palsy, impotence, sciatica, chronic or acute back and neck pain, headaches, ulcers, diabetes, colitis, gastrointestinal problems, genito-urinary conditions, and the common cold.

Acupuncture has gained greater acceptance among both the medical community and the public. Interest in acupuncture has brought about support from medical establishments such as the National Institute for Health (NIH) and the Food and Drug Administration. In 1998 the NIH sponsored a Consensus Development Conference on Acupuncture. The conference findings recognized that scientific studies validated acupuncture as effective in the treatment of many medical conditions and further research should be done. The NIH Office of Alternative Medicine has designated a 20 million dollar budget for research in 1999. Medical practitioners are becoming more familiar with acupuncture, and some are seeking to incorporate acupuncture into their practices. Recent developments in the field of complementary alternative medicine have revealed that many HMOs (Health Maintenance Organizations) are considering offering this ancient Chinese healing art to their members in the future.

Acupuncture is considered one of the fastest growing professions in the United States. It is a licensed profession in 34 states. In 1995, an estimated 10,000 nationally certified acupuncturists were practicing in the U.S. The number of practicing acupuncturists is expected to double by the year 2000 since there are currently 10,000 students enrolled in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine programs at 40 accredited U.S. schools and colleges. As interest and recognition of acupuncture expands nationally, graduates of the Masters program in Acupuncture at the New York College are entering the world of health and healing at a time when opportunities to practice, research, and teach are increasing. The skills learned in training at the New York College enable graduates to successfully establish and expand their practices to treat patients of all ages with a wide variety of health difficulties.