For the safety and benefit of Kansans, and the Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AOM) profession, Kansas Association of Oriental Medicine (KsAOM) is involved on several levels in working toward these goals:
Education about AOM for:
-Kansans, to understand how AOM may be of benefit
-Patients, to select a Licensed Acupuncturist in Kansas
-Physicians & Healthcare providers, providing AOM information, and Licensed Acupuncture contacts
-Licensed Acupuncturists, access to local continuing education, and updates of local issues & opportunities
-Legislators and other entities, to have informed views regarding acupuncture and the AOM profession
Promoting standards to:
-assure safe, quality treatment for Kansas patients
-increase access to quality AOM treatments by Licensed Acupuncturists
-protect Licensed Acupuncturists' statutory foundation for continuity of practice in Kansas
-maintain the efficacy and integrity of the AOM profession
Licensing
The Kansas State Board of Healing Arts oversees licensing of acupuncture specialists with the title of Licensed Acupuncturist or L.Ac in Kansas. The Kansas Acupuncture Practice Act was passed May 13th, 2016 and became effective in July of 2017. Since that time MDs, DOs, and Chiropractors can still do acupuncture with varying amounts of training (generally a minimum of 100 hours for Chiropractors and 300 hours for Physicians). For an LAc training is generally a three-year post-graduate degree in Acupuncture or a four-year post-graduate degree in Oriental Medicine, which includes herbal education as well as acupuncture, making LAcs specialists in the field of acupuncture and AOM.
To aid in your search for an acupuncturists near you, KsAOM offers a Find a Practitioner directory under the Resources area of this website. Whenever choosing an LAc you may want to inquire about their expertise and success with your ailment or condition, some Acupuncturists have advanced training in a specialty.
Education and Training
Acupuncture is safer and more effective when received from, and practiced by, fully-trained professionals. Recognize those fully-trained and licensed in acupuncture by looking for the credentials "L.Ac." or "Licensed Acupuncturist" when looking for therapeutic needling and complementary health care options.
The Kansas Acupuncture Practice Act requires applicants for "Licensed Acupuncturist" have credentials from the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) or equivalent. NCCAOM awards credentials based on 3 exams for a Diplomate in Acupuncture and 4 exams for a Diplomate in Oriental Medicine. The passage of the NCCAOM National Board Exams verifies proof of full training (strict training standards are a prerequisite to sit for the exams) and is used in Kansas, as in most states in the U.S., as qualification for state licensing of acupuncture professionals.
States have different licensing titles for Licensed Practitioners of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. There are several designations, among them; Licensed Acupuncturist (L.Ac.), Doctor of Oriental Medicine (D.O.M.), and Doctor of Acupuncture (D.Ac.). In Kansas the title designation is Licensed Acupuncturist, "L.Ac." or "LAc".
In this website see Find a Practitioner to help you find a Kansas Licensed Acupuncturist.
For licensing in Kansas acupuncturists are required to have NCCAOM certification or equivalent, this means:
• 3 exams for Diplomate of Acupuncture (Dipl.Ac.)
Foundations of Acupuncture, Acupuncture Point Location, Biomedicine
• 4 exams for Diplomate of Oriental Medicine (Dipl.O.M.)
Foundations of Acupuncture, Acupuncture Point Location, Biomedicine, Herbal Medicine
To be eligible to sit for the NCCAOM national exams requires:
• successful passage of the CCAOM clean needle exam
• documentation of the following minimum training requirements from an accepted accredited school:
