Smart Policy for the Acupuncture Profession

That’s my agenda —  to help acupuncturists and their affiliated organizations (AAAOM, NCCAOM, ACAOM, state organizations, schools, etc.) explore and analyze policy choices to help identify smart and effective policies and to avoid knee-jerk wild goose chases and unintended consequences.

My agenda is not to overthrow the NCCAOM, undermine the AAAOM, or to create conflict and division.

We are suffering from a professional auto-immune disease. How many subjects have been the greatest threat to the profession? How many LAcs have walked away from professional affiliations disheartened at the amount of energy spent attacking other professions or colleagues? How many of us react with outrage the moment we hear of some challenge, ready to mount an attack before we have all the information?

As acupuncturists, we see the suffering that results from an overactive immune system. Let’s stop making that mistake.

Last month I shared my email to my state association regarding their comments at an Advisory Board meeting. Here is ASVA’s response, and here is my reply. (I include the documents to show how challenging it can be to have non-triggered dialogue on an issue facing the profession. Rest assured, I am grateful to those who serve.)

 

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© Elaine Wolf Komarow and The Acupuncture Observer, 2013-2033. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express written permission from Elaine Wolf Komarow is prohibited. Excerpts and links are encouraged, provided that full and clear credit is given with specific direction to the original content.

3 thoughts on “Smart Policy for the Acupuncture Profession

  1. It is truly unfortunate. They look at you as a threat instead of looking at themselves. It just shows how messed up everything really is in the acupuncture political world. I am not sure who they are protecting? They want the NCCAOM to continue to survive and why? To just spend our money and we get NOTHING for it? That’s a good reason. They have done nothing for us as a profession. That’s for sure!!! They are a complete joke!!! Everyone is laughing at us for putting up with all this. We are the bottom of the barrel and we should just take it. I would never believe all this had I not seen it with my own two eyes.

    • I do believe that the NCCAOM has done some important things for the profession over the years — it’s been a lot easier for us to get licensure in many states because they have a professional credentialing process. And I’m happy for them to continue to be part of the process. But it isn’t healthy to assume that everything they do is for the best. And it certainly isn’t healthy to dismiss any exploration of whether what they (or other orgs or institutions) are doing as dangerous. Like I said — it seems like an allergic response or an auto-immune disease. A critical exploration of an issue = oak pollen.

      • I guess what I am really saying is that we are too quick to label things as good or bad. They are almost always nuanced. Insurance covering acupuncture — there are certainly pros, but there are cons too that should be considered. A credentialing agency that encourages some shared knowledge base among the profession and provides some indication of educational attainment is a good thing, but discouraging any dialogue about whether that group’s choices could be modified to be less burdensome to the profession or more effective in meeting its goals doesn’t make any sense.

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