WASHINGTON, Aug. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM)®, is pleased to announce a new route to achieve NCCAOM Certification in Oriental Medicine for all California licensed acupuncturists who meet eligibility requirements. The California Licensed Acupuncturists Reciprocal Route for Certification in Oriental Medicine will open in the first quarter of 2019 and will close on December 31, 2020 and no additional NCCAOM examinations for certification will be needed if all requirements are met.
“Over the years, and especially more recently, we have been receiving numerous requests from California licensed acupuncturists inquiring about a route to NCCAOM certification without taking the required examinations,” said Kory Ward-Cook, Ph.D., CAE, Chief Executive Officer of the NCCAOM. “It’s exciting to introduce and provide this new reciprocal route toward a certification in Oriental Medicine for all California licensed acupuncturists who meet the requirements.”
The California Licensed Acupuncturists Reciprocal Route for Certification in Oriental Medicine is open to those who have an active California acupuncture license or for those who have kept their California license active but live in another state. This route is not open to any newly California licensed acupuncturists who earned their California Acupuncture Board (CAB) license by December 31, 2016. The requirements for initial certification include the following:
- active California Acupuncture License that is in good standing;
- submission of a completed NCCAOM® Reciprocal Certification Application;
- submission of an application fee payment;
- document verification be sent to the NCCAOM of a completed Council of Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (CCAOM) Clean Needle Technique (CNT) Course that is current, (taken within the last six years) or if the applicant has previously taken the CNT more than six years ago, complete the CCAOM CNT and Blood Borne Pathogen Review Course and submit documentation of completion to NCCAOM.
In order to maintain certification, the acupuncturist must recertify with the NCCAOM every four years and meet all recertification requirements in place at that time. Information concerning current NCCAOM recertification requirements can be found at www.nccaom.org/diplomates/certification-renewal/. Some states require that candidates for state licensure send NCCAOM exam pass verification as a prerequisite for licensure while others require demonstration of NCCAOM Certification. Therefore, the NCCAOM cannot guarantee mobility for a license to practice in any other state due to the elimination of the NCCAOM certification exams from this route. For details on each U.S. state’s regulatory requirements for licensure as an acupuncturist, please see the interactive NCCAOM State Regulatory Map.
To understand the history and why the California Acupuncture Board decided to use the NCCAOM entry-level certification examinations as one of the requirements for licensure, please visit FAQ on Information for California Licensed Acupuncturists. To learn more about the NCCAOM, or about acupuncture and national board certification, visit www.nccaom.org.
About NCCAOM
The National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM)® is a nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization established in 1982. NCCAOM is the only national organization that validates entry-level competency in the practice of acupuncture and Oriental medicine (AOM) through professional certification. NCCAOM certification or a passing score on the NCCAOM certification examinations are documentation of competency for licensure as an acupuncturist by 46 states plus the District of Columbia which represents 98% of the states that regulate acupuncturists. All NCCAOM certification programs are currently accredited by the National Commission for Certification Agencies (NCCA). To learn more about the NCCAOM, or about acupuncture and national board certification, visit www.nccaom.org. To find an NCCAOM National Board-Certified Acupuncturist™ in your area, click on Find A Practitioner at www.nccaom.org.
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