Acupuncturists
Health Science > Therapeutic ServicesProjected Growth: Much faster than average
Projected Job Openings
Extensive Preparation Needed
Job Description
Your job is to Provide treatment of symptoms and disorders using needles and small electrical currents. May provide massage treatment. May also provide preventive treatments.
Common job titles of Acupuncturists include:
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Experience and Education
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
47.95% said they needed a Master's Degree.
13.9% said they needed a First Professional Degree.
Tasks
Assess patients' general physical appearance to make diagnoses.
Collect medical histories and general health and life style information from patients.
Apply heat or cold therapy to patients using materials such as heat pads, hydrocollator packs, warm compresses, cold compresses, heat lamps, or vapor coolants.
Consider Western medical procedures in health assessment, health care team communication, and care referrals.
Educate patients on topics such as meditation, ergonomics, stretching, exercise, nutrition, the healing process, breathing, or relaxation techniques.
Evaluate treatment outcomes and recommend new or altered treatments as necessary to further promote, restore, or maintain health.
Develop individual treatment plans and strategies.
Analyze physical findings and medical histories to make diagnoses according to Oriental medicine traditions.
Identify correct anatomical and proportional point locations based on patients' anatomy and positions, contraindications, and precautions related to treatments such as intradermal needles, moxibution, electricity, guasha, or bleeding.
Adhere to local, state and federal laws, regulations and statutes.
Maintain and follow standard quality, safety, environmental and infection control policies and procedures.
Insert needles to provide acupuncture treatment.
Maintain detailed and complete records of health care plans and prognoses.
Treat patients using tools such as needles, cups, ear balls, seeds, pellets, or nutritional supplements.
Treat medical conditions using techniques such as acupressure, shiatsu, or tuina.
Formulate herbal preparations to treat conditions considering herbal properties such as taste, toxicity, effects of preparation, contraindications, and incompatibilities.
Dispense herbal formulas and inform patients of dosages and frequencies, treatment duration, possible side effects and drug interactions.
Apply moxibustion directly or indirectly to patients using Chinese, non-scarring, stick, or pole moxa.
Tools
Wide grip tweezers
Wartenberg pinwheels
Vibration massagers
Ultrasound massagers
Trancutaneous electrical nerve stimulation TENS units
Tongue depressors
Tiger warmers
All ToolsThree-edged bloodletting needles
Therapeutic heating packs
Therapeutic cooling packs
Therapeutic acupuncture magnets
Taylor-type percussion hammers
Tack tweezers
Splinter forceps
Seven-star needles
Scissor pincettes
Rolling drums
Pulsed magnetic field generators
Press needles
Positioning bolsters
Portable heat lamps
Plastic cupping sets
Pen probes
Otoscopes
Operating scissors
Needle plungers
Needle inserters
Moxa spoons
Moxa extinguishers
Moxa cans
Moxa burning bowls
Moxa burners
Moxa boxes
Mineral wave lamps
Microcurrent systems
Massage tables
Massage chairs
Manaka hammers
Magnetic finger rings
Magnetic cupping sets
Lockable forceps
Laser pens
Lancet needles
Ionizers
Ion pumps
Intradermal acupuncture needles
Infrared heat lamps
Hydrocollator units
Herb grinders
Hemostat clamps
Handheld digital thermometers
Hand rollers
Hand exercise balls
Gua sha tools
Glass cupping sets
Four sensor probes
Foot rollers
Filiform acupuncture needles
Electronic muscle stimulators
Electroacupuncture stimulation units
Ear tacks
Ear needles
Dual head stethoscopes
Dressing forceps
Digital heat lamps
Digital electronic acupunctoscopes
Crystal probes
Buck neurological hammers
Blood pressure monitors
Biohazard containers
Bandage scissors
Babinski hammers
Autoclave sterilizers
Angle tip forceps
Air ion testers
Adson forceps
Adenoid sphygmomanometers
Acutonics tuning forks
Acupuncture needle guide tubes
Acupuncture ear probes
Technologies
AcuBase Pro
AcuPartner Professional
Electronic health record EHR software
Miridia Technology AcuGraph
Qchart
Qpalm Acupuncture
QPuncture II
Skills
Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Social Perceptiveness
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Service Orientation
Actively looking for ways to help people.
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Writing
Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Active Learning
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Coordination
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Complex Problem Solving
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Abilities
Combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Cognitive Abilities › Idea Generation and Reasoning Abilities › Inductive Reasoning
Listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Cognitive Abilities › Verbal Abilities › Oral Comprehension
Tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Cognitive Abilities › Idea Generation and Reasoning Abilities › Problem Sensitivity
Apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Cognitive Abilities › Idea Generation and Reasoning Abilities › Deductive Reasoning
Read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Cognitive Abilities › Verbal Abilities › Written Comprehension
Communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Cognitive Abilities › Verbal Abilities › Oral Expression