N.M. needs tiered acupuncture licenses

Iam writing in support of establishing tiered acupuncture licensure in New Mexico. Requiring that all acupuncturists take herb classes in acupuncture school and have passed the national boards in herbology is limiting acupuncturists from practicing in New Mexico.

New Mexico does not have enough acupuncturists now to fill the healthcare needs of our population. In Rio Rancho where I practice, there are only three fulltime acupuncturists and one parttime practitioner for a population of 100,000 people. I frequently am unable to schedule a new patient for two months.

Because of the closure of the only acupuncture school in New Mexico,

I am greatly concerned about the future of acupuncture here. New Mexico’s rules and regulations for acupuncture licensure are stricter than most other states. An applicant for doctor of Oriental medicine is required to pass acupuncture school with thousands of hours of school and training, pass five national board exams of which herbology is just one, and then pass a practical exam and jurisprudence exam for New Mexico.

In the past, I have had to turn away job applicants from other states for not having the herb requirements for our licensure. At this point, I have stopped hiring because no one locally is looking for an acupuncture job, and outof-state applicants typically do not qualify. I also know multiple people who are licensed acupuncturists from other states who live here and cannot practice due to our rules and regulations regarding the herbology requirement.

Creating a tiered licensure would not create any safety issues for the public as licensed acupuncturists have the majority of training in common with a doctor of Oriental medicine.

Even though I have my doctor of Oriental medicine license in New Mexico, I would not hesitate to consider hiring or being treated by a licensed acupuncturist.