Q. How do you find the right practitioner?
Finding the right Tradtional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioner is not always easy. It may depend on your level of comfort, trust, and interaction with your practitioner. This process is important and should be thought through carefully. This may take time but be patient and you will find the right practitioner.
You may ask yourself some of these questions to guide you in identifying the characteristics of a good TCM practitioner:
Do you feel that your practitioner cares?
Does the practitioner listen and hears you?
Does the practitioner explain diagnosis in plain language?
Does the practitioner see, observe, or visually investigates your symptoms before jumping to conclusion?
Do you feel that the practitioner treats you as a human being and not just another patient?
Regulatory requirements:
1. Check with your acupuncture governing body:
College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of British Columbia (CTCMA) has a complete list of Registered Acupuncturists. Registrants of the CTCMA have the highest standards of training in BC and Canada.
2. Check a practitioner's credentials:
An acupuncture practitioner who is licensed and credentialed may provide better care than one who is not. Although proper credentials do not ensure competency, they do indicate that the practitioner has meet certain standards to treat patients through the use of acupuncture. Do not be afraid to ask questions before agreeing to any treatment. The practitioner should be open to answering your questions and providing information.
Q. What is Acupuncture?
Acupuncture is one (of several) therapeutic techniques used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. It is based on its own complete system of anatomy, physiology and diagnosis where the vital energy referred to as Qi flow through different meridians in our body.
Q. How does Acupuncture work?
It involves the insertion of fine needles into the body at specific points. This stimulates the body’s natural ability to heal by having the correct flow of Qi.
Q. Does Acupuncture hurt?
The Acupuncture needles are painless because they are not much wider than a strand of human hair. The amount of time the needles are left in varies. Usually, they stay in for about 20 minutes. The needles are pre-sterilized and are disposable so there is no risk of catching any diseases from unclean needles.
Q. What can Acupuncture treat?
Acupuncture can treat a variety of illnesses both chronic and acute. The World Health Organization states Acupuncture is suitable for treating: Anxiety, Muscular pains, Headaches, Digestive Disorders, PMS, stress, Allergies, Respiratory Problems, and Gynecological Complaints. Other commonly treated illnesses include insomnia, migraines, and low energy.
Q. What is the difference between Registered Acupuncturists and other healthcare professionals who claim to use acupuncture?
The biggest difference is training. A Registered Acupuncturist must have a minimum of 1900 hours of training, and the practitioners must be certified by the primary acupuncturist professional body: College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of British Columbia. Another important difference is the knowledge of different Traditional Chinese Medicine techniques. This goes beyond needling. The extensive training in Traditional Chinese Medicine and acupuncture involves understanding a non-western perspective of health that involves a different approach to diagnosing health problems, and the ability to apply a variety of techniques to treat patients.
Comparison of Training Hours
| Health Care Professional |
Certification |
Hours of Required Training |
| Registered Acupuncturist |
CTCMA (Ministry of Health) |
1900 |
| MD or Physiotherapist |
iSTOP (IMS) |
50 |
| MD, Physiotherapist, etc. |
Level 1 - Acupuncture Foundation of Canada Institute |
90 |
| MD, Physiotherapist, etc. |
Level 2 - Acupuncture Foundation of Canada Institute |
195 |
| MD, Physiotherapist, etc. |
Medical Acupuncture, University of Alberta |
200 |
| Naturopathic physicians |
College of Naturopathic |
250 |
