Hourly rate for competent acupuncturists?

February 26, 2009

Hi Julie & All,

> I have a job opportunity by an MD and she is wanting to know what a

> typical salary/hourly rate for an acupuncturist is. I'd appreciate

> some quick input! This is for Sacramento, Ca Thanks Julie

Rate per hour depends on how many cases treated per hour.

Typical MD clinic consults here are 45-55 Euros for a 5-10 minute consult.

At a mean of 50 Euros / case and 8 cases / hour, typical MD rate would be

circa 400 Euros / hour.

With good scheduling and 4 acupuncture cubicles operating together, one

could treat 1-2 new cases or 4-8 repeat visits per hour.

Typical acupuncture rates here are:

Tx Dogs or humans ..... 50 Euros each

Tx horses ..................... 80 Euros each

If you have confidence in your results, do not sell yourself short but keep the

local economy & rates in mind when you state your terms.

If they provide good facilities + cubicles for the acupuncturist, some MDs

may accept a commission agreement - say 50/50 or 40/60. The patient pays

the clinic and the MS pays the acupuncturist at the agreed ratio for work

done.

Best regards,

PS: Find out discreetly what the MD charges per consult and the MD's

approximate case-load per hour. Then do your sums.

February 26, 2009

Yes, be careful what you sign up for.

I worked in a salary setting for 2 years and chalked it up to eventually

building my own practice and getting a feel for the community/environment in

which your patients live.

In my situation I started at $27.50/hour and soon was projected as the reason

the organization wasn't making any money - the old guilt trip trick. Things

progressed down a road that nickeled and dimed my time - even though I had a

contract for 30 hours/week. I committed the time to the clinic but was only

paid for time worked - and I was told not to be there unless there was a

patient. Essentially, it came down to being paid by the patient, rather than by

the hour. I had absolutely no control over marketing efforts and no dollars

were committed to marketing. There wasn't even a sign that said " Acupuncture " .

Any efforts to discuss the situation were returned with borderline personality

behavior, somehow trying to intimidate and threaten. Towards the end, I found

my time card had been altered and that was the last straw for me. We agreed

that I would be " laid off " since I could not be terminated for cause and I was

not quitting.

The nice thing is that I gained experience in the community and earned a

reputation as a practitioner with integrity and successful outcomes. The

experience served me well.

Good luck,

Janis

February 26, 2009

Yes, I have heard stories similar to what Janis describes. I definitely would

not accept $30 an hour unless you receive the wage regardless of whether the

client shows or not. Realistically we have to compare the wages we want to those

of PTs or master's level psychotherapists; those professions have education and

responsibility very comparable to ours. $ 30 an hour is $60,000 a year; pretty

standard right now. I agree with Don, ten years ago those jobs didn't exist for

our profession and it's good news that they are now available. My take is that a

successful clinic takes skills in business management, and that's what the

additional money is for. Let's face it, if you see see 60 clients a week, and

bring in a six-figured income, you do a lot more than just show up and perform

the treatment, which is after all what was expected of me in the hospital

setting. And the same is true for all professions, if am MD goes to work for

Kaiser, s/he will accept a significant pay-cut, but s/he won't have to bother

with office management, hiring firing, weekend hours, etc. It's really what

suits you as a person.

Regards,

Angela Pfaffenberger, Ph.D.

angelapfa

www.InnerhealthSalem.com

Phone: 503 364 3022