Guest guest Posted May 17, 2004 Report Share Posted May 17, 2004 this goes to the website, but here's the sneak preview Acupuncture Board Certification Exam Approved for Minnesota Chiropractors After contention on both sides of the issue, on March 26, Judge Beverly Heydinger recommended that the proposed board certification rule set forth by the MN Board of Chiropractic Examiners (MBCE) be adopted into law. This rule allows for the establishment of a National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) Acupuncture board exam to be the standard by which chiropractors who wish to practice acupuncture are tested by. After completing 100 hours of acupuncture study and passing the new NBCE competency exam, future chiropractors will be allowed to advertise themselves as Nationally Board Certified acupuncturists. Judge Heydinger ruled that the MBCE has the statutory authority to propose such a rule, determined a need for it, and that they demonstrated that the proposed amendment is “reasonable. " Judge Heydinger did not; however decide on whether this policy alternative was the " best " approach, which is where the majority of the conflict lies. The core of any health care policy issue should be what's optimal for the patient. Is the general public sophisticated enough to know the difference between a chiropractor who is a Board Certified Acupuncturist and one who isn't? Is the public able to discern between the healing ability of a chiropractor practicing acupuncture, who has had only 100 hours of unspecified acupuncture training, and a LAC. who is required to have over 15 times that amount? Larry Spicer, D.C., Executive Director of the MBCE seems to think so. In his February 17th submission to Judge Heydinger he states that " members of the public may become savvy enough to distinguish between chiropractors who have been registered subsequent to examination and those who have not " and " those who are, will also be easily able to distinguish between a chiropractor who is merely using acupuncture in conjunction with care, as opposed to a licensed acupuncturist. " John Pirog, L.Ac., on the other hand believes the opposite. " Our central objection to the NBCE examination is that it disguises inadequate training. " It's an inappropriately broad exam for inappropriately broad preparation. Will this amendment serve to protect the public health, safety and welfare? Mark McKenzie, L.Ac., Dean of the Acupuncture college at Northwestern Health Sciences University (NWHSU) testified that “neither competence nor protection of the public can be achieved by inclusion of an exam based on an outdated standard of 100 hours of training. " " This was an opportunity missed by the judge and the MBCE to improve something that needs clarification " Mark McKenzie stated after the judge's decision. " We're disappointed that the judge didn't rule our way, but the MBCE is legally entitled to propose such a ruling. " Going forward, this ruling will continue to exacerbate the public's blurry perception of acupuncture as a technique, and acupuncture as an Oriental Medicine practice. It is now up to us to increase that public awareness. Written by Sarah Larson for Chinese Herbal Medicine Chinese Herbs FAX: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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