Today, in New Jersey, the chiros managed to get their bill passed through the assembly committee. This is the bill that would allow them to practice acupuncture with the same abbreviated entry that MDs can (among any other things).
The massage therapists also got a licensing bill passed through the same committee that would only allow them and no one else to use the term “medical Qigong.”
This was indeed a very dark day for us. And its only going to get worse unless we take immediate action.
Any and every acupuncturist can help by sending a small donation to the NJAAOM political donations, if you are so inclined. If practitioners in New Jersey think they are having a hard time making a living practicing acupuncture, wait until there are 1000+ more chiros doing it. This is no joke!
We need to raise money for lobbying as the only reason that these bills got passed was because the NJAAOM did not have the funds for this kind of support and “watch dog” efforts. Our objective is to raise about $50,000 for this cause …. and every dollar counts!
If you can offer any input or financial support to this cause, we would be very appreciative. Every little bit helps so please send your tax deductible donations to NJAAOM at www.njaaom.net We need all the help we can get!
Also, if you are in another state that is still fighting to keep these kinds of bills from being passed, please learn from what has happened in New Jersey and other states. Donate generously to your state associations and make sure that you have a lobbying efforts in full force. We messed up and let out guard down for way too long … and we may get “knocked out.”
The only way we can overcome this is with full support from the acupuncture community.
Please send this e-mail to any acupuncturist you know, especially those practicing in New Jersey.
Sincerely,
Andy Rosenfarb, L.Ac., MTOM
National Board Certified in Acupuncture & Chinese Herbal Medicine
Commissioner, National Oriental Medicine Accreditation Agency (NOMAA)
All the best my stateside friend’s.
A similar situation has existed in Australia forever, with the addition now of physiotherapists who now perform ‘dry needling’.
Yes it is as bland as it sounds.
All the best,
Alan
About Alan
I had an interesting convo at reception in the QSMC this morning…
I saw an old school friend and asked him what he was up to, he said, “I use all the clinics here… Physio, Massage and Pilates”
“Why don’t u try Acupuncture?” I asked
“I was thinking about it…” he said “because I’ve had the ‘dry-needling’ with the Physio’s and I wondered what the rest of it all could do for me,”
This comment makes me think… Maybe it’s a good thing for other modalaties to be picking up acupuncture techniques, because these guys are using the needles out of context (i.e the whole paradigm of Traditional Oriental Medicine), and people instinctively prefer the real McCoy over an ingenuine rip-off. Therefore, all the other (non-Traditional practitioners) that are taking up Acupuncture are in effect promoting it’s powerful efficacy, but at the same time they are conceding that they don’t understand all of the art and science behind it.
And the end of the day, I think its safe to say that Acupuncture is more powerful than still many ppl give it credit for, and we are now experiencing a massive awakening in public consciousness that can only be beneficial for the ones that have put in the hard, long hours in college and clinic becoming familiar with the subtle healing energies which are at the core of Traditional Acupuncture.