A Career in Acupuncture

Do you want to help transform the world, one person at a time?

Healthcare in the U.S. is in transition. People around the country are opening to the potential of holistic health, and acupuncture is becoming more of a mainstream healthcare option. The field is growing. You can be an agent of change!

What kind of person thrives in an acupuncture career?

The field attracts diverse kinds of people—some are choosing their first profession, and others are changing careers or looking to advance themselves.

It’s a great fit for people who:

Are independent thinkers
Have a passion for alternative medicine
Love to learn
Have an entrepreneurial spirit
Enjoy setting their own schedule
Care genuinely about the well-being of others
Are willing to discover more about themselves

Every individual brings a unique set of skills to the business and practice of acupuncture. Your practice will be a reflection of you.

As an acupuncturist, you can expect to wear many hats. Much of your day will be spent one-on-one with patients. You will call upon your compassion, listening to each person’s needs with your mind and heart, and designing treatment plans using your intellect, creativity, and intuition.

Most acupuncturists are also responsible for other aspects of their practice, from marketing to ordering supplies to keeping patient records. You do not have to know how to do all of this when you start. The Academy provides a solid grounding in these clinical and practical skills. And as a graduate of the Academy, you will join a small, dedicated family of practitioners who are happy to help you grow and succeed.

Whether you work in a solo practice or join up with other practitioners, you will have the freedom to choose the work life you want. You can develop a specialty, decide how your clinic will look and feel, and work as much or as little as your life demands. Some practitioners like to build a busy practice that actively engages with the community. Others prefer a slower pace with fewer days, to balance out the responsibilities of family life. The career of acupuncture is versatile.

It’s a calling, this Five Element work. If you chose to stay with the calling, in time the nature of the work will teach you things deep and wonderful – in yourself as well as all people.

Dan Sachs (35-year practitioner)

Classical Five-Element Acupuncture provides a framework to enable us to discern and liberate conditions of our physical, mental, and spiritual vitality such that life purposes are more easily fulfilled; whether due to no longer being distracted by a rash, or once again seeing the opportunity of a great future where despair and depression once was.

Robie Murdoch (32-year practitioner)

Learning the skill of seeing color, smelling odor, hearing sound, and feeling emotion is exhilarating; providing a poetic way to walk in the world that is not just a technique.

Susan Weiser-Mason (33-year practitioner)

This medicine reminds me of the oneness of all and the connections that we share. As patient and practitioner, it has certainly broadened my horizon and added to my appreciation of life. I am glad to have been called.

Chuck Graham (17-year practitioner)

It is a true gift to be part of the process of returning someone to their fundamental nature, and to watch them grow and shine. I am filled with gratitude to work in this medicine, in this tradition, at this school, and to continue to learn from my colleagues, students, and patients.

Misti Oxford-Pickeral (15-year practitioner)

Every day brings a new challenge, and you will constantly be rewarded with the satisfaction of helping others. You will be part of a centuries-old tradition, one that has so much to offer us today.