Lakewood Ranch Acupuncture and Wellness is your Sarasota Acupuncturist Headquarters. We specialize in acupuncture, oriental medicine, nutritional counseling, and homeopathy. If you are visiting this page today it is likely that you are looking for help with some sort of health issue you are experiencing. Maybe you suffer from chronic pain that is no longer responding to medication, or maybe you are depressed but don’t wish to take an anti-depressant to feel happy again. Maybe you are completely stressed and overwhelmed and wish to experience more peach as you go through each day.
Acupuncture is a growing trend in Sarasota and many people are seeking out Chinese Medicine and acupuncture for their health needs today. Are you are suffering from some sort of pain, digestive issue, stress, chronic fatigue, or pretty much any other health problems? Typically, you would address with your primary care physician, but did you know acupuncture has been shown to excel in healing and rebalancing the body? The purpose of this article is to address and stress the importance of what you should look for when choosing an acupuncture physician.
The main thing you want to look at is you want to make sure your Sarasota Acupuncturist physician, or any physician for that matter, is board certified and licensed in the state of Florida. With the rising popularity of acupuncturist treatment options these days, it is not a requirement to go to Chinese medical school to become a practicing acupuncturist. Below is an explanation of who can practice acupuncture and what is required to do so.
Medical doctors go through extensive training to become MD’s. They have four years of didactics and four years of rotations. In the state of Florida, they are also required to do two years of residency but some do more years if they want to specialize. They must be board certified and licensed and can prescribe drugs. They cannot, however, prescribe herbs and can give their patients acupuncture with zero hours of training. That’s right, zero hours.
DO’s, or doctors of Osteopathy, need four years of didactics and four years of rotations. They must also be board certified and licensed. They can prescribe herbs, unlike MD’s, but also require zero hours of training to do acupuncture.
Chiropractors need five years of schooling and also must be board certified and licensed. They cannot prescribe drugs but can prescribe herbs. In order to give their patients acupuncture they are required to do 100 hours of training.
Now I will explain the educational requirements for Acupuncturist Physicians and Doctors of Oriental medicine. Before enrolling in school to study Chinese medicine, applicants are required to do two years to undergraduate studies. After being accepted into the program to study acupuncture and Oriental medicine, which is a 5-year degree, students undergo 600 hours of our education learning about herbs and over 3000 hours of acupuncture training which includes didactic and clinical training. In order to practice Chinese medicine, acupuncturist physicians must be board certified and licensed in the state of Florida and can then prescribe herbs but not drugs.
When deciding who you want as your acupuncturist, the above information should help you find a qualified practitioner. Chinese medicine is an extremely complex system of medicine which takes years to learn and understand. If you choose a board certified and licensed acupuncturist physician and doctor of Oriental medicine, you can be assured that your body is being treated to address the underlying cause of your health issue as acupuncture physicians are trained to spot patterns of illness in the body and how they pertain to Chinese medicine.
The author, Dr. Amanda Carter, is a board certified and licensed acupuncturist physician and doctor or Oriental medicine. Her practice, Lakewood Ranch Acupuncture and Wellness, is located in Lakewood Ranch, Florida. She serves Lakewood Ranch, Bradenton, Sarasota, Parrish, and Ellenton, FL. For more information and to download a free copy of her eBook, “How to Thrive in the Modern World: A Layperson’s Guide to Chinese Medicine,” please visit www.acupuncturesrq.com.
If you are ready to take your health into your own hands then call us today at (941)518-6237. We are never too busy to help you!