§436E-5 Qualifications for examination. (a) No person shall be licensed to practice acupuncture unless the person has passed an examination and has been found to have the necessary qualifications as prescribed in the rules adopted by the board pursuant to chapter 91.

(b) Prior to September 1, 2000, and except as provided in subsection (c), before any applicant shall be eligible for the examination, the applicant shall furnish satisfactory proof to the board that the applicant has received a total of not less than one thousand five hundred hours of education and training consisting of:

(1) A formal program in the science of acupuncture (traditional oriental medicine) at an institute or school approved by the board that:

(A) Shall be for a period of not less than two academic years (not less than six hundred hours); and

(B) Shall result in the award of a certificate or diploma; and

(2) One clinical year in a clinical internship program (not less than twelve months and not less than nine hundred hours) supervised by a licensed acupuncturist; provided that the nine hundred hours of the clinical internship program may be obtained from the institute or school awarding the certificate or diploma or may be obtained under the supervision of a licensed acupuncturist not affiliated with an institute or school.

(c) Students who started training prior to December 31, 1984, in a school approved by the board prior to December 31, 1984, and who complete their training by December 31, 1989, and who file an application with the board before September 1, 2000 shall:

(1) Not lose their rights of continued education, and earned or accumulated credits; and

(2) For the purposes of this chapter, meet requirements for examination and licensure as provided in chapter 436D and rules adopted by the board as they existed on December 31, 1984; provided that the school has not altered its program so as to lower the standards for completion of the program. These students may qualify for examination if they submit evidence of having completed:

(A) At least eighteen months (not less than five hundred seventy-six hours) of academic training; and

(B) At least six months (not less than four hundred eighty hours) of clinical training in the practice of acupuncture on human subjects under the supervision of a licensed acupuncturist.

(d) Notwithstanding subsections (b) and (c), effective September 1, 2000, before any applicant shall be eligible to take the licensing examination, the applicant shall furnish satisfactory proof to the board that the applicant has completed a formal acupuncture program and has received a total of at least two thousand, one hundred seventy-five hours of academic and clinical training consisting of an academic program of at least one thousand, five hundred fifteen hours in the science of acupuncture (traditional oriental medicine) and a clinical training program of at least six hundred sixty hours under the supervision of a licensed acupuncturist, which shall result in the award of a certificate or diploma. For applicants who graduated from an institute, school, or college located in the United States or any territory under the jurisdiction of the United States, the institute, school, or college shall be accredited or recognized as a candidate for accreditation by any acupuncture or oriental medicine accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education. For applicants who graduated from a foreign institute, school, or college with a formal program in the science of acupuncture, the applicant, at the applicant's own expense, shall have the applicant's transcripts and curriculum evaluated by a board approved and designated professional evaluator who shall make a determination whether the transcripts and curriculum are at least equivalent to that of the United States accredited acupuncture program, and that the foreign institute is licensed, approved, or accredited by the appropriate governmental authority or an agency recognized by a governmental authority in the respective foreign jurisdiction and whose curriculum is approved by the board. [L 1985, c 214, pt of §1; am L 1993, c 194, §1; am L 1997, c 226, §1; am L 2008, c 21, §1]