Current through Register 1531, September 27, 2024
(1)
Types of Licenses. Two types of licenses are issued by
the Committee: full licenses and temporary licenses. A full licensee may
practice acupuncture in Massachusetts in accordance with M.G.L. c. 112,
§§ 148 through 162 and
243 CMR 4.00 and
5.00.
(2)
Temporary
License. A temporary licensee shall only practice acupuncture on
an individual or patient in the course of:
(a) supervising interns in a Committee
approved internship program; or
(b)
demonstrating acupuncture techniques as part of an acupuncture educational
seminar or program; or
(c)
participating in a postgraduate clinical training program; or
(d) participating in a continuing education
course that includes the insertion of needles; and
(e) when a temporary licensee is
participating in a postgraduate clinical training program or a continuing
acupuncture education program, he/she must be supervised by an active full
licensee. The supervisor must be approved by the Committee or its licensing
subcommittee prior to the issuance of the temporary license.
(3)
Qualifications
Required of Each Applicant. Each applicant for full and temporary
licensure shall possess the following qualifications listed in M.G.L. c. 112,
§§ 152(a), 152(b), and 152(c):
(a)
An applicant shall be at least 18 years of age; and
(b) An applicant shall be of good moral
character; and
(c) An applicant
shall demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the English language to understand
and be understood by patients, physicians, and Board and Committee personnel,
by submitting to the Committee proof of achieving the passing score on the
TOEFL examination, or by certifying that he/she will employ the services of an
interpreter at his/her own expense; and
(d) An applicant must fulfill one of the
criteria set forth in M.G.L. c. 112, § 152(d). As of December 31, 2010,
the apprenticeship route will no longer be an acceptable substitute for meeting
the formal education requirements.
(e)
NCCAOM Certification
Required. As of January 1, 2009, an applicant for initial
licensure must be nationally board certified in either Acupuncture, Oriental
Medicine, or Chinese Herbology or be licensed in another state or foreign
nation with which Massachusetts has a reciprocal licensing agreement.
(4)
Licensure
Examination in Massachusetts.
(a) The licensure examination consists of the
following components:
1. the NCCAOM
examination in Acupuncture; and
2.
the NCCAOM examination in Foundations of Oriental Medicine; and
3. the NCCAOM examination in Point Location;
and
4. the NCCAOM examination in
Biomedicine, as of January 1, 2007; and
5. the CNT Course approved by NCCAOM;
and
6. any Massachusetts oral
and/or practical examination that the Committee may, at its discretion, require
of applicants until such time as the NCCAOM institutes an oral and/or practical
component to its examination that is satisfactory to the Committee.
(b) At the first meeting of the
Committee in each calendar year, the Committee shall decide by majority vote
whether to hold a Massachusetts oraland/or practical examination in a given
calendar year, which decision shall be binding upon all applicants who take the
licensure examination within that calendar year. The Committee may determine
the rules governing any state examination. Whenever a Massachusetts examination
is required, the Committee shall send written notification of the examination
results to the applicant.
(c) An
applicant must pass each of the examination components to pass the licensure
examination. The passing score for the examination component shall be set by
the testing entity and the passing scores shall not be known prior to the exam.
An applicant for initial licensure must take all examinations in the English
language .
(d) Passing the NCCAOM
examination and the CNT course are prerequisites for taking any Massachusetts
oral and/or practical examination that may be required by the
Committee.
(5)
Committee Procedure for Evaluating Applications.
(a) If an application for full licensure by
examination is complete and filed on time, the Committee will make a
preliminary evaluation of the applicant's credentials and decide whether to
allow the applicant to take the examination. The Committee will inform the
applicant of its decision 30 days prior to the date of the licensure
examination, when such notice is possible.
(b) Passing the licensure examination does
not of itself entitle an applicant to be licensed. Upon receipt of an
applicant's passing scores, the Committee shall review the applicant's
application, and shall inform the applicant of its decision on
licensure.
(c) At any stage during
the review of an application, the Committee or its Licensing Subcommittee may
require an applicant to provide additional information, or appear personally
before the Committee, the Licensing Subcommittee, or their designated
representative for the purpose of answering questions pertaining to the
application.
(d) The Committee may,
at its discretion, require an applicant to hire a credentials evaluation
service approved by the Committee to evaluate the applicant's credentials of an
applicant. The applicant shall pay for the evaluation.
(6)
Committee Denial of
Applications. The Committee will inform an applicant in writing of
the reasons his/her application was denied. If the Committee denies an
application for reasons other than an applicant's failing the licensure
examination, the applicant may submit a written request within 60 days from the
date of denial that the application be reconsidered by the Committee, stating
the reasons why the Committee should reverse its decision. An applicant may
submit a request for reconsideration only once, unless the applicant states
additional facts or circumstances that the applicant was unaware of at the time
he/she made his/her first request and that are relevant to the Committee's
decision.
(7)
Re-examination for Licensure.
(a) An applicant who fails any of the
components of the licensure examination may reapply to take the failed
components. An applicant must submit an application for re-examination, and the
application and examination fees, no later than 90 days prior to the date of
the examination.
(b) The Committee
may require an applicant who fails the licensure examination or any of its
components on two or more occasions to have further education or training
which, in the judgment of the Committee, addresses the areas of
deficiency.
(8)
Endorsement of Examination Results.
(a) The Committee shall endorse the results
of the NCCAOM examination or the CNT Course taken in another jurisdiction
provided that the format or level of difficulty of a previous examination
component is substantially the same as that of the current examination
component, and provided also that the previous examination component was not
administered in such a way as to compromise the integrity of the examination
component.
(b) An applicant whose
examination results have been endorsed by the Committee must comply with all
other requirements for being licensed by examination in order to be licensed in
Massachusetts.
(9)
Licensure in Another State. An applicant for full
licensure who holds a license to practice acupuncture in another state or
foreign nation shall not be excused from any of the application requirements in
M.G.L. c. 112 and
243 CMR 4.00 and
5.00 unless the Committee has
entered into a reciprocal licensing agreement with that state, or unless the
Committee has specifically exempted that applicant from a particular
requirement.
(10)
Temporary Licensure.
(a) The following individuals shall have a
full or temporary license to practice acupuncture:
1. an instructor in a Committee approved
internship program offered by a Committee approved school;
2. an instructor in an acupuncture
educational seminar or program who demonstrates acupuncture techniques on
patients;
3. a participant in a
postgraduate clinical training program; or
4. a participant in a Committee approved
continuing acupuncture education course that includes the insertion of needles,
in which case the temporary license shall be valid for three months.
(b) To qualify for a temporary
license as an instructor in a Committee approved internship program, an
applicant shall have a temporary faculty appointment in a Committee approved
school of acupuncture and shall have:
1.
credentials equivalent to those necessary for full licensure; or
2. training and experience which, in the
judgment of the Committee, are sufficient for an instructor in an internship
program.
(c) To qualify
for a temporary license as an instructor in an acupuncture educational seminar
or program, an applicant shall have:
1.
credentials equivalent to those necessary for full licensure; or
2. training and experience which, in the
judgment of the Committee, are sufficient for an instructor of the acupuncture
techniques to be demonstrated in the educational seminar or program.
(d) To qualify for a temporary
license as a participant in a postgraduate clinical training program in
acupuncture, an applicant shall be a graduate of a Committee approved
acupuncture school, shall have been accepted into a postgraduate clinical
training program, and shall have the undergraduate educational requirements
specified in
243 CMR
5.10(1).
(e) To qualify for a temporary license as a
participant in a continuing acupuncture education course, an applicant shall be
a graduate of a Committee approved acupuncture school, shall have been accepted
into a Committee approved continuing acupuncture education course, shall have
the undergraduate educational requirements specified in
243 CMR
5.03(1), and shall be
supervised by an active licensed acupuncturist who is in good standing with the
Committee.
(f) Application for
temporary licensure shall be made through the dean's office of the acupuncture
school hiring the temporary licensee, through the organization sponsoring the
acupuncture educational seminar or program, through the institution sponsoring
the postgraduate clinical training program or by the applicant on an
application form provided by the Committee. Temporary licensure is for one year
with renewal yearly for a maximum of two years, with the exception of a
temporary license granted under 5.02(2)(d), which shall be for three months
with renewal for a maximum of one year. Completed applications must be
submitted 60 days prior to the start of the internship program, educational
seminar or program or postgraduate clinical training program.