2008-09 TRAINING PROGRAM
click here for a brochure in pdf form

The next course begins 4 December 2008 in Tempe Arizona, sponsored by the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

(optional) CLINICAL INTENSIVE: 8 December 2008 - Tempe, Arizona

UNIT 2: HOME STUDY: December 2008 - May 2009

CLINICAL UNIT I: 20-24 March 2009 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
and
CLINICAL UNIT II: 20-24 May 2009 - Tempe, Arizona

INTRODUCTION
Acupuncture today has become a highly respected and popular modality of medical treatment in the United States. The growing acceptance by physicians and patients is in large part due to the successful work of graduates of the Medical Acupuncture for Physicians program. This course is the most convenient and reliable training program for busy physicians to acquire acupuncture clinical skills.

5,000 physicians have completed the program, which has been taught regularly since 1983 through the Office of Continuing Medical Education, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. (Since 2006, the course has been offered in association with Stanford University School of Medicine as well.)

It is a comprehensive program, and has earned the reputation of conscientiously accomplishing its teaching goals and creating clinically competent physician acupuncturists. Medical Acupuncture for Physicians is the oldest coordinated training program in acupuncture for physicians in North America. The curriculum was developed and tested in 1978 and 79, and the program was inaugurated as a 200 hour CME activity in 1980. A decade later it was accredited for 300 hours to more accurately reflect the work iinvolved. It is the only fully comprehensive and integrated acupuncture training developed for physicians.

DOCTOR HELMS EXPLAINS: WHY THIS COURSE
As chairman of the Medical Acupuncture for Physicians course, I would like to tell you why my teaching colleagues and I think that this program is the finest learning opportunity for physicians to acquire the knowledge and skill of this new discipline. I am speaking from the perspective of thirty years of full time acupuncture practice, and twenty-eight years of teaching experience. During this time, my colleagues in the Helms Medical Institute and I have had the privilege and pleasure to constantly revise and refine the program. We are satisfied that we have created the gold standard in acupuncture training.

The program is comprehensive in that its teaching content is not restricted to one school of acupuncture theory and practice. The teaching approach is grounded in contemporary western medicine and bioscience, yet addresses the full tradition of acupuncture as derived from classical Asian texts. All major disciplines of acupuncture that have practical clinical value are represented in the program, from pragmatic neuroanatomical treatments for chronic pain to elegant energetic treatments for functional and internal medicine problems.

WHY THIS COURSE AND NOT ONE OF THE OTHERS?
This is a question often asked by prospective Medical Acupuncture for Physicians participants. The most succinct answer is integrity. The Helms Medical Institute team has been teaching for over twenty-five years, all the time refining our curriculum and teaching skills. We are dedicated to ensuring that every student completing the course is competent in this new discipline, and ready to incorporate it into practice. There is no other course in the country that invests as much attention and energy into each student.
The following comments and letters from students who have partcipated in both our course and other programs promoted as “comprehensive” and “balanced,” help illustrate this point:

"I recently completed the HMI training course as the most recent part of my seven-year pursuit of an acupuncture education. My past efforts included a TCM school, independent CME courses in a variety of acupuncture subspecialties, and a six month course whose format seemed to be a copy of the HMI training. The bottom line is: For any physician who desires the opportunity to learn a very complex discipline in an amazingly short period of time, the Helms Medical Institute Medical Acupuncture for Physicians is your best choice.

"It took me several years of independent study, training, and clinical experience to attain a level of competence in acupuncture that I felt equivalent to my allopathic skills. During the HMI course I realized that my practice of acupuncture was finally focused, efficient, and effective. Also, I was impressed that the other doctors finishing the HMI course successfully attained the knowledge and skill that enabled them to be comfortable starting to practice a very sophisticated and effective acupuncture.

"The academic framework of the Medical Acupuncture for Physicians course allowed me to understand and organize the intricacies and details of acupuncture without the frustration and confusion that I experienced in the other programs. That confusion lingered -- even after I finished the competing six month course -- until the HMI program, when I finally felt comfortable diagnosing and treating patients in a logical and consistent manner. I wish I had taken this course first."
Tom Ritchie, MD, Scottsdale, Arizona.

"I have attended other courses in acupuncture, and only the HMI training gets a five-star ranking. It is very well organized, and complex materials are condensed into straightforward teaching that is easy for the brain to ingest and digest. The preceptors are outstanding. They guide you every step of the way in the learning process, and they never make you feel that you won’t be a good acupuncturist by the end of the course. I wish I had taken this course earlier!
Ernesto Uy, MD, Lakeland, Florida.

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PROGRAM ORGANIZATION
The teaching material and style are integrated to allow the student to receive greatest benefit from the different modalities employed. The information in the teaching is complex, yet it presented in an understandable and digestible style. Teaching starts from the biomedical foundation familiar to all physicians, and progressively incorporates tenets from the classical texts. Each step in learning is anchored to pragmatic applications and realistic clinical situations. The lecturing, live and on home study videos, follows the same format of progressive layering of information, constantly integrating the new information into the student's existing knowledge matrix.

Different media are used to reinforce the learning process: live and videorecorded lectures, textbook and printed syllabus, clinical demonstrations, and hands-on experience. The teachers are trained and qualified through the Helms Medical Institute. They have demonstrated that they posses a solid knowledge of their material, a consistent competence in their clinical skills, and a teaching style conducive to optimum learning during the time available. No other program has teaching expertise or course organization as refined as Medical Acupuncture for Physicians.

The course is compact and dense. It respects the participant's dedication to learning the new discipline in the context of a busy professional schedule. Time is not wasted teaching what will not be clinically useful, yet the creation of a sophisticated theoretical foundation is not compromised. The small groups at the clinical sessions have a preceptor-to-student ratio of 1:3 to 1:6. Such exposure provides generous attention to each student's learning needs. And, because we enjoy teaching, we all have fun in the learning process.

Medical Acupuncture for Physicians is a basic course. It is typically the first serious exposure the student has to acupuncture. Its scope, depth, and organization, however, provide participants with the comprehensive training they need to practice good acupuncture. For participants with ambition to learn more in acupuncture, the course provides the firm foundation on which to develop skills in specialty applications or microsystems.

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THE CURRICULUM
Medical Acupuncture for Physicians presents the fundamentals of acupuncture theory, channel and point location, approaches to diagnosis and therapy, needling techniques, and patient management. It is a practice-oriented program that creates a sophisticated structure for the intelligent use of acupuncture. The course gives full dignity to both the medical tradition found in classical Chinese texts and to contemporary biomedical science, and encourages you to creatively adapt acupuncture into your specialty practice and clinical environment.

The training is organized into three units that involve lectures, home study and videocourse viewing, and supervised clinical training. The introductory weekend and core videocourse curriculum are the same for all participants, while the specialty videocourse curriculum and clinical units are offered in the following two pathways:

The primary care pathway focuses on applications of acupuncture to the broad range of clinical problems that are evaluated and treated by the primary practitioner. These problems can range from premorbid functional and stress-related disorders, to organic lesions, to musculoskeletal pain. The acupuncture models presented in the primary care videocourse and clinical units span from rarefied equilibration treatments aimed at reestablishing homeostasis, to dense neuromuscular stimulation.

The pain management pathway emphasizes acupuncture as treatment for patients referred to pain management specialty practices. This pathway addresses the pain of acute trauma, musculoskeletal problems such as myofascial pain and muscle tension headaches, pain of diskogenic lesions and peripheral neuropathies, and pain of organic and malignant lesions.

There is about an 85% overlap between the two pathways. The theoretical foundation for both pathways is identical: the introductory weekend, palpation and needling, core video course, textbook, syllabus, and handouts. The difference between the pathways is in the specialty videocourse lectures, and in the practical emphasis in the clinical unit. Because physicians practicing acupuncture rarely treat only primary care or only pain management patients, participants following the primary care pathway are also introduced to pain management techniques, and, likewise, participants following the pain management pathway are familiarized with the full spectrum of medical applications.

There are two format options for the full program. Both involve the introductory weekend and the two clinical units. The comprehensive HMI curriculum represents 300 hours of formal instruction in medical acupucture. There is also a reduced 220-hour format of the essential HMI curriculum, which involves fewer home study videos than the comprehensive curriculum. Participants in the essential format will be able to responsibly integrate acupuncture into their medical practices at the conclusion of the program, but will not have the breadth or depth of theoretical and clinical information that participants in the comprehensive format have.

There is a special exposure program for residents, fellows, and hospital administrators who wish to learn some fundamental skills in medical acupuncture, but who are not at the point in their careers to embrace the entire discipline. This program includes just the four-day introductory weekend, and will enable participants to understand the range of acupuncture application for a collection of uncomplicated symptoms. Exposure program participants will receive a copy of the Acupuncture Energetics textbook, but none of the video material.

UNIT 1: INTRODUCTORY WEEKEND
You will receive a copy of the Acupuncture Energetics textbook upon acceptance into the program, and are required to read sections of the book prior to attending the introductory weekend. In Philadelphia, course chairman Dr. Joseph Helms begins the program with an historical and scientific overview of acupuncture, and explains its context in modern medicine. He discusses the traditional models of acupuncture, including the circulation of Qi energy, characteristics and symptoms of the energy axes, the action of command points, and the five phases model. He talks about the realistic application of acupuncture to primary care and to pain management problems. The introductory weekend is a preview of all the material that is covered in the course. Its goal is to create an intellectual structure to organize the new information.

Sections addressing palpation and needling skills are integrated into the introductory weekend to initiate learning the manual skills of acupuncture. This involves lectures on the anatomy of major acupuncture points, and small group work palpating trigger points, acupuncture channels, and acupuncture points. Basic needling technique is also taught. You are requested to watch one videotape of the acupuncture points and channels prior to attending.

OPTIONAL CLINICAL INTENSIVE WORKSHOP
An optional one-day program follows the introductory weekend for those physicians who wish to begin needling simple cases while completing the full training program. This day offers supervised training at the treatment table on point anatomy, palpation, and needling, and will enable you to safely treat uncomplicated acute musculoskeletal pain. Enrollment is limited. Please apply early.

UNIT 2: HOME VIDEO STUDY
The core videocourse curriculum involves the precise identification of the acupuncture channels and points. The integration of gross anatomy, physiology, pathology, and therapy in acupuncture becomes progressively clear as you learn the locations and indications of the points. You are expected to read the textbook during this study period.

Specialty videocourse lectures are provided for each clinical pathway. These explore either classical or specialty applications of acupuncture, such as auricular acupuncture, traditional Chinese acupuncture, and techniques of pain management with acupuncture. These videotapes may be watched at the same time as, or following the core curriculum tapes. A brief test must be completed for each videotape and book chapter, and be submitted prior to participation in the clinical unit.

UNIT 3: CLINICAL EXPERIENCE
The clinical units bring the acupuncture learning process to practical clinical thinking and application. The first clinical unit is a mid-course, five-day unit of supervised review of channel and point locations, needling technique, and patient evaluation. The second five-day unit at the end of the course is an intensive hands-on session where you gain experience as both an acupuncture patient and an acupuncturist.

STUDY EXPECTATIONS
The ideal time to complete the course is within six to nine months of the introductory weekend. You must be prepared to devote a regular period each week to study the videotapes and locate points on yourself and on family and friends. The complete 300-hour curriculum requires approximately five to seven hours of study every week. These requirements are reduced by 40% if you take the 220-hour curriculum. You are also encouraged to reserve at least six hours of weekly study time for the month following the course to review the videos.

PROGRAM GOAL
The goal of the Medical Acupuncture for Physicians program is to enable you to employ acupuncture in your medical practice immediately after the clinical unit, and to be well prepared for later study in any specialized or advanced aspects of acupuncture. Three to six months of serious independent clinical integration following the final unit will ground your experience and allow you to gain confidence in this new modality.

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FEES	Before October 31	After October 31
300-HOUR COURSE TUTION FOR UNITS 1, 2, and 3 (Fee includes the Acupuncture Energetics textbook)	$6,750	$6,900
220-HOUR COURSE TUITION FOR UNITS 1, 2, and 3	$6,450	$6,600
EXTRA CLINICAL INTENSIVE DAY, December 8 (optional)	$600	$700
ADDITIONAL CLINICAL UNIT (For graduates of prior courses, or new students wanting to take both pathways)	$2,000	$2,000
20% DISCOUNT FOR RESIDENTS OR FELLOWS (must be full-time through the conclusion of this course) 300-HOUR COURSE 220-HOUR COURSE	$5,400 $5,150	$5,550 $5,300
EXPOSURE PROGRAM*	$1,600*	$1,750*

ntroductory weekend, but does not include the clinical intensive day. This tuition is deductible from the full course tuition when the participant applies to complete the training.

ADMISSION PROCEDURE
This program is only open only to physicians (all MDs and DOs) licensed to practice in their state or province of residence or work. DDSs, DPMs, DMDs may apply with verification that acupuncture is included in the scope of practice of their state license. Acceptance into the program is not automatic upon application. It is based upon professional training and current practice environment, intended use of this specialty, geographic location, and timely receipt of the application and required documents.

It is possible for you to attend two clinical units in one season to gain extra experience, or to return for an additional clinical unit in a later season, and to view the video lectures of either clinical pathway following the conclusion of the formal program.

Your application should contain, in addition to the attached form:
a resume of formal training, including acupuncture background, if any, and
a thoughtful statement of plans (at least two paragraphs) for your use of acupuncture;
a photocopy of your current, active professional license.

A letter of recommendation from a course graduate is encouraged but not required. The completed application form and documentation should be submitted along with the full tuition fee. Please apply early in order to receive the preparatory reading and viewing material well in advance of the introductory weekend. Tuition amounts increase after October 31, 2008.
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Choose the clinical unit carefully, as it is very difficult to change the assignment after the application deadline. Because of class size limitations, early application is requested for the clinical intensive or an additional clinical unit.

Each scheduled clinical unit will be filled to capacity on a first-come, first-served basis, after which time you will be assigned, if possible, to your second choice. If all clinical units are filled when your application is received, you may secure a position in the subsequent class, and, if requested, be placed on the waiting list for openings in the current class.

REFUNDS
Helms Medical Institute and the Office of Continuing Medical Education, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, reserve the right to cancel the course or any of its clinical units, and to change the dates or venue of the units. If you are not accepted into the course, a full refund of the tuition is given. If a clinical unit is canceled, you must be available to attend an alternate unit. A full refund is given if the course is canceled, discontinued, or rescheduled. A minimum service charge of $100 is withheld from all other refunds. Requests for refund must be in writing and postmarked two weeks before the introductory weekend, after which time the fee is not refundable.

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ACCREDITATION
The Office of Continuing Medical Education, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, designates this continuing medical educational activity for a maximum of 300 hours in Category I credit toward the AMA Physician's Recognition Award. Each physician should claim only those hours of credit that he/she actually spent in the education activity.

CME SPONSOR
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and Policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint sponsorship of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and Helms Medical Institute. The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA is accredited by ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

EXPLANATION OF CREDITS

Following successful completion of the three program units, a letter verifying 40, 220, or 300 hours of formal instruction in medical acupuncture (CME hours) will be issued to each participant, approximately six weeks after the clinical unit, and subsequent to the return of the home videocassettes. Credit for the home video study portions of the course is contingent upon successful completion of post-course tests. No partial credit can be issued for participation in any unit of the program.

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AMERICAN BOARD OF MEDICAL ACUPUNCTURE

This program is approved by the American board of Medical Acupuncture as meeting the minimum educational standards for board certification with the ABMA.

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ACCOMODATIONS
The Introductory Weekend course is held at the Tempe Mission Palms Hotel,
A group rate of $149/night plus $10 per night tax and services charge has been arranged for you:
Tempe Mission Palms Hotel
60 East Fifth Street
Tempe, Arizona 85281
(480) 894-1400

Group Rate Cutoff date: 20 October 2008

A credit card is required to guarantee a room for arrival after 6pm. When reserving, please indicate that you are attending the HMI ACUPUNCTURE COURSE in order to receive the group rate. The hotel is a 15-minute taxi or shuttle ride from Phoenix Airport.

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CHANGE OF CLINICAL UNIT
You must be available to attend the two 5-day clinical units as scheduled. If you miss one or the other of these units, your course completion cannot be guaranteed. Placement in a clinical unit of the subsequent course is contingent on availability of space. The fee to postpone a clinical unit if space is available is $2000. If the course has not been completed following a re-scheduling of clinical unit(s), the participant reverts to new applicant status, and is required to pay the full tuition for re-enrollment in the course.

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COURSE CHAIRMAN
Dr. Joseph Helms is considered to be the Father of Medical Acupuncture in the United States. He has taught physicians since 1978 when he coined the term “medical acupuncture” for his first workshop. In 1980 he created the “Medical Acupuncture for Physicians” program for the Office of Continuing Medical Education at the UCLA School of Medicine, and he has chaired the program since. 5,000 physicians have completed this rigorous training and over eighty percent of them use acupuncture regularly in their practices.

Dr. Helms is the author of the most widely used professional textbook on medical acupuncture, Acupuncture Energetics: A Clinical Approach for Physicians (Medical Acupuncture Publishers, Berkeley, 1995). He also undertook and published the first rigorously designed, controlled research study in medical acupuncture in the U.S. (“Acupuncture for the Management of Primary Dysmenorrhea,” Obstetrics and Gynecology, 69, 51-56, 1987), and thereby established the gold standard for clinical research and publication in acupuncture. His latest book is Getting To Know YOU: A Physician Explains How Acupuncture Helps You Be The Best YOU (Medical Acupuncture Publishers, Berkeley, 1995).

Dr. Helms is founding president of the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture, the national professional society that has established training and practice standards for medical acupuncture. He served as consultant on the World Health Organization’s acupuncture scientific advisory committees that have established international training and practice standards. He was instrumental in organizing the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health, and designing the NIH Consensus Development Conference on Acupuncture in 1997. He was a participant in the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy in 2001. With his teaching colleagues, Dr. Helms created the Helms Medical Institute in 1999 to train and certify the clinical faculty involved.

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LETTERS OF ENDORSEMENT
The following excerpts are from program evaluations and
letters received from participants in previous courses: