AN EXPERIMENT IN POST GRADUATE EDUCATION

Abstract

This paper reviews the development of medical acupuncture in New Zealand, including a preliminary survey of 102 doctors practising acupuncture.

The education and training of qualified doctors in the clinical use of acupuncture has been achieved through a series of past graduate courses each of 40 hours duration. One hundred and twenty five questionnaires were distrubuted to doctors who had undergone a basic training course over the previous two years and the results analysed.

The analysis showed that 60% of these doctors treated up to 25 patients a week by acupuncture; 17% treated between 20 and 50 patients per week; 18% treated less than 4 patients per week.

As doctors have acquired experience, so has the number of patients increased—quite substantially for 50% of the practitioners.

85% of the doctors use acupuncture mainly for pain disorders but a total list of 70 different conditions were mentioned as amenable to treatment by acupuncture.

While using acupuncture none of the doctors increased their prescribed drugs, but 66% reduced prescribing of analgesics; 64% reduced their prescribing of anti-inflammatory drugs; 31% reduced their prescribing of sedatives; 19% reduced their prescribing of anti-spasmodics,and 28% reduced their prescribing of antihistamines.

These analyses confirm the growing conviction of the doctors themselves that acupuncture is to be regarded as a regular part of medical practice and employed with the traditional professionalism and skills of the qualified practising doctor.