• The Journal of Korean Medical History
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.43-50
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• 2017

In the United States, California is well known for its rigorous education and licensing system regarding East Asian Medicine and acupuncture. As in most other states in America, the State government controls the practice of acupuncture, massage, acupressure therapy, food therapy, and natural therapy using a board established to set, maintain, and uphold licensing credentials for acupuncturists and practitioners of East Asian medicine. In California the system started in the 1970s when the State Legislature passed a bill to measure competency, and license acupuncturists. This study briefly describes the California Acupuncture Board (CAB), which is authorized to control the related education, examination, continuing education, and management of licenses already awarded. This study addresses the essential and minimum educational requirement established by the CAB for licensure, that is mandate classroom lecture with additional 950 hours clinic training, and the 50 hours of continuing education credits earned every two years, for maintaining the license.