Medical Acupuncture for Physicians Course Fall 2025 to Spring 2026

Medical Acupuncture for Physicians Course Fall 2025 to Spring 2026 is organized by Helms Medical Institute (HMI) and will be held from Nov 06, 2025 - May 31, 2026 at Tempe Mission Palms Hotel, Tempe, Arizona, United States of America.

Dates - Locations
The primary course modules of the Fall 2025 – Spring 2026 class will be held at:

• Module One:  November 6-9, 2025
  Tempe Mission Palms Hotel (Tempe, AZ)
   
• Module Two:  March 5-8, 2026
  Bolger Conference Center (Potomac, MD)
   
• Module Three:  May 28-31, 2026
  Bolger Conference Center (Potomac, MD)

Description:
Medical Acupuncture for Physicians: A Course for Learners New to the Discipline of Medical Acupuncture

The Medical Acupuncture for Physicians course presents the foundation of acupuncture science and theory, channel and point location, needling techniques, approaches to diagnosis and therapy, 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 contemporary biomedical science and the medical tradition found in classical Chinese texts. Even after completion of the very first live course module, this course will enable you to implement acupuncture into your clinical environment.

This medical acupuncture training course is organized into a series of live units that are composed of lectures, demonstrations, and closely supervised clinical training. Between the units, there are video and reading requirements, as well as a series of small group meetings held on Zoom to have questions answered by an HMI preceptor, to reinforce key educational topics, and to build camaraderie with your peer group.

There are two options of course pathways: the full 300-hour course which is composed of three live course modules, or an abridged 220-hour course which is composed of only the first two course modules. HMI recommends the standard 300-hour pathway, but provides the 220-hour option as an alternative for those intending on a narrower scope of practice.

The Medical Acupuncture for Physicians program is a contemporary acupuncture training course that teaches acupuncture applications for both primary care and pain management clinical problems. By the conclusion of the course you will be prepared with a wide spectrum of medical acupuncture techniques.

For general medical problems you are taught acupuncture approaches for common organic and functional disturbances accessible to acupuncture, and stress-related disorders such as anxiety, GI disturbances, and sleep disorders. The teaching team has an expertise in managing post-traumatic stress and sequelae to traumatic brain injury.

For pain problems you will learn to address the pain of acute trauma, musculoskeletal problems including myofascial pain and headaches, pain of discogenic lesions and peripheral neuropathies, and pain of organic maladies and malignant lesions.

The comprehensive acupuncture CME curriculum involves 220-300 hours of formal instruction in medical acupuncture. You will receive the highest quality of hands-on instruction and clinical information in small group settings, which will enable you to progressively integrate acupuncture into your medical practice immediately following each live session.

Course books, charts, instruments, digital app, and start-up needles are provided to you on the first day of the course.

Course Content:

• Basic science foundations of acupuncture
• Clinical science levels of evidence
• Fundamental tenets of traditional acupuncture theory
• Hybrid contemporary model of acupuncture
• Channel and point function, location, and palpation
• Integrated approaches to diagnosis and therapy
• Needling technique
• Patient management
• Practice set up, building, and billing

Specifically, the topics covered at each live unit are as follows:

Module One:

• Auricular acupuncture
• Surface and myofascial techniques for treating musculoskeletal pain (Surface Release, Tendinomuscular Meridians, Trigger Point Deactivation, Two-Needle Technique, Gua Sha scraping)
• Energetic Treatment Protocols
• Safe Default Initial Treatments
• Introductory work with the Principal Meridians

Module Two:

• Energy circulation through the Principal Meridians
• Shu-Mu subsystem
• Percutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (PENS)
• Deep needling and periosteal techniques
• Five Phases and the GAM treatment
• Introduction to Curious Meridians
• Practice Management panel

Module Three:

• Intermediate PENS and Periosteal stimulation
• Distinct Meridian subsystem
• General medical applications of acupuncture
• Energetic balancing treatments
• Needling proficiency and excellence in needling challenging points
• Microsystem diagnosis
• Patient cases

Learning Objectives:

This acupuncture course is designed to meet the needs of physicians seeking responsible and comprehensive training in the discipline of medical acupuncture. In doing so, this CME activity addresses the demands of patients and physicians seeking a safe and time-tested complement or alternative to conventional medical therapies, whether for pain or general medical problems accessible to acupuncture.

If you participate conscientiously in all aspects of the acupuncture course, Medical Acupuncture for Physicians will enable you to:

• Apply this skill when addressing neuromusculoskeletal and headache pain problems in your clinical setting, and thereby reduce reliance on pharmaceuticals;
• Use the acupuncture diagnostic model to interpret premorbid and stress-related problems that typically escape explanation and to address the “worried well” in your practice;
• Use acupuncture as an early intervention tool in managing chronic pain patients, as primary treatment or in collaboration with medications and other interventions;
• Relate on a more intimate, interactive, and practical level with your patients, and thus allow you to enjoy anew your practice of medicine.

Format Differences:

• The 300-hour course is composed of three live course modules. In between these modules, there are video/reading assignments, along with two series of small group Zoom meetings.
• The 200-hour course is composed of only the first two live course modules. Video and reading assignments will occur between these two modules, along with one series of small group Zoom meetings.