The Georgia State Board of Medical Examiners Acupuncture Licensing Board can be a difficult obstacle to overcome when attempting to obtain a license in Georgia. As with any other division of the state government they tend to move on their time and it can sometimes take months to be approved and receive a license. We have compiled a few tips and will provide a few names to provide further assistance if needed.

Tips:

• Contact Gladys Henderson ghenderson@dch.state.ga.us at the Georgia State Board of Medical Examiners (404)463-2292 and request the licensing application packet.

• Provide all requested documentation and fill in with detail all portions of the application. It is common for the board to set aside applications that work history or education is not explained in detail when referring to professional acupuncture experience. You will be requested to provide more information and the completed application will be reviewed/ approved at the next meeting, one month later. To avoid delays be thorough the first time.

• There are five primary requirements to be licensed in the state of Georgia. Do not forget to show proof of insurance at the level of $100,000/ 300,000.

• In Georgia the law requires one year of supervised practice if you have recently completed a program of study in acupuncture. Your clinical internship in your program of study does not count. The board is normally looking for professional practice that occurred after you have become nationally certified by NCCAOM. For most of the previous applicants they have viewed NCCAOM certification as the beginning of their professional career and have not made many exceptions. The year of supervised practice must be with a board-approved practitioner. You must only perform acupuncture at that facility while the supervising practitioner is present at the facility. The supervisor must witness one treatment every two weeks and submit quarterly reviews. You must treat 500 patients in that 1-year period of supervision. Finding a supervisor can sometimes be difficult. We can provide the names of a few practitioners who have expressed an interest in supervising or are currently supervising practitioners. You should expect to pay a reasonable fee for their supervision.