Evaluation of an acupuncture procedure training program

The United States Air Force and the Samueli Institute have developed the first known training program to teach military primary care physicians a simple acupuncture procedure called the Auricular Stimulation Procedure (ASP). This technique is currently used in military acupuncture specialty clinics to quickly and conveniently deliver relief to patients presenting with acute and chronic pain. This program brings the technique into primary care, where it can be used as a first-line treatment for pain conditions. If replicated in the civilian population, it would serve as a major step toward the integration of complementary medicine with conventional to improve public health. In the first phase of this study, military primary care physicians (n = 10) interested in learning ASP are enrolled in the training program. Trainees receive a manual and attend the required clinical training sessions. Once they pass a written exam and complete the necessary clinical practicum sessions they are credentialed to perform the ASP procedure. Medical observers will provide objective data on the fidelity of the training sessions to the manual. The second phase of this study will monitor the use of the procedure in the primary care clinic, including data on the rate of patients' acceptance of the procedure, pre- and post-treatment pain scores and the patients' satisfaction with the procedure. This presentation will discuss observations of the training program, the use of the procedure by the credentialed physicians, and aggregate data from the second phase of the study.