Acupuncture is not new; as a healing technique it has been studied and utilized for more than 2,500 years. Using ancient scientific principles, acupuncture treats illness by bringing a person’s body into harmony, into balance, into homeostasis.
Here, in North America, acupuncture began to flourish during the Cultural Revolution in China; since 1974 the Acupuncture Foundation of Canada Institute has been in the foreground of Canadian medical acupuncture education, helping students understand how best to address problems that western medicine sometimes fails to resolve.
What makes the Acupuncture Foundation of Canada Institute unique is that we offer nine levels of courses in both anatomical and classical acupuncture teaching, beginning with the anatomical approach. The insight of the West combines with the wisdom of the East to maximize students’ understanding of both traditions. One of the major contributors to our members’ skill using acupuncture is the quality of education our Institute provides.
Our organizational goal is to educate our members so that they can provide optimal treatment for medical conditions that pose problems to the quality of their patients’ daily lives. Arguably, our comprehensive approach to acupuncture education facilitates a depth of training that best serves the needs of people who seek assistance from our members regarding issues of chronic pain and neurological impairments.
Our membership is multidisciplinary. All of our students and members are drawn from health care fields. Some are physicians; others are dentists, physiotherapists, chiropractors, acupuncturists, TCM doctors, TCM practitioners, baccalaureate level registered nurses and naturopathic doctors. Each practitioner on our referral list has enrolled in several courses with AFCI, and has successfully passed our written and practical exams.
Our primary focus in educating students is always on the patient’s well being. An important part of our training is the emphasis on appropriate referral if a patient’s progress would be enhanced by the expertise of another clinician, such as someone with a broader knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine or with a different professional background and expertise.
Our Foundation’s platform is clear:
First, we teach practitioners a skill that enhances patient care. Second, we promote high standards of professional integrity. Lastly, we emphasize the benefits of inter-professional collaboration for the benefit of the public.