Summary Report for:
29-1199.01 - Acupuncturists
Provide treatment of symptoms and disorders using needles and small electrical currents. May provide massage treatment. May also provide preventive treatments.
This title represents an occupation for which data collection is currently underway.
Tasks | Interests | Work Values | Wages & Employment
Tasks
- Identify correct anatomical and proportional point locations based on patients' anatomy and positions, contraindications, and precautions related to treatments such as intradermal needles, moxibution, electricity, guasha, and bleeding.
- Insert needles to provide acupuncture treatment.
- Treat medical conditions using techniques such as acupressure, shiatsu, and tuina.
- Develop individual treatment plans and strategies.
- Analyze physical findings and medical histories to make diagnoses according to Oriental medicine traditions.
- Apply heat or cold therapy to patients using materials such as heat pads, hydrocollator packs, warm compresses, cold compresses, heat lamps, and vapor coolants.
- Apply moxibustion directly or indirectly to patients using Chinese, non-scarring, stick, or pole moxa.
- Assess patients' general physical appearance to make diagnoses.
- Collect medical histories and general health and life style information from patients.
- Evaluate treatment outcomes and recommend new or altered treatments as necessary to further promote, restore, or maintain health.
Interests
Interest code: SRI
| Social — Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others. |
| Realistic — Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others. |
| Investigative — Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally. |
Work Values
| Achievement — Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement. |
| Independence — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employs to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy. |
| Relationships — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service. |
Wages & Employment Trends
National
Median wages data collected from Health Diagnosing and Treating Practitioners, All Other.
Employment data collected from Health Diagnosing and Treating Practitioners, All Other.
| Median wages (2008) | $31.67 hourly, $65,880 annual |
| Employment (2006) | 65,000 employees |
| Projected growth (2006-2016) | 
Average (7% to 13%)
|
| Projected need (2006-2016) | 19,000 additional employees |
State & National
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2008 wage data
and 2006-2016 employment projections
.
"Projected growth" represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2006-2016). "Projected need" represents job openings due to growth and net replacement.