Career on Pins and Needles? Learn the Business of Acupuncture
The characteristics of an aspiring acupuncturist are obvious: a friendly, empathetic personality; a high level of communication skills; and a strong desire to help others. If you’re reading this entry, I’m sure you already possess those traits.
What you may have overlooked in your career preparation, however, is an element critical to success as an acupuncturist: entrepreneurship. As Lisa Hanfileti, LAc, MAcOM, of www.insights-for-acupuncturists.com attests, those lacking business acumen will have a tough time making a living as an acupuncturist. After all, no matter how incredible your healing powers are, if you cannot manage the business aspects of your practice, you will not have a practice at all.
OK, enough doom and gloom. I’m sure you’re already convinced of the need to market your skills, attract patients to your practice, and sell your wares. So how can you acquire those skills while you’re immersed in a right-brained education environment? The short answer: Take time to engage your left brain once in a while.
When you’re searching for the acupuncture program that’s right for you, make sure that business courses are included in the offerings. Practice management courses will familiarize you with the process of opening and managing a health care practice. You’ll learn how to write a business plan, develop office policies and procedures, manage insurance billing, and prescribe and sell herbs in an ethical manner. Marketing courses will teach you the major marketing techniques and procedures relating to the operation of a private practice. And legal courses will provide insight into Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) rules and regulations pertaining to the operation of a private practice, as well as other laws governing the practice of acupuncture in the U.S.
If your acupuncture program is lacking in real-world business preparation, you still have hope for career success–you’ll just need to be a little more proactive in achieving it. For instance, you might plan to supplement your alternative medicine coursework with practical business seminars on the side. By all means, enlist the help of professors to draft your business plan, and gather insight into their successes and failures in professional practice. In short, take all the “free” advice you can get.
Compassion and communication offer an excellent start to a career in acupuncture. Just add some entrepreneurial spirit, and you’ll be in business!
-Robyn Tellefsen