The only veterinary acupuncture program dedicated to teaching acupuncture

from a scientific, rational, and evidence-based standpoint.

2008 Medical Acupuncture for Veterinarians Brochure

[Note:  The 2009 brochure will be available in the summer of 2008.  Contact the CVMA at 303-318-0447, or info@colovma.org, to join the acupuncture mailing list.]

Learn acupuncture for today's doctors based on today's medicine

Explore advanced medical acupuncture concepts, built on the latest research

Obtain a comprehensive acupuncture education for every type of veterinary practice, spanning the species spectrum

Directed and developed by Narda G. Robinson, DO, DVM, MS, FAAMA, who introduced medical acupuncture to the veterinary profession in 1998.

Produced as a joint effort of Colorado State University, the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association, and the International Academy of Veterinary Medical Acupuncture.

Is This Course For YOU?

This is the course for you if:

• You want to know how acupuncture really works, from a scientific perspective.
• You want to know which treatment strategies will deliver the most benefit in the clinic, based on research evidence and straight talk.
• You want to practice acupuncture safely and judiciously.
• You want to be able to discuss with your clients and peers the mechanisms of action of acupuncture, using clear and contemporary terminology, transcending the need for metaphors and metaphysical processes.
• You want to confidently and effectively introduce acupuncture into your practice immediately upon completion of the program.

Medical acupuncture entered the veterinary profession over 10 years ago, and since then has flourished as a highly respected and popular treatment modality, due in large part to its intelligent and rational foundation. Medical Acupuncture for Veterinarians offers a complete, 140-hour continuing education program for veterinarians and qualified veterinary students. The scientifically oriented curriculum provides the foundation that veterinarians practicing acupuncture want and need to know. Setting higher standards for veterinarian acupuncturists furthers the profession’s capacity to make meaningful advances in acupuncture research, practice and education.

See the Course Curriculum, below:

Session I February 4-8, 2009

Scientific Acupuncture

• Interventional neuromodulation:  the key to acupuncture

• Neuroanatomy and neurophysiology of acupuncture – from peripheral nerves to the brain and back again

• How the human acupuncture channels and points network transposes to non-human anatomy

• Research advances in scientific acupuncture

• Acupuncture anatomy prosection laboratories in the Colorado State University Anatomy Laboratory

• Acupuncture point palpation and optional self-needling exercises

• Trigger point therapy, lecture and laboratory; the myofascial examination

• Soft tissue manual therapy lecture and laboratory

• Techniques and instrumentation laboratory and demonstrations

• Point-finding laboratories on dogs and horses illustrating viscerosomatic and somatovisceral reflexes underlying the Back Shu/Front Mu point relationships to organs

• Pain management, acupuncture analgesia and acupuncture-supported anesthesia

• Needling precautions and adverse reactions to acupuncture

• The hazards and mistaken assumptions related to gold bead implants, and why permanent needle embedding is considered malpractice by human medical acupuncture authors

• Review of the neurologic examination of horses and small animals, designed to improve treatment accuracy and effectiveness

Session II March 4 - 8, 2009

Chinese Medicine: Moving Beyond the Metaphor

• Early Chinese Medical physiology – where they got it right, and where they got it wrong, and why we need to evaluate Chinese Medicine critically

• Is TCM diagnosis worthless?  What the scientific literature indicates regarding the struggle of assembling a TCM pattern differentiation, and the debate surrounding its value or lack thereof

• Yin and Yang, Five Phases, Eight Principles:  What were the ancients really describing, based on modern medical terminology?

• The neurovascular origins of acupuncture channels

• The "big" points -- master, influential, and command points: Which ones matter most and why, from a neuromodulatory perspective

• How acupuncture outside of China devolved into an “energy medicine” based on a few unfortunate and recent mistranslations

• Tongue and pulse diagnosis —sorting through what works and what doesn’t, based on facts and sound, clinical judgment

• Chinese medical examination and treatment laboratories on horses and small animals

• Ting point therapy for horses

• Unveiling the mystery behind the eight singular vessels – the vascular basis of the so-called “Curious Meridians” or “Eight Extra Meridians”

• Point-finding laboratory: Regional points

• Written examination on Session I material

Session III April 1 - 5, 2009

Clinical Applications: Where Neuromodulation, Chinese Medicine, and the Evidence Intersect

• Acupuncture techniques for problems related to the following systems or conditions: musculoskeletal, neurologic, peri-operative, dermatologic, gastrointestinal, reproductive, ophthalmologic, urologic, respiratory, cardiovascular, immunologic, critical care, pain, psychological, and behavioral problems

• Small groups with clinical preceptors and live patient evaluations

• Acupuncture for bovine, camelids, and other farm animals -- lecture and laboratory

• Where acupuncture and organic farming meet

• Review of acupuncture point locations with mock practical examinations to prepare for actual practical examination

• Electro-acupuncture including percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (PENS)

• Written examination on Session II material

Session IV April 29 - May 3, 2009

Synthesis and Integration: Putting Acupuncture to Work

• Live animal work-ups and treatments with small animals and horses

• Saddle fit lecture and laboratory

• Acupuncture practice management

• Getting started with your first acupuncture lecture

• Moxibustion laboratory

• Legal issues surrounding complementary and alternative medicine

• Stretching and rehabilitation lecture and laboratories

• Clinical cases written examination on material presented in Sessions I through III

• Practical examinations on point locations in dogs and horses

Note: Lecture sequences may vary from year to year.