Battlefield Acupuncture Training in Residency: A Course That Gets to the Point

Abstract

Objective: Health care providers and patients in the United States have limited experience with acupuncture. A 2007 U.S. Health survey showed that 6.5% of people reported ever using acupuncture and that most them sought relief from pain. Yet, acupuncture was also used as a preventive modality to promote overall health. This study was conducted to determine if a single training session of Battlefield Acupuncture (BFA) was effective and how the session influenced residents' opinions on incorporating BFA training into residency programs.

Materials and Methods: This study was conducted at a single, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency program with 18 PGY2–PGY4 level residents. They were given 3-hour didactic lecture by a certified BFA instructor and then a hands-on demonstration. During the demonstration, each participant verified that he or she knew how to place 5 BFA needles. The participants were also surveyed about incorporating BFA training into residency programs.

Results: After the training, 12 of the 18 participants responded to the survey. A majority of those who responded disagreed that their choice for a specific residency program would be affected by whether the program offered BFA certification. More participants than not recommended incorporating BFA into other residency program curricula. Most participants stated that that a one-time didactic and training session was adequate for learning BFA.

Conclusions: Resident-physicians training in BFA techniques is effective. Residents had favorable attitudes toward this treatment and a minority intended to use the technique in their practice. BFA training can be incorporated easily in residency curricula.