As a licensed acupuncturist, I would like to probe a question:  

Would it be safe, achievable, practicable, and realistic that licensed acupuncturists complete 50+ hours of physical therapy training and become certified in physical therapy, and thereafter start practicing it on patients?

A yes to the above question raises a red flag because it will inevitably result in improper application of physical therapy, and potentially harming the patient due to insufficient knowledge and training.  Further, the negative results would impact the reputation of physical therapy at large.

Dry needling similarly carries the same red flag.  In order to correctly acupuncture a patient, the practitioner must first, diagnose based on Traditional Chinese Medicine or Asian Medicine principles by examining the patient thoroughly and completely. Additionally, without the extensive knowledge and veracious clinical training of Asian medicine one can neither diagnose nor select the appropriate acupuncture points to apply to a patient.   Inadequate education and training not only potentially harms the patient but the possible negative results impact the reputation of acupuncture and its effect due to the inaccurate diagnosis and application.

Further, if it is required and imperative that the acupuncture practitioner has to be systematically educated and graduated from an ACAOM approved college, has to be well trained in Asian medicine clinic, and has to have successfully passed the required state and/or national board exams (NCCAOM) in all aspect of Asian medicine, from diagnosis to biomedicine, acupuncture and clinic application, then how can be 50+ hours of DRY Needling training suffice?  How can it be appropriate for patient’s wellbeing? Where acupuncture is an education and training that takes most licensed and acupuncture Diplomates at least 4 full time years in order to have the proper qualification to treat patients. 

 It is only and only after this correct and extensive Asian Medicine education and certification and/or licensing that the practitioner can properly diagnose the patient and in turn select the correct acupuncture points or combinations of points.  There is no way that 50+ hours of training for dry needling suffice for a proper diagnosis and acupuncture point selection and application. 

Consequently, by merely following a protocol for needling will unescapably have negative results for the patients, and in-turn a negative impact on the society at large due to improper diagnosis and point selection/needling which also will affect the overall reputation of acupuncture as a treatment option.