Acupuncturist Kristy Hanley, L.Ac., Dipl.Ac., is board certified by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM), a national organization that validates competency in the practice of acupuncture and herbal medicine. As the founder and owner of Resilient Health Acupuncture & Wellness, she also oversees a dedicated and skilled team of board-certified practitioners.
Notice a recurring theme?
“Every practitioner at RHA is board certified,” Kristy says. “It’s a requirement. We are, I think, the only acupuncture clinic in Maryland where the entire staff is certified. So, you know that whoever you see at our clinic—regardless of experience—has met that national requirement.”
Certification is important, Kristy says. Not only does it demonstrate a commitment to one’s craft, but it also signifies to patients that the professional holding the tiny needles has pursued the highest level of training possible for their job.
But it wasn’t always that way.
Before the Board
Acupuncture, says Kristy, was not part of her family’s normal vernacular—or even on their radar—until her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.
A fellow patient recommended acupuncture to help with anxiety and sleep, says Kristy, and “my mom was desperate enough to try something totally new.”
“Within just a few sessions, she felt better,” Kristy recalls. “I was amazed.”
A former supervisor for Jenny Craig, Kristy had found a new calling. When the opportunity to attend school full-time presented itself, she enrolled in The Atlantic Institute of Oriental Medicine, one of the nation’s top ten schools for acupuncture, and earned her degree in just a few years. But what truly struck her was the school’s belief in board certification.
It was 2004, she explains, and as far as acupuncture was concerned – the wild, wild, West.
“Across the United States, there was really no regulation,” Kristy says. No “here’s the bare minimum” for professional competence.
But at The Atlantic Institute, things were different. The Chinese doctors who founded and ran the school believed strongly that board certification was vital to one’s practice, Kristy says.
“After just two years of study, our entire class sat for the national boards with the NCCAOM. Every single one of us passed.”
For Kristy and her classmates, board certification preceded licensure. It preceded graduation. “Clearly we had to finish school,” she says. “And we did. And by the time we did, we had our master’s degrees and our national board certifications.”
And their future patients? They had future doctors who had gone above and beyond to prove their dedication to their chosen field.
Is Your Acupuncturist Board Certified?
The NCCAOM offers board certification as a diplomat of acupuncture, a diplomat of Chinese herbology, or a diplomat of oriental medicine—which is a combination of the two.
Any of those practice areas are considered a hallmark of excellence in acupuncture and Asian medicine, Kristy says.
“It makes an important statement about our profession, right? Over the last 25 years, Traditional Chinese Medicine—and what some people would call holistic or Eastern medicine—has become more and more prevalent as a modality. So, now, finally, we have a national process that allows not just the population at large, but also other practitioners, our colleagues, and other providers to know the professional they’re talking to is nationally board certified in their process.”
Every four years, board-certified practitioners must show 60 professional development credits in core competency classes, among other requirements. Also required is a CPR recertification every four years (which, Kristy notes, is not part of state licensure).
It’s also important to note that while some states—like Pennsylvania—require board certification before licensing, Maryland is currently not one of them. Yet. As of 2026, anyone getting a new license in Maryland will have to show their board certification through NCCAOM, as well as their degree from an appropriately accredited school.
“More than 1000 acupuncturists are practicing in Maryland today. If you visit the NCCAOM site, it appears there are maybe 300 in the state who are nationally board certified,” Kristy continues. “I think that’s important to know.”
Certification is more about commitment than safety, Kristy says. Acupuncture, she notes, is not dangerous in and of itself.
“That’s what makes it such a great modality for everyone,” Kristy says. “It has so few contraindications or risks. That said, I think no matter where you go for treatment, you want to know that you’re going to someone who has shown they have the highest level of training possible. That’s what you get when you see a DIPL.AC. designation following a practitioner’s title – not just L.A.C.”
What’s also interesting, she notes, is the multiple degrees that are now achievable in the field.
“You can get a doctorate in acupuncture. You can get a doctorate in Oriental medicine,” Kristy says. “But that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve taken the national boards.”
Her suggestion? Always look for the NCCAOM certification.
“You don’t know where a practitioner went to school. You don’t know what kind of doctorate program they completed—although, I’m sure they’re all excellent. But not everything is equal. When you choose an NCCAOM practitioner, you know they are working at the highest level measured in our country,” she says.
“It definitely reflects a higher level of commitment and work.”