Acupuncture Program for RMTs, Nurses, and other Healthcare Professionals

The 2,200 hour Acupuncture Diploma Program is designed to prepare students to become competent acupuncturists. Graduates can expect to practice acupuncture as a stand-alone therapy or along their current discipline. Our curriculum is designed to develop a skilled and confident practitioner under the current guidelines proposed by The College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of Ontario (CTCMPAO).

Extensive hands on training while working with highly qualified professionals, gives our graduates the edge that is required to become successful acupuncturists within the field of Eastern medicine/Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). For individuals who wish to continue their studies to become a TCM Practitioner, additional courses in Traditional Chinese Medicine herbs are offered over a one year period. 

Learn More

At AIM Academy we have an open door policy. Which means no question goes unanswered. Here are more details about our program.

FAQs

What is Acupuncture?

Why study Acupuncture?

Why AIM Academy?

Program Length

2,200 hours (exemptions apply for practitioners that have completed anatomy, physiology, etc.)

Schedules

AIM Academy is currently accepting applications for schedules with the following start dates:
• September 2024 (2.5 year program)
• January 2025 (2.5 year program)

2.5 Year Schedule (September 2024)

Click here to see the first year schedule for the September 2024 2.5 Year Acupuncture Program!

Starts: September 2024

1st Year: September 2024 - July 2025

• Term 1: September - December -Reduced Course Load
  
• Term 2: January - April -Reduced Course Load
  
• Term 3: April - July (August off) -Reduced Course Load

2nd Year: September 2025 - July 2026

• Term 1: September - December -Reduced Course Load
• Term 2: January - April
• Term 3: April - July (August off)

3rd Year: September 2026 - December 2026:

• Term 1: September - December

2.5 Year Schedule (January 2025)

Starts: January 2025

1st Year: January 2025 - December 2025:

• Term 1: January - April -Reduced Course Load
  
• Term 2: April - July -Reduced Course Load
  
• Term 3: September - December -Reduced Course Load

2nd Year: January 2026 - December 2026:

• Term 1: January - April -Reduced Course Load
• Term 2: April - July (August off)
• Term 3: September - December

3rd Year: January 2027 - June 2027:

• Term 1: January - April
• Term 2: April - June 

Part-Time Studies

Begin your journey on a part-time basis and when you're ready, let us tailor your schedule to suit your needs. Our Part-Time Acupuncture Diploma Program can be taken over the course of 4 years.

Begin your journey with Traditional Chinese Medicine Theory!

Please contact our admissions team at info@aim-academy.ca for more details.

For more information about these schedule options or tailor made schedules, please contact the Admissions Department at (416) 323-1818 ex.202 or for those who are outside of Toronto but reside in North America, please call our toll free number at 1-800-263-1703 ex.202. Our schedule is designed to fit with your career & personal commitments. Classes are scheduled as such so that you can work most afternoons / evenings / weekends and maintain your existing practice.

Curriculum

The 2,200 hour curriculum is a balance of theory and practice and includes the following courses:

• Acupuncture Technique (100 hours)
• Advanced Acupuncture Technique (20 hours)
• Biomedical Pharmacology (40 hours)
• Clean Needle Technique (20 hours)
• Clinical Acupuncture Practicum (560 hours; 500 hours on-site, 20 hours off-site & 40 observation hours)
• Eastern Nutrition - Prevention, Diet, Lifestyle (40 hours)
• Ethics & Jurisprudence (24 hours)
• External Techniques: Auricular acupuncture, Electro-acupuncture, Plum Blossom, Gua-sha, Cupping, and Moxibustion (60 hours)
• First Aid and CPR (16 hours)
• Functional Anatomy (60 hours)
• Human Anatomy (60 Hours)
• Human Pathology and Symptomology (60 Hours)
• Human Physiology (60 Hours)
• Introduction to Acupuncture Points (160 hours)
• Introduction to Herbal Theory (20 hours)
• The Jing-Luo (Meridians and Collaterals) System (60 hours)
• Medical Qi-Gong (35 Hours)
• Practice Management and Communication Skills (60 Hours)
• Professional Counselling (20 hours)
• Tai Chi (35 hours)
• Traditional Chinese Medicine Case Study (40 hours)
• Traditional Chinese Medicine Diagnosis (200 hours)
• Traditional Chinese Medicine Review (30 hours)
• Traditional Chinese Medicine Theory (100 hours)
• The Treatment of Disease (200 hours)
  
• external and internal medicine
• dermatology
• gynecology
• trauma
• orthopedics, and more!
• Tuina (80 Hours)
• Western Medical Assessment (40 Hours)

Under a streamlined version of the program (reduced to 1845 hours) Registered Massage Therapists in Ontario are eligible for exemptions from the following courses:

• Anatomy (120 hours)
• Physiology (60 hours)
• Pathology (60 hours)
• Practice Management (60 hours)
• First Aid/CPR (16 hours)
• as long as an up to date certificate can be provided before the start of the program in and doesn't expire before June 2023
• Western Medical Assessment (40 hours)

Other Healthcare Practitioners such as Nurses, Naturopaths, and Kinesiologists may be exempt from these and/or other courses. Contact Enza Ierullo at (416) 323 1818 ext 202 or email info@aim-academy.ca.

Goal of Study

The 2,200 hour Acupuncture Diploma Program is designed to prepare students to become competent 'Acupuncturists' and can expect to practice acupuncture as a stand-alone therapy or along with their current discipline in a skilled and confident manner under the current guidelines proposed by The College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of Ontario.

Extensive hands on training while working with highly qualified professionals, gives our graduates the edge that is required to become successful acupuncturists within the field of Eastern medicine/traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

For individuals who wish to continue their studies to become a TCM Practitioner, additional courses in traditional Chinese medicine herbs are offered over a one year period. Call the Admissions Department directly to discuss all the various schedule options available.

Why study acupuncture at AIM Academy?

• Graduates receive high pass rates on the CTCMPAO examinations.
• Courses are taught by practicing professionals who have excellent academic qualifications and practical experience. All clinical supervisors are registered acupuncturists with CTCMPAO.
• You will learn acupuncture as an adjunct to your present discipline or as stand-alone form of alternative healthcare.
• Students will have 560 hours of practical hands-on, supervised Student Clinic (500 hours on-site, 20 hours internship & 40 observation hours).
• Students incorporate all elements of their Chinese acupuncture training within student clinic under the instruction of highly qualified, experienced professional therapists.
• Receive discount treatments in the student clinics while studying at AIM Academy.
• Membership in the AIM Academy Alumni Guild with benefits (AIM Academy web site, newsletter, reduced seminar fees for school sponsored seminars, etc.)
• Written, oral and practical exams that offer proof of your progress.
• Benefit from the 35 years of educational experience in the field of Eastern therapeutic practices and complementary healthcare.
• Textbook theory AND palpatory skills are emphasized.
• Acupuncture is less physically demanding than some other modalities, allowing the practitioner a needed change of pace.
• Many extended health care benefits packages provide coverage for acupuncture.

Employment Options Upon Completion

• join the AIM Academy team as a graduate therapist under the CTCMPAO student class designation
• work as a self-employed therapist and operate your own private clinic
• work in an established clinic with a team of other therapists
• work out of your own home
• travel to clients' homes and offer in home care
• set up corporate events to treat clients in their workplaces
• work on a cruise ship
• join the AIM Academy team as a clinic supervisor and oversee students in our teaching clinic
• join the AIM Academy team as a faculty member of our growing teaching staff

Tuition & Financial Aid

Students enrolled in the Acupuncture Diploma Program may be eligible, if qualified, for loans, grants, or awards granted under the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP).

About Financial Aid

Tuition Payment Plans

2.5 year program starting September 2024

**No refunds after the half way point in any program.**

Scholarships

We are introducing new scholarships for future AIM students. For more details, please see AIM Academic Excellence Scholarships.

Instructors

Meet our faculty and instructors at AIM Academy.

• RICHARD KWAN BSc, R.TCMP, R.Ac
• PONEY CHIANG, PhD, R.TCMP, Dipl. OM (NCCAOM)
• KATHERINE CHEKHTER BA, R.TCMP, R.Ac
• ELENA DOBROVETSKY M.Sc, R.Ac, R.TCMP
• ROBERTO IUSSO R.Ac
• CATHY KEENAN R.Ac
• ALEX LIN R.TCMP, R.Ac
• JESSE LOWN R.Ac, R.TCMP
• ZACHARY LUI R. Ac MMO
• ATANU NANDY MB BS. MD. DMV
• CARLOS PRANIAUSKAS, Dipl.ST, MQP (Medical Qi Gong Practitioner)
• SONOKO SATO R.Ac
• YEE JIN (WILLIAM) SUNG R.Ac, R.TCMP
• ZHI JIAN (KEN) LUO R. Ac
• FRANCINE DIXON R.Ac
• MARIA VIRGINA FLORENTIN R.Ac
• HAILEY SLAVIERO R.Ac R.TCMP

Admissions

The following health care professionals may enrol in the 2,200 hour Acupuncture Diploma Program: (356 hours of exemptions and 1,844 hours of actual in school training, being granted 2,200 hours of training based on approved qualified exemptions).

• Registered Massage Therapists (RMTs)
• Registered Nurses
• Physicians
• Physiotherapists
• Occupational Therapists
• Chiropractors
• Veterinarians
• Naturopaths
• Dentists
• Kinesiologists

Graduates of this program can expect to be able to practice acupuncture as a stand-alone therapy or along with their current discipline in a skilled and confident manner under their pre-existing regulatory college and the new Regulatory College for Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of Ontario.

NOTE: You must understand English to succeed at AIM Academy since our classes and clinics are conducted in English. You must be fluent enough to comprehend your instructors and clinic clients as well as the texts and other written material, and be able to complete written and oral assignments.

If your first language is not English, we will assess your English-language capabilities in the interview process. You may be required to submit a TOEFL exam in which you received a passing grade, and demonstrate satisfactory written/oral comprehension of English.

For further information on the application process, please feel free to contact admissions at (416) 323-1818 ex.202 or call our toll free number, 1-800-263-1703 ex.202.

Applications

Enrolment is limited and applications are processed on an ongoing basis. Apply early to avoid disappointment.

Application Deadline
Due August 31, 2024 to start September 2024

Download the Application here
Download the Medical Form here

Application Documents Required
1. Complete application form.
2. Application fee of $50.00.
3. Transcripts from high school OR post secondary education.*Transcripts must be sent directly to the school from the issuing institution to be offical.
4. Completed AIM Academy medical form filled out by your family physician indicating that you have received a full physical within the last year and that you are in good physical and general health, that you are free from communicable diseases and your tuberculosis status within the last year.

After Your Application is Submitted
1. Interview
2. Once you have completed the application documents (all documents received), we will arrange an interview.

Application Documents Required at Interview
Please present the original following identification documents:
1. Photo identifications (e.g. driver's license, passport, age of majority card)
2. Birth certificate
3. Social Insurance Number Card

Notification of Status
You will be notified within 30 days of the interview as to your acceptance into the program. Upon acceptance, you will be required to sign an Application for Enrolment form, to confirm your tuition payment plan, and to submit a $500 non-refundable registration fee, which is part of the student's tuition fee.

NOTE: AIM Academy reserves the right to cancel or change start dates of program if there is insufficient enrolment. Should the program be cancelled, the applicant will receive a complete refund for their registration fees and/or tuition.

Why Study Acupuncture as a Healthcare Professional?

Many RMTs, Nurses, and other health care professionals are wondering what the differences are within various acupuncture training programs and accreditations offered within Ontario.

Of course the idea of studying an additional modality such as acupuncture, as fast as possible would seem appealing for most. However, if you are wanting to increase your revenue base and would like to continue practicing massage therapy as well as use the title of 'Registered Acupuncturist' then the 2,200 hour Acupuncture Diploma Program offered at AIM Academy is the most suitable course of study. By studying anything less than 2,200 hours, RMTs, Nurses, and other healthcare professionals will only be able claim their treatments under their own designation NOT as a 'registered acupuncturist'.

By adding acupuncture as another modality you would be able to treat a wide variety of chronic and acute diseases with confidence based on extensive and comprehensive training that you can only receive from a 2,200 hour training program.

TCM is an entire body of knowledge that can only be understood and practiced with extensive training. A few hundred hours would not suffice.

• Will you always want to practice registered massage therapy?
• Can your body handle the wear and tear of your current profession?
• If you stop practicing registered massage therapy what options will you have within your career…will the short term courses you have studied in auxiliary modalities suffice for you and the wellbeing of your practice?

We help those who are interested in adding acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine to their current practice by offering courses that lead to the completion of an accredited 2,200 hour Diploma of Acupuncture.

We are an Approved Institution by the College of Massage Therapists of Ontario for CEUs
Typically, the professional therapist is able to gain CEU's (continuing education units) or can use courses towards their 'Professional Development' repertoire. As always, we recommend that you check with your regulating body or association.

Find out if Acupuncture is a right career path for you - contact Enza Ierullo at 416-323-1818 ext. 202 or at info@aim-academy.ca for further details.