Ben Bodea, CAB Executive Officer, Explained the Issues
By Namwook Cho, L.Ac
From October 1, 2024, California acupuncturists renewing their licenses must complete a minimum of four hours of coursework covering ethics and California acupuncture practice laws and regulations. This recent change has generated significant interest and confusion among practitioners about its implementation. To clarify, the California Acupuncture Board (CAB) Executive Officer, Ben Bodea, responded to a series of frequently asked questions from acupuncturists during 2024.
Q: First, I’d like to ask about the new requirement that acupuncturists complete at least four hours of continuing education on ethics and California acupuncture law, as this is a significant area of interest. Could you clarify this requirement?
- Bodea: “The new regulation that went into effect introduces the Law and Ethics requirement and category. Licensees must take a minimum of four hours of a course that satisfies the Laws and Ethics category requirement. As long as the course(s) is approved by the Acupuncture Board (Board) and addresses a total of four hours of laws (statutes and regulations) or ethics, then the hours will be accepted.”
Q: During your time at the CAB, you’ve likely seen several cases where acupuncturists were disciplined for not adhering to acupuncture-related laws. Some cases may involve practitioners unintentionally breaking the law due to a lack of knowledge. Do you have any advice for acupuncturists to help avoid these situations?
- Bodea: “I’ve attached the Acupuncture Board’s Top Ten Violations Leading to Enforcement Actions document the Board presented at its March 2019 Board Meeting. This document is available on the Board’s website, www.acupuncture.ca.gov/pubs_forms/top_10_violations.pdf. This is a good representation for your readership to review.” The list was based on the records of the most frequent violations in rank order from the fiscal years 2016~17 and 2017~18 based upon the incidence of complaints received that have resulted in administrative citations or disciplinary actions by the CAB.
Q: There has been an increase in reports of individuals claiming to be CAB employees calling readers for personal information. Could you share CAB’s official stance on this?
- Bodea: “The Board has issued alerts regarding the scams to its interested stakeholder email list and posted these items in its What’s New section of the Board’s website. Licensees are encouraged to sign up(www.acupuncture.ca.gov/webapplications/apps/subscribe/index.shtml) for these Board/Licensee related notifications. These alerts are also posted on the Department of Consumer Affairs’ Scam Alert page.”
Q: Some readers have expressed concerns about difficulties when renewing their licenses or handling various issues through the CAB website. Can renewing licenses or managing various requests using paper forms and postal mail still be possible in such cases?
- Bodea: “The Board’s licensing forms are available on its website under the “Forms/Pubs” tab. Click on Licensing Forms to view available forms. Licensees are always welcome to contact the Board and request a specific form.”
