Frequently Asked Questions

---

Q: How do I create an account to register for a class?

Your account will automatically be created in the course of your first purchase. All you need to do is to load the class(es) you are interested into your shopping cart, then click on the cart icon, which will take you to the checkout page. Once you enter your information and complete your purchase, you will be able to log in to view your purchase receipt(s), course(s) and Ebooks, and access certificates of completion.

Q: Do I need to purchase the E-book in addition to the class in order to access slides, notes and videos?

No. Access to all course materials--slideshows, notes, videos--are included when you register for a class. The E-books are made available for users who aren't registering for a class and don't need PDAs/CEUs, but just want access notes and slides at a lower cost.

Q: I've purchased a class, how do I access the materials? How do I log in to a webinar?

• You can always access your classes, including videos, slideshows, and any webinar login instructions or other notes and forms, by logging in to your account, and scrolling down to find the course link(s) under "Courses." The course links take you to course home-pages, which contain the course completion instructions, videos, slideshows and any live webinar login instruction links or other notes.
• The course homepage links to the videos, slideshows, and any webinar login instruction links or other notes are also contained in your receipt which is automatically emailed to you when you first purchase a class or Ebook (please check your spam filter and add www.aomprofessional.com to your safe senders list).

Q: Can I do the entire program on-line?

We are working towards making all of our class offerings available as webinars and/or distance-learning self-study courses. except for the Practicum Labs (40 hours), which must be taken in person. The labs are required to obtain the Certification in Acupuncture Orthopedics. We are aware that there are other programs that offer "certification" in acupuncture orthopedics and sports medicine entirely from a distance, but in our experience, the hands-on nature of the material does require some in-person instruction for the skills to be safely and effectively transmitted. You may thus take most of the classes from a distance, but if you want AOM Professional to certify that you have mastered acupuncture orthopedics, you must eventually take the Practicum Labs when they are offered in-person.

Q: When and where are the in-person Labs held?

The Labs are generally held once a year at the Academy of Chinese Culture and Health Sciences in Oakland, CA. To participate in the Labs, you must have completed the associated didactic Spine & Extremities module as a live webinar, in-person, or distance learning class (not an E-book).

Q: How much does the program cost?

Our three types of classes are priced differently, from low-cost distance-learning classes,  medium-priced live webinars, to higher-cost in-person classes.Your total cost will thus depend on the particular mix of in-person, live webinars, and distance-learning classes that you choose. The total cost ranges from approximately $4,500 (maximum possible classes taken as distance-learning self-study) to about $7,500 (all classes taken in-person). We say "approximately" and "about" because you can further reduce your costs by taking advantage of our discounts (see next FAQ). Also, prices may change without notice.

Q: Are there discounts available?

Yes, we offer two types of discounts:

1. Multiple class purchase: for 2 or more classes purchased at the same time, we offer -10% off all products in your shopping cart. This discount does not apply to E-books, or to multiple classes purchased individually in separate transactions.

2. Members of US state, national or international acupuncture professional associations: we are glad to support the acupuncture professions by offering -10% off classes (not E-books) upon evidence of membership. To obtain professional discounts, please email a copy of your membership card, dues receipt, member database screenshot, or other evidence to info@aomprofessional.com, and we will email you a discount code as soon as we can--in other words, please make your request well in advance, not when you want to purchase a class the night before it starts!

Q: I'm interested in a class, but it says "PDAs/CEUs pending." When will I know whether they have been approved?

All of our current class offerings have been previously approved by the NCCAOM for PDAs, and by the California Acupuncture Board (CAB) for CEUs. Approvals must be renewed on a yearly basis. If more than a year has elapsed since the last date of class approval, you will see a note on the registration page saying "pending." This indicates we have already submitted an application to the NCCAOM for PDAs, and upon request (see next FAQ) to the California Acupuncture Board (CAB) for CEUs. We submit applications more than the required 6 weeks in advance of class dates, but NCCAOM and CAB regulations prohibit us from advertising the PDAs & CEUs as "approved" until we have received confirmation of re-approval  (which may be just before the class date). Since we began offering multiple classes/year in 2015, we have never had an approval denied. If for some reason a class is not approved by the date of a live class, we would issue full refunds on request.

Q: Why is the class only approved for NCCAOM PDAs? And it says "Contact us to request California (CAB) CEUs--" what does that mean?

All of our current class offerings have been previously approved by the California Acupuncture Board (CAB) for CEUs (see FAQ above). CAB policies require us to periodically pay to re-apply for approval. If CAB approval has lapsed since the last date that a class was offered or purchased, you will see a note on the registration page inviting you to  Contact Us by email to let us know of your interest. Once your purchase is complete, we will apply to the CAB for re-approval. Although the CAB's says to allow 1 month for approval, in practice we are usually able to obtain approval within one week of receiving a request. However, the CAB does not issue retroactive approvals. For live classes offered on a specific date, please complete your purchase and Contact Us as soon as possible and at least 1 month prior to the class date so that we can obtain re-approval. For distance-learning classes, please Contact Us at least 1 month prior to the date for which you will need CAB CEU credit.

 

Q: When and how do I obtain my CEU/PDA certificates?

Instructions for obtaining your certificates of completion are included in the course homepage, and also at the beginning of each slideshow, and are as follows:

1.  Open up each Lesson under "Content," and when you have reviewed the lesson, mark it as "complete"

• For live webinars, the NCCAOM and the California Acupuncture Board both require PDA/CEU providers to verify attendance throughout live webinars and classes in order to issue course credit. We verify attendance by giving out a "course completion code" at the end of the webinar, which is the "answer" to a 1-question course completion "quiz."  This means you must be logged in and in attendance at the end of live webinars to obtain the code and obtain your certificate of completion. Please complete the quiz immediately at the end of the webinar so that you do not misplace the completion code. The NCCAOM requires us to report completion within 2 weeks of the course date. We cannot assist you with obtaining your official PDA certificate more than 2 weeks after the conclusion of a live webinar. If you know you will not be in attendance at the end of the course, please notify the instructor before the start of the class, or consider a distance-learning of the class, or another class. We will not be able to give out "make-up" codes later, as this would violate our agreement with the NCAAOM and CAB regarding attendance verification, and you will not be able to obtain credit for the course. We will not issue refunds for failure to be in attendance to receive the code--please see our refund policies. Please plan to be in attendance at the end of all live webinars in order to obtain the code and your certificate of completion!
• For self-paced distance-learning courses, complete the 10-question course quiz. You must answer each question correctly, and you may take the quiz as many times as you need to get 100% correct. For distance-learning courses, you must also complete the course worksheet.

2. For all classes, fill out the course evaluation (required by the NCCAOM and CAB).

3. Your certificate will then be available to download and can be accessed at any time by logging in to your account and viewing the "Certificates of Completion" tab. Please note that the NCCAOM does not allow providers to issue official PDA certificates of completion; we can only report your course completion ot the NCCAOM. Your official PDA certificate will be emailed to you by the NCCAOM, and archived in your NCCAOM account.

Q: I completed the quiz, but I can't access my certificate.

After you complete the quiz, a course evaluation form should "pop up." (Course evaluation is required by the California Acupuncture Board and the NCCAOM, and we cannot issue certificates without completion of the evaluation). If the evaluation does not pop up, please (1) check to make sure that your browser is not blocking pop-ups from www.aomprofessional.com; (2) make sure that you have marked all the "lessons" as complete; (3) for live webinars and distance-learning classes, make sure that you have completed the quiz with 100% correct answers (you may take quizzes as many times as you need); (4) for distance-learning classes only, complete the non-graded worksheet.

When you have completed all of the above steps, the course evaluation should then appear. When you have completed the course evaluation, you will be able to access your certificate.

Q: Are the classes modular, can I take them in any order, or are there prerequisites?

Yes, the classes are designed to be modular and you can take them in any order, except that the Practicum labs must be taken in-person after taking the associated didactic module as a live class (i.e., to take the Head/Neck/Thorax Practicum Lab, you must first have taken the Head, Neck, Thorax didactic module at some time in the past. Practicum labs are typically offered the Monday following weekend didactic Spine & Extremities modules, and every other year we also typically offer a Lab intensive 5-day weekend after the conclusion of the Spine & Extremities series.

Q: What are the requirements for Certification? And how long does it take to complete the Certification Program?

You can view the requirements for Certification here. The course offerings are designed and scheduled such that one may complete them within 1-2 years. Please note that in addition to the classes, there is also an on-line final exam as well as 21 required Case Consultation and Clinical Support hours, which will allow you to complete the case presentation requirements.

Q: How do I enroll in the Certificate Program?

There are no enrollment requirements for the Certification Program, other than for the classes themselves. You can begin taking classes towards Certification at any time.

Q: I've taken a live webinar or in-person class. When and how can I review the videos?

We do our best to upload our videos to the associated course as soon as possible after the class. Typically, raw videos will be available within 2 weeks after the class, and edited videos several weeks later. We sometimes encounter delays in processing and uploading the videos, so feel free to let us know if there's a particular video for a class you've purchased that you wish to see right away, and we will prioritize uploading it as soon as possible.

To watch the videos, you must log in to your account, and then open up your course.

Q: There's a live webinar I want to take, but I am not free on that date. Can I register and watch the videos later?

Yes, you can--however, if you want "Live" (not distance) CEUs or PDAs, you must enroll and be in attendance throughout the live webinar in order to obtain your certificate. If credit for the live hours is not important, then you can watch the videos when they are uploaded after the class, and/or wait to purchase the lower-cost distance-learning class when it becomes available.

Q: I registered for a live webinar or in-person class for a date I thought I would be available--but I missed the class. Can I still get Live PDA/CEU credit for watching the videos later? Or at least distance-learning credit?

The NCCAOM and the California Acupuncture Board require that to obtain live PDA/CEU hours, you must be in attendance at the time the class is taught to receive credit. (You will still have access to the videos and other course materials).

For distance-learning credit, you will need to re-purchase the distance-learning version of the class, if one is available. The distance learning classes require completion of activities and a quiz which are not required of the live classes--they are separate classes, and not interchangeable.

To avoid paying for a class that you miss and can't get credit for, please review your calendar carefully before your purchase--we cannot offer refunds for missed live classes.

Q: There is a live class that I want to take, but I can't make that date. Can I take it as a distance-learning class?

You can review our list of currently available distance-learning classes to see if it includes the class you are interested in. If not, we are in the process of making all our live classes (except the labs) available for distance-learning as well. However, we cannot guarantee that we will make any particular live class available for distance-learning by a certain date.

If you want access right away to the class material for informational purposes only, and don't need the CEUs or PDAs, you can register for the live class even though you know you will miss it, and access the written class notes immediately, and watch the videos as soon as they are uploaded (typically within 2 weeks after class--see FAQ above). Or you can purchase the low-cost E-book, which contains only the written materials.

Q: I missed the live didactic Spine and Extremities class, but I can still take the lab?

To enroll in a lab, you must have completed the associated Spine and Extremities didactic course either as a live or distance-learning class. We offer our distance-learning purchasers a full year to complete their course at their own pace, but we need to ensure that all lab participants have already completed the associated class and are fully-prepared for and ready to focus on the practical, hands-on materials, rather than needing review of basic information that has already been covered.

Q: I subscribed to an E-book, and now I wish to cancel my subscription. How do I do that?

You will receive subscription renewal emails from info@aomprofessional.com 1 month, 1 week, and 1 day prior to your subscription renewal date. The emails contain a link that allow you to cancel your subscription. To make sure that you receive the emails with the cancellation link, please add info@aomprofessional.com to your safe-senders list, and/or check your spam folder.

Q: I registered for a live class, but now I can't take it. Also, I decided I'm not interested in a distance-learning class or E-book that I purchased. Can I get a refund?

• Non-refundable classes and products:
  • Distance-learning/Home-study classes
  • The Anatomy/Cadaver Lab
  • Interactive E-Books