To become a member, click here.

If you are already a member and want to renew your dues, click here.

Dear Maine Acupuncturist:

Hello. Try to watch a week go by without seeing another newspaper story or magazine article about acupuncture’s growing success in America and you will begin to see the impact we’re creating right now. The first three weeks of June saw lengthy segments on The Today Show, Headline News, and CNN, and the National Institute of Health (NIH) increased its 2005 research budget into complementary and alternative medicine to more than $125 million.

Though the urge is strong and the time seems right to sit back, smile, and watch the success continue, the truth is it’s time to shift our efforts into higher gear. That’s why this year we’re going to ask for more than just your initial membership or renewal in the Maine Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (MAAOM); this year we’re asking you to get involved as well.

Our goal is to promote, protect, and advance the acupuncture profession in Maine. While we did win an important round by passing the Scope of Practice law (gaining attention and respect from bigger state associations in the process), there is much more to do to ensure our progress.

On a local level we’re expanding our association website to make peer-to-peer communication easier and we’re in the early stages of creating a speakers bureau to put interested practitioners in front of audiences that want to know what we can do. On a state level we’re continually monitoring legislation in Augusta that might affect us and patients’ access to our practices, and we’re offering more chances to acquire your CEUs here at home. On the national level we’re sending members to conferences to share our legislative experiences and learn from other association board members about problems we’re likely to encounter as we grow.

Now what are we asking of you: your ideas and a little of your time. If you haven’t been to an association meeting yet, please come. If you haven’t been to one in a while, please come back. Membership isn’t just about sending in the renewal check. We have big plans and see an opportunity right now to grow our profession, but we need your help to make it happen. Send your renewal form and payment back right away, check out our website for upcoming events, and then make room for MAAOM in your schedule. We’ll rest later, now’s the time to get excited.

Membership fees:
Student Acupuncturists $50

First Year Practitioners $100

Acupuncturists $200

MAAOM Member Benefits:

• Discounted tuition for CEU classes sponsored by the MAAOM.
• Discounts with the following companies:

Golden Ratio—25% discount on tables & chairs, 10% on tapes, CDs, lotions, oils.

Lhasa Medical—5% discount on needles and other treatment room supplies

OMS—5% discount on acupuncture needles and other treatment room supplies

Redwing Books—5% discount on books on acupuncture and many other topics

UPC Medical Supplies—10% discount on phone orders only for acupuncture supplies

Access to New Member Advocates to help with practice building or management. MAAOM members will make themselves available to you, one-on-one, to provide advice about health insurance reimbursement, case management, training opportunities, advertising/marketing, Workers’ Comp, physician contacts, and more. New Member Advocates will meet with you and introduce you to colleagues and others who can help you build community and assist you on your way.

• Membership in both AAOM and the AOM Alliance to promote timely exchange of information and cooperation. We hold memberships in each organization and contribute support to send representatives to both national conferences, and work to exchange information and to keep currently informed on national developments in the profession.

• $25 off membership in either AAOM or the AOM Alliance

• Monitoring of proposed legislative activity with potential to affect our profession d by the legal team experienced in protecting our interests at the Maine State legislature.

• Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine Day activities in October. A projected Acupuncture Day at the State House in Augusta.

The yearly cost of an MAAOM membership is $50 for students, $100 for first-year practitioners, and $200 for regular membership. MAAOM Membership fees are due and payable yearly by September 30, 2009. Or pay your membership in full by September 15, 2009 and get your early bird discount of $185 for the full year!

To become a member, click here.

If you are already a member and want to renew your dues, click here.