Stone Guardian Apprenticeship Program
Stone Guardian Acupuncture has become one of the busiest Acupuncture clinics in Salem, Oregon. This is because we based our care model on getting people out of pain as effectively and efficiently as possible. We accomplish this by prioritizing patient care and utilizing a combination of Orthopedic Acupuncture, Qigong Acupuncture and Tuina Bodywork. When we asked our clients what we could offer when Stone Guardian expanded the most common response was, “more of you.” So we decided to do our best to honor that request and the Stone Guardian Apprenticeship program was born.
Our hope is that we can instill into our apprentices the same basic values that we built Stone Guardian Acupuncture upon.
Patient care above all else.
Pain is universal and access to non-pharmaceutical pain management should never be limited by identity, race, culture or income.
The Apprenticeship itself is a two year advanced training program that breaks our clinical practice into three schools, Orthopedic Acupuncture, Qigong Acupuncture and Tuina Bodywork. We front load it with intensive Orthopedic Acupuncture training as we go through the different body regions. This is to better prepare you for working with the patients we see at Stone Guardian Acupuncture. The Qigong Acupuncture training is a slow burn, this will last the entirety of the two years. In it you will learn foundational and advanced Qigong techniques and how to apply them in a clinical practice setting.The Tuina training will build off the Orthopedic Acupuncture with the pressing, grasping and other manual techniques to help complement the musculoskeletal work.
As a Stone Guardian Apprentice your shifts will look a little different from day to day. Initially 3 days a week you’ll be seeing patients. Unlike our staff Acupuncturists you’ll be able to tap your teachers for in person assistance with complicated cases or techniques. For the first few months you’ll also shadow one of your teachers one day a week. This gives you a chance to see them apply what you will be learning with the patients they see. When you are ready this will be replaced with a 4th day seeing clients.
One big thing that separates our Apprenticeship program from others is that all of our Apprentices are salaried full time positions with full benefits. Not only will our Apprenticeship not add more debt to your load, as a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit organization we will help you navigate to debt forgiveness by way of Service Based Repayment. Stone Guardian will also cover most of the costs of being a licensed Acupuncturist in the state of Oregon. This includes malpractice insurance, license renewal and insurance credentialing. Our Apprenticeship program is applying for NCCAOM certification to also better cover the continuing education requirements for maintaining your Oregon Acupuncture license.
In 2025 Stone Guardian will begin hosting cultural competency seminars in our new larger space that will be open to the public and staff. In addition to serving as a space for ideas our hope is to also help us all be more well rounded and knowledgeable healthcare providers that can better serve diverse populations. This will also exceed the meager requirements the Oregon Medical Board has for cultural competency education.
Upon completion of the two year program you may continue at Stone Guardian Acupuncture as a staff Acupuncturist. You may also elect to continue on to our leadership program. There you will learn the nuts and bolts of running the practice, what Stone Guardian looked like in its infancy and what was needed to grow it to where it is today. Upon completion of the leadership program we will help you launch your own next phase with Stone Guardian.
Apply now to join the Stone Guardian Apprenticeship program, space is limited.