Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Osteopath to acupuncturist

An osteopath already meets 38% of what the acupuncturist role asks for. The move turns on 19 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From osteopath
38 % overlap
Distant match
To acupuncturist
18 You already bring
19 Still to learn
54 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

71.1/ 100

1 How much of what an acupuncturist is expected to do is already part of an osteopath’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the acupuncturist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

An acupuncturist role treats 14 of its required skills as things an osteopath already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • comply with legislation related to health care
  • develop therapeutic relationships
  • empathise with the healthcare user
  • ensure safety of healthcare users
  • follow-up on healthcare users' treatment
  • health care legislation

What stands in the way is 19 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 18 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An acupuncturist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an osteopath background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held undertake healthcare examination information skills
  • already held obtain healthcare user's medical status information information skills
  • already held therapeutic massage health and welfare
  • already held follow-up on healthcare users' treatment communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held dietetics health and welfare
  • already held develop therapeutic relationships communication, collaboration and creativity

All 18 carried skills, including the 14 the acupuncturist role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 36 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 communication, collaboration and creativity 6 required, 4 supplementary
  • still to learn accept own accountability required
  • still to learn advise on healthcare users' informed consent required
  • still to learn advise on mental health required
  • still to learn apply context specific clinical competences required
  • still to learn identify customer's needs required
  • still to learn develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship required
  • optional, not held carry out preventative internal medicine interventions optional
  • optional, not held offer advice on diet-related concerns optional
  • optional, not held use foreign languages in patient care optional
  • optional, not held work in a multicultural environment in health care optional
02 health and welfare 5 required, 5 supplementary
  • still to learn acupuncture methods required
  • still to learn complementary and alternative medicine required
  • still to learn pathologies treated by acupuncture required
  • still to learn traditional Chinese medicine required
  • still to learn sterilization techniques required
  • optional, not held auriculotherapy optional
  • optional, not held electrical stimulation in acupuncture optional
  • optional, not held multi-professional cooperation in health care optional
  • optional, not held phytotherapy optional
  • optional, not held tai chi optional
03 assisting and caring 4 required, 4 supplementary
  • still to learn apply acupuncture required
  • still to learn comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice required
  • still to learn select acupuncture points required
  • still to learn follow clinical guidelines required
  • optional, not held conduct cupping therapy optional
  • optional, not held develop long-term treatment course for disorders in the glandular system optional
  • optional, not held apply massage therapy optional
  • optional, not held promote inclusion optional
04 information skills 2 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn observe healthcare users required
  • still to learn manage healthcare users' data required
  • optional, not held process medical insurance claims optional
  • optional, not held record healthcare users' billing information optional
05 handling and moving 1 required
  • still to learn maintain work area cleanliness required
06 natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 1 required
  • still to learn biomedicine required

2 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries an acupuncturist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 18 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held comply with legislation related to health care skill
  • already held develop therapeutic relationships skill
  • already held empathise with the healthcare user skill
  • already held ensure safety of healthcare users skill
  • already held follow-up on healthcare users' treatment skill
  • already held health care legislation knowledge
  • already held human anatomy knowledge
  • already held human physiology knowledge
  • already held interact with healthcare users skill
  • already held listen actively skill
  • already held obtain healthcare user's medical status information skill
  • already held provide health education skill
  • already held undertake healthcare examination skill
  • already held work in multidisciplinary health teams skill
  • already held dietetics knowledge
  • already held general medicine knowledge
  • already held refer healthcare users skill
  • already held therapeutic massage knowledge
The 2 learning areas not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 business, administration and law 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held administrative tasks in a medical environment optional
08 working with computers 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held use e-health and mobile health technologies optional
17 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held administrative tasks in a medical environment optional
  • optional, not held auriculotherapy optional
  • optional, not held carry out preventative internal medicine interventions optional
  • optional, not held conduct cupping therapy optional
  • optional, not held develop long-term treatment course for disorders in the glandular system optional
  • optional, not held electrical stimulation in acupuncture optional
  • optional, not held multi-professional cooperation in health care optional
  • optional, not held phytotherapy optional
  • optional, not held tai chi optional
  • optional, not held use e-health and mobile health technologies optional
  • optional, not held apply massage therapy optional
  • optional, not held offer advice on diet-related concerns optional
  • optional, not held process medical insurance claims optional
  • optional, not held promote inclusion optional
  • optional, not held record healthcare users' billing information optional
  • optional, not held use foreign languages in patient care optional
  • optional, not held work in a multicultural environment in health care optional
30 held skills the acupuncturist role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role advise on healthy lifestyles skill
  • not needed by the target role apply deep tissue massage skill
  • not needed by the target role apply person-centred care skill
  • not needed by the target role biomechanics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role collect healthcare user's general data skill
  • not needed by the target role conduct gross examination of tissues skill
  • not needed by the target role conduct physical examinations skill
  • not needed by the target role contribute to the rehabilitation process skill
  • not needed by the target role create a diet plan skill
  • not needed by the target role develop osteopathic treatment plans skill
  • not needed by the target role diagnose musculoskeletal conditions skill
  • not needed by the target role endocrinology knowledge
  • not needed by the target role first aid knowledge
  • not needed by the target role food science knowledge
  • not needed by the target role health care occupation-specific ethics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role kinetics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role maintain treatment records skill
  • not needed by the target role manage trauma through surgical means skill
  • not needed by the target role monitor patients' progress related to treatment skill
  • not needed by the target role musculoskeletal anatomy knowledge
  • not needed by the target role neurology knowledge
  • not needed by the target role orthopaedics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role osteopathy knowledge
  • not needed by the target role pharmacology knowledge
  • not needed by the target role prescribe treatment for musculoskeletal injuries skill
  • not needed by the target role promote exercise programmes skill
  • not needed by the target role provide osteopathic diagnosis skill
  • not needed by the target role record healthcare users' progress related to treatment skill
  • not needed by the target role scientific research methodology knowledge
  • not needed by the target role take and analyse blood pressure skill
12 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn acupuncture methods required
  • still to learn biomedicine required
  • still to learn complementary and alternative medicine required
  • still to learn pathologies treated by acupuncture required
  • still to learn traditional Chinese medicine required
  • still to learn sterilization techniques required
  • optional, not held administrative tasks in a medical environment optional
  • optional, not held auriculotherapy optional
  • optional, not held electrical stimulation in acupuncture optional
  • optional, not held multi-professional cooperation in health care optional
  • optional, not held phytotherapy optional
  • optional, not held tai chi optional
Index

Other moves recorded from osteopath

Full index of moves from osteopath

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can an osteopath become an acupuncturist?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. An osteopath already covers 38% of what an acupuncturist is expected to do: 18 skills carry over, 14 of which the acupuncturist role treats as required.

What skills does an osteopath need to become an acupuncturist?

19 required skills are missing, plus 17 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is accept own accountability.

How hard is the move from osteopath to acupuncturist?

Its learning distance is 71.1 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.