Consent in Community Acupuncture

Course overview

Consent is the ongoing verbal and non-verbal communication between the patient and practitioner in the clinical setting. We will develop our understanding of consent in the clinic and how to practice embodied consent in a trauma-informed way. As practitioners, we are ethically obligated to set up and maintain the conditions for effective consent to take place. We can use Planned Parenthood's acronym FRIES, which outlines the five important aspects of consent. By considering these qualities in a clinical setting, practitioners can provide their patients with safer conditions for treatment. We will explore how to do this in a variety of ways. Using case studies and readings, this course will prepare acupuncturists to navigate these questions and answer them ethically.