Lessons Learned in Teaching Battlefield (Ear) Acupuncture to Emergency Medicine Clinicians

Background: Acupuncture, in general, is being proclaimed as an alternative analgesic amid the opioid crisis, and along with this, within emergency departments (EDs) there is a specific interest in a form of ear acupuncture called Battlefield Acupuncture (BFA). It is expected that BFA will be used more widely in emergency medicine as it is easy to learn and can be applied both promptly and easily. Teaching programs will be required to sustain this increased demand and upskill emergency clinicians in this skill. Objectives: This article provides experiences and recommendations, based on faculty experiences from teaching BFA in Australia to ED clinicians combined with formal participant feedback. Main Points: BFA courses were adjusted to suit ED doctors and nurses, along with their unique case mix and associated challenging environment. The content of the BFA courses included evidence, pain indications, contraindications, application, safety, mechanism of action, and how to negotiate barriers of credentialing. Workshops used the latest and most effective teaching methods that encompassed problem-based learning, infotainment, simulation, "four stage skills teaching," and "teaching on the run." Conclusion: It is hoped that the experiences gained, and lessons learned in educating this new frontier of BFA to emergency clinicians will assist others in teaching BFA and its related techniques as a viable analgesic alternative in emergency medicine.