Introduction Human health is an important aspect of modern society and healthcare providers are constantly looking for better ways of treating patients. While modern medicine has advanced tremendously over the last few decades, medical professionals acknowledge that patients can benefit from non-conventional treatment. Alternative medicine can have a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of a patient when used independently or to complement conventional medicine. One form of alternative medicine that has gained popularity in the US is acupuncture. This traditional Chinese procedure is presumed to help people with different diseases. This paper will discuss the positive effects of acupuncture in the health field, which include pain relief, help with quitting smoking and patients who suffer from obesity. What is Acupuncture? By definition, acupuncture is a traditional Chinese treatment that consists of penetrating the skin with thin needles at specific points of the body. This pricking with needles leads to the stimulation of anatomical points along meridians (National Institutes of Health, 2014). Acupuncture is a technique that originated in China and has spread over the centuries to other parts of the world.. The National Institutes of Health (2014) acknowledge that while millions of Americans utilize acupuncture annually, there is little scientific evidence to support how acupuncture works. In spite of lack of scientific evidence, there is a lot of proof that the technique offers therapeutic benefits to patients. Over the last few decades, acupuncture utilization in the US has been on an increase. The increase in acupuncture utilization is partly due to its relatively low cost. As an alternative treatment to contemporary medicine, many people are making use of this technique. How Nurses View Acupuncture Nurses play a crucial role in health care provision. They are primary healthcare providers and they act to ensure that patients exhibit improved health. Nurses also provide patients with information on treatment alternatives and offer their professional advice. As such, how nurses view acupuncture is crucial for the future success of this alternative treatment option. Fountouki and Theofanidis (2009) observe that there is a growing interest in complementary therapies among nurses. Nurses are moving away from the prevailing orthodox medical model and they are today more willing to make use of complementary therapies to provide holistic care to the patients. Complementary therapies often aim to treat the whole person. This is in line with the holistic nursing model which is defined as healing the whole person (Fountouki & Theofanidis, 2009). Many nurses are therefore adopting a favorable view to acupuncture since it promises to achieve overall health in the patient by enhancing the body’s natural healing abilities. Fountouki and Theofanidis (2009) document that if nurses are enthusiastic about complementary therapies such as acupuncture, the use of these alternatives can be expected to increase. More patients will therefore enjoy the potential benefits of acupuncture. Benefits of Acupuncture Pain relief for cancer patients The acupuncture treatment offered to the terminally ill patients leads to an increa