A student stands over a patient, needle poised. They have a “perfect” prescription: a textbook combination of points harvested from a lecture slide on chronic lower back pain. But as the needle meets the skin, the student hesitates - the symptom of a quiet habit that has taken hold of our profession. We routinely say we “prescribe” points. It sounds efficient. It echoes the authority of biomedical culture and fits neatly into the insurance field. But vocabulary is never neutral; repeated long enough, it dictates behavior.
Aiden Jakob Seraphim, DACM, LAc
Dr. Aiden Seraphim is a doctor of acupuncture and Chinese medicine. He first received an MSOM from The National University of Natural Medicine in Portland, Ore., and then went on to complete his doctorate online at PCOM. He is a member of the California State Oriental Medical Association and has a private practice in Costa Mesa, Calif.