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.
Allison Camire, MAOM, LAc, OM Dipl.
Allison Camire is the owner, herbalist and acupuncturist at North Shore Acupuncture and Natural Medicine in Beverly, Mass. She is a graduate of Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) with a dual master's degree in acupuncture and Oriental medicine, with an additional concentration in Japanese-style acupuncture. Allison is a nationally and board-certified acupuncturist and herbalist through the NCCAOM, and is licensed by the Massachusetts board of medicine to practice acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine. In addition, she is certified in Reiki healing and craniosacral therapy, and has undergone extensive training in energy healing and restoration.