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.
Belinda Anderson, PhD, MA (Ed.), DAc
Dr. Belinda Anderson is associate dean and professor at Pace University in the College of Health Professions, and associate clinical professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. An NIH-funded researcher, her recent research has involved clinical trials implementing acupuncture in community-based clinics, educating clinicians in research and evidence-based medicine, and the use of Chinese herbs to treat COVID-19 symptoms. Dr. Anderson is a licensed acupuncturist specializing in women’s health and fertility; and is a board member of the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine.