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.
Bradley Capron, LAc, DACM
Dr. Bradley Capron graduated from Traditional Chinese Medical College of Hawaii (2004, Master in Traditional Chinese Medicine) and Oregon College of Oriental Medicine (2022, Doctorate of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine), and practices in Portland, Ore. His work experience includes private practice, hotel spa experience on the Big Island of Hawaii, clinical supervisor at both Oregon College of Oriental Medicine and National University of Naturopathic Medicine, and various integrated clinic experience working with other modalities (ND, DC, LMT, etc.).