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.
Carol Goldman, DACM, L. OM
Dr. Carol A. Goldman is director of the herb department at the Won Institute of Graduate Studies, and in private practice in Narberth and Philadelphia, Pa. Learn more at CarolGoldmanAcupuncture.com.