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.
Connie Randolph, MAcOM, LAc
Connie Randolph, a 2014 graduate of the AOMA master's program in integrative medicine, practices in Austin, Texas. She is a certified provider of palliative and hospice care acupuncture, certified Acu=detox specialist, and volunteers her time whenever possible to provide compassionate acupuncture care. To learn more about Connie, visit www.MindfulMedicineAcupuncture.com.