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.
Craig Mitchell, EAMP, PhD (China)
Craig Mitchell received a Master of Science degree in TCM from the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in San Francisco and then completed his PhD from the China Academy of TCM (Beijing). He has written numerous articles and translated several Chinese medical texts, including "On Cold Damage: Translation and Commentaries." Craig is currently the president of  SIEAM, where he is also a clinic supervisor and teacher.