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.
Erica Rosen, LAc, DACM, Dipl. OM
Dr. Erica Rosen practices in Charlotte, N.C. She is a 2022 graduate of Daoist Traditions College of Chinese Medical Arts (Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine) and 2014 graduate of the Seattle Institute of East Asian Medicine (Master in Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine). She is also a certified acupuncture detoxification specialist and certified yoga instructor. You can contact her with questions / comments via email at erica.acupuncture@gmail.com.