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.
Greta Hysjulien Jeffrey, DAc, LAc
Greta Jeffrey is a licensed acupuncturist in Minneapolis, Minn. She received her Master of Acupuncture from Northwestern Health Sciences University in 2013 and her Doctor of Acupuncture from Pacific College of Health and Science (San Diego) in 2018. Greta is an assistant professor and the clinic co-chair in the College of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine at Northwestern Health Sciences University. She also advises the American Society of Acupuncturists (ASA) Student Committee in its advocacy efforts; and serves as president of the NHSU College of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine's faculty senate.