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.
Jeffrey Grossman, LAc
Jeffrey Grossman, LAc, graduated from the New England School of Acupuncture In 1997 and shortly thereafter, moved to Seattle to open his practice. He specializes in acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine, including herbs, meridian exercises, nutrition and ancient breathing techniques. He heads up Acupuncture Media Works, a publishing company that produces and develops marketing tools and practice management materials to help acupuncturists grow their practices You can contact them at www.acupuncturemediaworks.com.