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.
John Stan, DrTCM
John D. Stan is a licensed TCM practitioner in British Columbia, Canada. He has been involved in the evolution of TCM in Canada over the past 22 years. His activities include an interest in professional regulation and the continuing competency of practitioners. He can be reached at john_stan@hotmail.com.