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.
Kathleen Leavy, RN, AP
Kathleen Leavy holds a Masters Degree in Oriental Medicine and has been in practice for 18 years. She has taught Oriental Medicine for 17 years. She is a co-founder of Dragon Rises College of Oriental Medicine with her teacher Dr. Leon Hammer. She teaches at Dragon Rises and supervises in the Student Clinic. Kathleen has worked for the last three years with a computer software developer testing and creating "Acupuncture Practice Management System" to solve her GMP compliance requirements. You can contact her at Kathleen.leavy@gmail.com. Visit kathleenleavy.com.