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.
Kathy Teisinger, DAOM, AP
Dr. Katherine Teisinger ("Dr. Kathy") is a doctor of acupuncture and Oriental medicine practicing in Winter Haven, Fla.; retired chairman of the Florida Board of Acupuncture; and the author of Balance Me: The Body Edition; Let Your Body Tell You What to Eat. Learn more at www.drkathytei.com.