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.
Kristen E. Porter, PhD, MS, MAc, LAc
Kristen E. Porter, PhD, MS, MAc, LAc is a social entreprenuer, gerontologist, and acupuncturist. She founded Zen Executive, LLC, to provide marketing support to holistic practitioners. Her gerontological research includes the study of CAM and aging, HIV/AIDS, and minority aging. Her two decades in integrated health included 16 years as a director at Pathways to Wellness, the creation of 15 hospital-based acupuncture programs, and NCCAM funded research on acupuncture, HIV/AIDS and substance abuse.