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.
Lynn Potter, Dipl. Ac., LAc, RDN, LDN
Lynn Potter graduated from the Eastern School of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, and operates a practice in Honesdale, Pa. She is also a registered dietitian / nutritionist and reiki master. Lynn received a BS degree in social welfare from Penn State University, and has held various social work jobs including child abuse investigation, director of the Wayne County (Pa.) Drug and Alcohol Commission, and case worker in the Pennsylvania Department of Welfare.