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.
Sara Arscott, PhD, CCRP
Sara Arscott, PhD, CCRP, is the manager of clinical research at Standard Process Inc. In this role, she designs and prepares clinical research protocols and conducts, coordinates and monitors clinical trials. Arscott earned her doctorate in nutritional sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2009. She can be reached at sarscott@standardprocess.com.