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.
Sonya Patel, LAc
Sonya Patel, LAc, is in private practice at Eastern Harmony Clinic in Houston. She is also a researcher for MD Anderson Cancer Research Hospital and lecturer for Nutrition & Oriental Medicine. She may be contacted at www.easternharmonyclinic.com.