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.
Steven Schram, PhD, DC, LAc
Dr. Steven Schram has been a licensed acupuncturist since 1996. He is the past president of the Acupuncture Society of New York, and is the current president of the Manhattan District of the NY State Chiropractic Association. In addition, he serves on the Insurance Committee of the AAAOM, remains a member in the States President's Council of the AAAOM, and has maintained a private practice in Manhattan since 1984.