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.
Wei (Vivien) Zhang, LAc
Wei (Vivien) Zhang, licensed acupuncturist and certified Chinese herbalist, is the first acupuncturist at the Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine of Mass. General Hospital; and also serves as a medical staff member of Emerson Hospital. As her new endeavor, she is working on integrative treatments for autism and other brain development-related conditions with Dr. Martha Herbert, a pediatric neurologist and brain development researcher, and Dr. June Kong, a primary care physician. Wei was a professor of New England School of Acupuncture from 1999-2008 before dedicating herself to full-time clinical care. She received her medical degree from Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and master's degree in nutrition and health promotion from Simmons College.