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.
Acupuncture Poll
The Acupuncture Poll's question for August 2006 was:
What percentage of your patients visits you on a regular basis as a preventative measure rather than for specific illnesses?
Results:
These results are based on 154 responses. As this is a voluntary, non-scientific survey, caution should be used in generalizing the results.
To vote in the current Acupuncture Poll, or to review comments and responses to previous poll questions, visit acupuncturetoday.com/acupuncturepoll.