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.
Las Vegas Site of Upcoming NOMAA Meeting
The National Oriental Medicine Accreditation Agency (NOMAA) will hold its first informational seminar and workshop at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas on April 17. The meeting will provide attendees an opportunity for greater understanding of the agency's mission, along with more information on the programmatic criteria for the agency's doctor of Oriental medicine (OMD) degree, standards, policies, procedures, and application through accreditation processes.

Presentations will be delivered by Ted Priebe, OMD, LAc; Donald E. Kendall, OMD, PhD, LAc; Gerald Patton, PhD; and Jean Henry, PhD. Institutional accreditation liaisons, CEOs, faculty departmetn chairs, steudent representatives, members of state and national organizations, state board members and regulators are invited to attend.
The schedule for the NOMAA meeting is as follows:
| Time | Subject |
| 8:30-9:00 am | Continental Breakfast |
| 9:00-9:30 am | Welcom and Seminar Overview (Dr. Henry) |
| 9:30-10:00 am | NOMAA: History, Philosophy, Mission, Goals (Dr. Priebe) |
| 10:00-11:00 am | NOMAA: OMD Program Standards (Dr. Kendall) |
| 11:00-11:30 am | Questions and Answers |
| 11:30 am-12:30 pm | Lunch |
| 12:30-1:00 pm | NOMAA: Standards, Policies, Procedures (Dr. Patton) |
| 1:00-1:30 pm | Questions and Answers |
| 1:30-2:00 pm | NOMAA: State Regulations and Requirements |
| 2:00-2:30 pm | Questions and Answers |
| 2:30-3:00 pm | NOMAA: Application Process |
| 3:00-3:30 pm | Questions and Answers |
| 3:30-4:00 pm | Closing Remarks (Dr. Priebe) |
The NOMAA meeting will be held at the Bennett Professional Development Center, Room 12, on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus. The deadline