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.
Last Call for Comment on ACAOM Proposed First Professional Doctoral Accreditation Standards
On Oct. 1, 2007, the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM) released for public comment the first draft of proposed First-Professional Doctoral Accreditation Standards, which were developed by the ACAOM Doctoral Task Force.
Individuals and groups must submit those comments no later than Dec. 15, 2007, by visiting the following link: www.acaom.info. Individuals will be able to review the standards and submit commentary, or indicate that they are in support of the standards as written.
After the Doctoral Task Force reviews the feedback from the first draft, it will make appropriate revisions, as necessary. A second draft will be available for comments and input at a later date. The ACAOM's goal is to conclude this work by the summer of 2008.