I encourage all to read Les
Sweeney’s Blog found at- abmp.com He is
speaking to the Entry-Level Analysis Project (ELAP), which is collecting data
to determine how many clock hours an educational program for massage should be. This issue and the apparently selected 500
clock hours determined years ago has been a source of wonderment for many
years. The 500 clock hour requirement
has been written into many state licenses for massage. I am
always concerned when something comes out of the blue as it appeared that the
ELAP project did. I have investigated and followed multiple discussions on the
topic and have formed my own opinions. First, transparency and making sure the
project does not have the appearance of bias or self-serving to any one
organization or special interest. Because of past action the massage community
is suspicious. It is necessary for anything that would influence the entire
profession be as transparent as possible. I am especially concerned that the clock hour requirement
for massage education will be influenced by current mandates for eligibility
for federal financial aid
Financial
aid eligibility SHOULD NOT BE A CONSIDERATION WHEN DETERMININE NEEDED
CLOCK HOURS FOR ENTRY LEVEL
MASSAGE EDUCATION. PERIOD!
There is/was also concern that
similar work would not be taken into consideration, ie the MTBOK, Line by line
analysis of the MTBOK by the Alliance for Massage Education, COMTA competencies,
NCTMB job task analysis for example. It is important to realize that this is
not an either / or situation but validity will only occur when all are
considered and all is in the open. There are research methods that can be used
to integrate all of the data collect from multiple sources and identify
relevance and remove bias. I see the ELAP as another data collection process
and in that regard I am supportive.
However,
it cannot stand alone and the profession will really only benefit with
everything -MTBOK, Line by Line analysis of MTBOK by the Alliance for Massage
Therapy Education, Competencies, JTA’s etc, along with data from the ELAP are
combined together into an Integrated, profession wide statement on entry level
competencies, recommended core curriculum recommended clock hour requirement
and then translated into model legislation.
So the problem is not the ELAP,
or MTBOK or any of the other data so long as it is valid data. The problem is
us–I am so tired of the competition when what
we need is unification. There is room for everyone at the table and the
Leadership Summits are a start. Now all organization need to come together and
present a unified statement so the massage profession can move forward. Let’s
not forget the importance of the Massage Research Foundation. Without evidence
to support massage benefit none of the rest makes much difference.
Everyone need to complete the survey and remember that the focus is Entry Level education. 
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