Rave- .give high praise: to give praise in a very
enthusiastic way
Rant- speak in loud exaggerated manner: to speak or say
something in a very loud, aggressive, or bombastic way, usually at length and
repetitively
Hope- want or expect something: to have a wish to get or do
something or for something to happen or be true, especially something that
seems possible or likely
This blog series has the intention to identify great things
going on that affect the massage profession,
speak candidly my opinions about issues that impede and complicate these
great things from happening and express
my hopes (and suggestions) for the future of this needed and important
profession.
I am going to use the word profession in a hopeful way. A profession
is : Occupation, practice, or vocation requiring mastery of a complex set of
knowledge and skills through formal education and/or practical experience.
We are close. We could do this so I begin this blog series
with HOPE.
I do not believe that entry level massage practice needs to
be a degree level program and support vocational training
(certificate/diploma) for initial
training . I also think that the Board
Certification process now offered by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic
Massage and Bodywork http://www.ncbtmb.org/
is an important step in differentiating entry level (licensing-novice)
practitioner from those who have committed to the next level ,not because they
have to (licensing) but because they
want to strive for excellence. I think that the educational requirement post-graduation
is too low but we have to begin someplace and it is only one part of the
qualifications for BOARD CERTIFICATION.
So NCBTMB gets a qualified RAVE from me and the board certification
process and future specialty certification that can be a pathway to higher degrees
such as bachelor’s degrees for those who want to achieve a high degree of
excellent in that manner.
RANT: WE NEED AN AGREED UPON DEFINITION OF MASSAGE.
RAVE: I propose the MTBOK definition with a couple of
suggested edits. Mtbok.org
Section 120 Massage Therapy Definition
Massage therapy is a healthcare and wellness profession
involving manipulation of soft tissue. The practice of massage therapy includes
assessment, treatment planning and treatment through the manipulation of soft
tissue ( I suggest deleting :, circulatory
fluids and energy fields ), affecting and benefiting all of the body systems,
for therapeutic purposes including, but not limited to, enhancing health and
wellbeing, providing emotional and physical relaxation, reducing stress,
improving posture (add and movement ),
facilitating circulation of blood, lymph and interstitial fluids (, balancing energy –suggest alternate wording : -enlivening
physiological balance ), remediating, relieving pain, repairing and
preventing injury and rehabilitating. Massage therapy treatment includes a
hands-on component, as well as providing information, ( delete-education and non-strenuous activity)s for the purposes of
self care and health maintenance. The hands-on component of massage therapy is
accomplished by use of digits, hands, forearms, elbows, knees and feet with or
without the use of emollients, liniments, heat and cold, hand-held tools or
other external apparatus. It is performed in a variety of employment and
practice settings.
I modified these just a bit for use in my curriculum at my
school.
•PLAN AND ORGANIZE AN EFFECTIVE OUTCOME BASED THERAPETUIC
MASSAGE SESSION
•PERFORM MASSAGE FOR THE THERAPEUTIC BENEFIT OF THE CLIENT
•DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT SOUND BODY MECHANICS DURING MASSAGE
APPLICATION
•PERFORM MASSAGE IN AN ERGONOMICALLY SUPPORTIVE ENVIROMENT
•INPLEMENT SELF-CARE STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT CAREER LONGEVITY
•DEVELOP SUCCESSFUL AND ETHICAL THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIPS
WITH CLIENTS, PEERS AND OTHERS IN THE HEALTH AND WELLNESS PROFESSIONS
•DEVELOP STRATEGIES FOR A SUCCESSFUL PRACTICE IN BOTH A
SELF-EMPLOYED OR EMPLOYEE CAREER PATHWAY
•IDENTIFY STRATEGIES FOR LIFE LONG LEARNING AND ONGOING
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
COMTA gets a RAVE from me even though at this time my school
is not accredited due to current economical struggles. I hope COMTA can find a way for small school
like mine not wanting to participate in financial aid can achieve affordable programmatic
accreditation. . I know they are trying
to do this but have to be accountable to their own compliance issues. Until
then I run my school in a COMTA ready process and encourage others to do this
as well.
I have a qualified RAVE for the MTBOK and believe that if
the scope of practice statement were eliminated and a few changes were made to
the entry level knowledge, skill and abilities (KSA) section following the
review done by the Alliance for Massage Therapy Education (http://www.afmte.org/education/mtbok/
) that is an important document in a statement
of professionalism and unification of the massage profession. I have a big RANT as well. There
is no reason for that document to be sitting on the webpage shelf and
ignored. It is not perfect but it is a
great source of information. It should not be minimalized and ignored but
actively improved and integrated into the unifying statement of the massage
profession.
Finally ,for this blog the ELAP-Entry Level Analysis Project
needs to be revised based on the comments being collected right now and the
feedback from the many experts in the field who have expressed concern over
both the process and the content in the project. The work group needs to be more transparent
and when the final report is published please provide the original survey, raw
data and the procedure used to analyze the data for the first draft. I would also like to see the revisions made
from the comment process and the raw data from the comments.
I give the work group
a RAVE for being open to discussion and support them in the work they are doing
but also encourage then to continue to reach out the research experts and
subject matter experts in massage that want to help this initiative be successful. They need support and input and I believe
they will listen and respond. So comment- elapmassage.org
A finial RANT for this blog: All organization serving the
massage profession-STOP WORKING BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. PROVIDE REGULAR UPDATES ON
WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND REALIZE THAT YOUR INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS ARE ONLY PART OF
THE WHOLE.
A finial RAVE for these same organizations working together
and please keep in up with even more inter-cooperation.
And a closing HOPE. Please all of you who are reading this
blog, I hope you use it as a launch pad to becoming informed. We do not have to
always agree but we need to stay informed and work together. I hope you will
share this information and encourage others a to be informed. I also hope that
we all remember that the people involved in doing all this work are good, caring
committed people. Support the people please as you share your comments and
concerns. I hope we will be productive
and offer suggestions, be willing to compromise and not complain and bitch
just for the sake of it. I hope we get this done.
Additional Link list for gathering information.
Range of motion and stretching has always been a part of massage therapy. I fear we are losing our heritage by not being VERY clear about joint movements and exercise, and making sure it is part of our basic curriculum. Treating the tissues that functionally contribute to movement, without actually being able to do and or suggest the movements or exercises, seems half-baked!
ReplyDeleteI tried to contribute to ELAP, but got hung up somewhere and seemed to be unable to.