Continuing Education Providers: Sink or Swim

Every time I turn around, it seems that something is on the horizon that affects CE providers–and the therapists who are obligated to get CE in order to maintain their license.  The latest salvo has been fired from the state of Maryland, where legislation is afoot with big changes in the CE environment. According to the Maryland Chapter of AMTA, the proposed regulations mean that NCBTMB-Approved Providers can no longer offer classes in Maryland unless they have been pre-approved by the Maryland Board of Chiropractic and Massage Therapy Examiners at least 90 days in advance; CE offered by community colleges and online classes will be subject to the same rules, and providers will have to pay $25 per course unit for approval. CE hours earned at AMTA conferences won’t fly unless they have been pre-approved and the fees paid. This is going to be voted on this coming week and the MD Chapter has been making a big effort to drum up enough support to kill the changes. If you haven’t weighed in yet, you’ve got until the 18th of January to call your legislators and protest. Every time something like this happens, I get a lot of email from people asking me what they can do about it. The short answer is do it right now–don’t wait until the bill is passed to complain. You can send your comments and questions to vallonej@dhmh.state.md.us

As a provider myself, there are certain states I’ve never visited because of the hoops you have to jump through. New York, as I reported last year, requires a fat fee of $900 to be a provider, and a New York-licensed massage therapist has to perform the hands-on portion of any CE training. I don’t pretend to hold myself in the same class as Erik Dalton or Ben Benjamin, but it does seem strange to me that someone with a PhD can’t perform the hands-on portion of their own class unless they have gotten themselves licensed in NY.

If you want to be a provider in the state of Texas, you must get yourself pre-approved, reapply and pay a $200 fee every two years. I just looked at their list and there are 549 providers currently approved there. That’s a tidy chunk of change for their board.

Florida also has their own process. I got their approval last year, and while it didn’t cost me any money, I did find their process a little confusing to go through. I actually sent them $250 because I thought I had to after muddling through their directions for applying. My money was refunded.

The Chair and Vice Chair of the North Carolina Board of Massage & Bodywork Therapy reported upon their return from attending the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards meeting in 2010 that the Federation was investigating the possibility of approving continuing education. Recently, the Alliance for Massage Therapy Education has also been making noises about national teacher standards as well. Alexa Zaledonis, the new Chair of the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork, has also put up a statement on the NCB website that they are about to undertake new initiatives in the CE provider program.

The opportunity for continuing education here in North Carolina is so competitive, it’s almost overwhelming. We have about 8000 active licensees, and 145  CE providers who live in the state…that doesn’t count the folks who are traveling in from elsewhere to teach. If you only count the ones who actually live here, that breaks down to 55 students per provider per renewal period, so if you’re wondering why it seems to get tougher to attract students, basically it’s because there’s a CE provider on every corner. While some students will seek you out because of what you teach or who you are, there are hundreds of others who are just looking for the closest class so they don’t have to travel, or the cheapest class they can get due to their finances, or they’ve procrastinated so that they just take the first thing that comes along when it’s time (or past time) to renew.

I love teaching. It isn’t my primary source of income, but it’s important to me to get that interaction. I feel energized after I’ve spent the day in a class with a bunch of people who actually care about learning something.

The CE river is rolling along, the water is getting pretty muddy, and we’re all going to have to sink or swim.



ADDENDUM: After I finished this blog, MK Brennan brought to my attention the following post from the MD Board:At its General Session Meeting of 1/13/2011, the Board of Chiropractic & Massage Therapy Examiners announced that it would forthwith withdraw from the rulemaking proposal Chapter 16 (Recordkeeping) and Chapter 20 (Continuing Education) pending further review and study. Both of these chapters were contested in comments received to date. This means that Chapters 16 and 20 will not be processed further in the current rulemaking proposal.

When further review and study of Chapters 16 and 20 is scheduled, details shall be posted on this website and in the Maryland Register.

That is the best demonstration of what can happen when MTs rise up and take ACTION! Legislators are forced to LISTEN! Kudos to Maryland Chapter of AMTA and all the MTs who protested this move!



Glad Tidings for Massage Therapists from the World Massage Festival

The World Massage Festival brought glad tidings to over 50 massage therapists yesterday when founder Mike Hinkle held the drawing for the Christmas in July contest, gifting all of them with free tuition to the 2011 Festival that will be held July 14-17 in at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC.  That’s what I call “community service.” The $350-value tuition covers all the classes you can pack in over the course of the three days. The plan was to have a winner chosen from every state in the union, all the Canadian provinces, DC and the American territories; only 5 states didn’t have anyone enter the contest. There was also an international winner chosen, who was from Poland, and two winners chosen from Canadian provinces (the others didn’t have any entrants).

Mike Hinkle has one mission: to help as many massage therapists and industry supporters as he can. Recognizing that people want great continuing education at an affordable price, he started the World Massage Festival in 2006 as an alternative national event.  The WMF is not associated with any of the national organizations–who are ALL welcome to be there. Politics are not a part of the Festival; vendors are not excluded based on which organization competes with another and that kind of thing. All who wish to sponsor an event or have a vendor exhibit are welcomed with open arms. The Festival still needs sponsors for 2011, and I in particular urge those who have been turned down at other places due to politics to get on board.

There’s a vendor exhibit hall that anyone can enter at no charge, including members of the public who’d just like to know more about massage; there’s some very exciting live entertainment happening (I get to be the emcee), and the lineup of classes and instructors is nothing short of downright impressive. The 2011 theme of the conference is “Research and Education is Our Future.”  Over 40 instructors, including Ruth Werner, President of the Massage Therapy Foundation; Nancy Porambo, AMTA National Vice-President; Dr. Ben Benjamin, and so many more will be presenting more than 285 hours of CE classes.

I cracked Mike up last year when I started touting the Festival as the “Woodstock of massage gatherings.” I called it that because it’s three days of peace and harmony…a big family reunion. I ran into so many friends at last year’s event in Berea, I couldn’t even spend time with them all. There was picking and grinning going on, too, as well as a number of free student events, social gatherings, and just a general good time. The Massage Nerd was there making free videos for anyone who wanted one. You couldn’t beat the whole thing with a stick.

Leave your coats and ties at home, and you don’t have to bring a pile of money. Accommodations and meals are available as low as $60 per day for those who wish to purchase a package. WCU has beautiful dorm rooms and a cafeteria that rivals most chain buffet restaurants, including vegetarian options. There are also a number of other food outlets and a convenience store on-campus. Transportation to and from the airport is available, and so is ride sharing and opportunities for room sharing to keep the cost as low as possible.

I’d really like to applaud the organizers for their generous gift. They don’t have a membership organization, they don’t collect dues or anything of that nature that would subsidize such a selfless act. Mike and Cindy’s generosity in giving this gift represents a personal cost to them of close to $20,000. A lot of this campaign was conducted over Facebook, and I noticed the comments immediately start rolling in from winning therapists as soon as they were announced.  People are so excited, and I’m excited for them. Merry Christmas to the winners, to the Hinkles, and to all of you. I hope to see everyone in Cullowhee.