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Expanding Our Scope, Protecting Our Future

There have been numerous attempts to come up with a good working definition of  massage therapy. While I certainly appreciate the effort that has gone into them, in my opinion, most have fallen short in one way or another. Part of the problem is that massage therapists are independent-minded and are harder to organize than a bunch of cats. If you look at the 44 state massage laws that currently exist, you’ll find 44 different versions of what is called a scope of practice definition. Add to that the newest definitions found in the MTBOK and the ELAP, and we’ve got a murky mess that makes it nearly impossible to achieve portability of licensure. In fairness to the creators of both of those documents, which were collaborative efforts with support from all of the professional massage organizations, they were put out for public comment, which really didn’t amount to a ripple in the general scheme of things. My attitude is, if you didn’t take time to comment, then don’t gripe about the results.

We arrived here because there was no common template that was used during the rush to get state massage license laws passed over the past 15 years. Licensure standards are much more consistent in other healthcare professions because each one has been working from something called a Model Practice Act (MPA). I’m wondering… where can we get one of those?

Well, after nearly a decade after it came onto the landscape, the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards has finally come up with their own MPA. They’re wrapping up the open comment period on the first public draft of this document, which has been posted to the their website. Much of it is run-of-the-mill legislative kind of language, but some sections really need further work. I’ve sent them my comments, and I hope you have too.

What I’m most concerned about in the FSMTB Model Practice Act is the scope of practice definition. As presented, it could restrict what massage therapists are allowed to do in their practices in the future. That’s a giant problem. If we define ourselves in a narrow way, other healthcare providers and business interests will ensure that we stay in our own little box.

Fortunately, I just heard from my North Carolina colleague Rick Rosen on this subject. He has developed what I think is a much more appropriate definition that strengthens and clarifies the diverse range of massage therapy practice in a way that expands possibilities, rather than shrinks them. By the way, Rosen was one of the co-founders of FSMTB, and was also the founding chairman of our state licensing board in NC, where he contributed to the writing of its laws and rules. Here’s what he said in his comments to the MPA Task Force:

“I am concerned that the definition set forth in Section 103 of the MPA is potentially limiting, as it characterizes the work performed by licensees as only that which relates to the manual application of techniques to the soft tissues of the body. Massage therapists are much more than pressure-delivery technicians. For example, they interact with clients in varied ways and provide assessment, treatment planning, and make recommendations for changes in a client’s ergonomic usage and movement patterns that can reduce chronic muscle tension. In addition, massage therapists can work with body awareness to assist clients in reducing stress and developing a healthier sense of self.”

“During the start-up phase of FSMTB in 2005, we looked carefully at the structure of board federations in other health care professions. I remembered from that research that most health care professions had robust and extensive scope definitions, as compared with the relatively one-dimensional definitions found in state massage practice acts.
With that in mind, I accessed the current model practice acts from the fields of nursing, physical therapy and occupational therapy. Using these templates as a guide, I developed a new definition that is broadly inclusive of the range of treatment models in our field, and establishes an expanded scope that more accurately represents the major areas of application in clinical practice.”

With that said, I’m sharing the full text of Rosen’s proposal for a new scope of practice definition:

PRACTICE OF MASSAGE THERAPY. A healthcare service of the healing arts provided to clients by a person who is licensed pursuant to this Act.

(1) The practice includes:

(a) Assessment of the functional and structural characteristics of the myofascial network and related systems of the body through tactile, visual and verbal methods;

(b) Treatment of the myofascial network and related systems of the body using manual methods, or by mechanical or electrical devices or tools that emulate or enhance the action of human hands;

(c) Active or passive movement of the body within the normal anatomical range of movement;

(d) Application of lubricants and other topical agents to the skin;

(e) Use of hydrotherapy and other adjunctive methods to produce therapeutic effects;

(f) Client education to facilitate body awareness and self-care;

(g) Treatment planning, communicating or collaborating with massage therapists and other licensed healthcare providers, and engaging in research, teaching and administration.

(2) Primary areas of application for massage therapy include:

(a) Wellness/Stress Reduction: treatment that supports the general health and well-being of the client, facilitates the relaxation response, addresses patterns of chronic tension related to stress, reduces pain and discomfort, promotes a more positive sense of self;

(b) Corrective/Rehabilitative: treatment that addresses specific symptoms or conditions, provides rehabilitation from the effects of injury, trauma or surgery

(c) Performance Optimization: treatment that improves the performance of specific activities or occupations, facilitates postural alignment and more efficient ergonomic patterns of use;

(d) Palliative: treatment for clients in recovery from illness or in the end stage of life that focuses on providing psychosocial support and relief from discomfort;

(e) Integrative: treatment that promotes awareness of the connections within the physical, cognitive and emotional aspects of the client, as well as treatment in conjunction with other licensed medical or mental health providers in a coordinated plan of care.

(3) The practice does not include:

(a) The diagnosis of illness or disease;

(b) Medical procedures, high-velocity low-amplitude chiropractic adjustive procedures, or prescription of medicines.

(d) The use of modalities for which a license to practice medicine, chiropractic, nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, acupuncture or podiatry is required by law; or

(d) Sexual activity of any kind.

I think Rosen has nailed it here. Without going beyond what we should do, this is more inclusive and a much more accurate description of what we do actually do. This more inclusive definition could save us headaches down the road if we are challenged by other professions for infringing on their scope of practice.

Today, June 15, is the last day for public comment on the MPA. Please pass this around… this should be the start of some interesting and important discussion. There’s nothing less than the future of the massage therapy profession at stake, so we have to get this piece right! Don’t sit on your hands. Take the time to comment, and if you don’t, then you are giving up any right to complain about it after the fact.

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FSMTB Releases Model Practice Act

The Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards released the Model Practice Act a few days ago, just after the third anniversary of the announcement they had formed a Task Force of 8 state board members to work on it. I just had the time to read it in its entirety today, and as a former state board member and former delegate to the Federation myself, I appreciate the huge amount of time and effort that went into it.

I didn’t find much that surprised me. Last week when this was first released, I saw some rumblings from educators and school owners about the requirement for massage therapy programs to be 625 hours. As the publication says, it is consistent with the 625-hour recommendation of the recently-released ELAP (Entry-Level Analysis Project) that was a collaborative effort supported by all of the national massage organizations. Since there are currently more than two dozen states that still have 500 hours as their entry-level requirement, that’s going to require some major changes. Many smaller schools would probably go out of business rather than comply with the change.

The document does not state the name of the NCBTMB or any other entity’s exam in the context of eliminating them, but the definition of “examination” is given as a standardized test or examination of entry-level massage and bodywork knowledge, skills, and abilities that is developed and administered by the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards. That means the MBLEx, period. About 40 states are currently accepting both the MBLEx and the NCB’s licensing exams. There are also a couple of states that have their own exam–and require much more than 625 hours. I don’t see that those states will want to back up and adopt this.

The MPA does seem to support portability in a good way. There are provisions for therapists participating in planned out-of-state events, temporary assignments such as with traveling sports teams, etc.,and emergency response disaster teams without requiring jumping through hoops. It would also seek to make the title of each state’s act the _____Massage Therapy Practice Act, leaving the term “bodywork” and any other terminology out of it. Licensees would be designated “LMT” (Licensed Massage Therapist) uniformly across the states.

One thing that I was not crazy about was the protocol for choosing board members. The MPA states that 7 members are to be appointed by the governor. I would prefer to see that power spread around a little. I wouldn’t want to see governors of any political party appointing only the people for their own party, for example. In my state, the appointees are made by the governor, the speaker of the house, and the senate pro tem. I think that or something similar is a little better balance of power, personally; even if they do randomly turn out to all have the same party affiliation.

I also wondered about the discrepancy in defining “clock hour” as 50 minutes of instruction and “contact hour” as 60 minutes of instruction. The NCBTMB has traditionally allowed 50 minutes of instruction as a contact hour for the purpose of continuing education.

The states are also still left with more autonomy than I expected. There’s plenty left in their hands, so to speak, with the usual statements about how the board may adopt, amend, and repeal rules. There is also a licensure by endorsement stipulation and a grandfathering accommodation.

There are only five states left without licensing. It would certainly be to their advantage to have this right out of the gate and avoid having to reinvent the wheel. As for the other 45 states that are already regulated, I don’t see that there will be a mad rush to adopt this, unless what they currently have isn’t working for some reason. We have to remember that the FSMTB is not a regulatory body in and of itself, but a coalition of regulated states. They can’t force the MPA on any state, nor are they trying to. It is a blueprint, a collection of suggestions for how to make the states more uniform in the regulation of massage. Too bad it didn’t exist a few decades ago before most of the states got on the bandwagon.

I don’t have any harsh criticisms of the document. Personally, I like the concept of raising the minimum requirement to 625 hours, but then again, I’m not a school owner that would be affected by such a thing. My final analysis: kudos to the people that worked on it. Things like this that are done by volunteers always come under a rash of criticism from people who disagree with the product.

 

 

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Weekend Update

A lot has happened this past week. First of all, the massage world lost a wonderful person with the passing of Dan Barrow. He was the long-time moderator in the AMTA House of Delegates, among his many other accomplishments, and was just one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. He will be missed. My sympathies go out to his lovely wife Virgina and his family and friends. You can read his complete obituary here.

One good thing happened this week. Steph Lasch was arrested at the Minneapolis-St.Paul airport after she had boarded a plane bound for Beijing, China, with her husband and her son. This has been a long road for a lot of massage therapists. In case you don’t know the background, you can read it here.

Since last fall, I have been communicating regularly with the Lino Lakes Police Department to keep up with what has been happening in her case. I had provided them with numerous pages of FB conversations and other print items where she claimed to be a certified public accountant, a certified fraud investigator, a third-year law student, a tax expert, a marketing expert, and everything except the president of the United States.The dozens of massage therapists who reported her to that department, and also to the FBI, the Attorney General, the Better Business Bureau, and everywhere else they could turn to will hopefully get some justice now. People may never get their money back, but it is my big hope that her actions do not go unpunished.

Although she never got any of my money personally, I had appeared, along with three other women, as a blogger (about professional ethics, at her request) on a massage coaching website she had going on. She had announced far and wide that I was her mentor, and I felt compelled to just keep trying to spread the word about the avenues people could use to complain on account of that. The police report actually focuses on the money she defrauded massage clients of at her business location, and not the dozens of therapists she stole from. In any case, she’s currently in jail. I’d love to attend her trial. You can read about it here. My last piece of advice to her was to get her act together for the sake of her child. I contacted the LLPD again this evening and they told me that her son was handed over to her husband; they were on the plane with Steph but her husband was not charged with anything.

Champ and I attended the NC AMTA Convention in Statesville this weekend. We had a good time visiting with people we don’t see often enough and both of us enjoyed our continuing education. Champ took an ethics class with Felicia Brown and I took a class in teaching and classroom management from Dr. James Zarick. One of the best classes I have ever attended. Desiree Sawyer was elected as our new chapter president. I spent this morning visiting with Mike Hinkle, founder of the World Massage Festival. I am honored to be the keynote speaker at this year’s Festival in Las Vegas. I guess I’ll just try to make as few people mad as possible!

I spoke up at the business meeting about AMTA national office decision to do away with chapter fees. I want it to go on the record that I think this is the worst move this organization has ever made. In my opinion only, this move was designed to make AMTA’s membership fee more competitive with ABMP. The fact is, ABMP has a different business model than AMTA. ABMP does not have state chapters to support. They don’t have hundreds of volunteers. Personally, I think they’re a fine organization with fine people at the top, and they just operate differently. I think AMTA needs to quit worrying about ABMP and focus on doing the best for the massage profession. This is impacting chapter budgets, and while they have rolled out some additional benefits for the chapters, I don’t think it offsets what they’re losing. I’ve seen the budgets from three different states in the last few weeks and it is having an impact, and not a good one. I think they will regret this move in the long run. I’d like to see a massive letter-writing campaign to the Board of Directors describing the negative impact this will have on the chapters’ ability to provide top-notch education experiences on a state level and on chapter donations to the Massage Therapy Foundation. Please do that here.

I’ve had an emotional week myself. I implemented some changes at my business, which never happens without a few growing pains, and the death of an old friend whose funeral I had to miss in order to attend the convention have made me a little whacked out this week. Then hearing the news about Dan Barrow, followed by the news about Steph Lasch, and it has seemed like a roller coaster. The world just keeps turning.

Peace and Prosperity.


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CAMTC: Under the Gun, ABMP Says “Declare Victory and Move On”

I’ve spent the past day or so reviewing the CAMTC Sunset Review Report…at over 200 pages, it’s a narrative of the who, what, where, when, and why of the organization, which is now in its fifth year.

California operates differently from the other regulated states. The CAMTC is not officially a state regulatory board. It is a non-profit organization, offering voluntary certification. It is just my opinion that this is a big improvement over the previous state of affairs there, when there was nothing at all, other than each municipality regulating as they chose, which more often that not meant that legitimate massage therapists were classified along with sex workers and treated the same way. I’ve heard horror stories from therapists who have in the past been made to take a test for STDs, along with paying money to each individual town in which one was practicing. Someone doing outcalls may have been looking at a separate license and another financial burden in many different places. The CAMTC aimed to put a stop to this by getting it into the statutes that if you had the CAMTC certification, you were allowed to skip all the local hoops. It was a very hard battle.

During the Sunset hearing process last week, ABMP Chairman Bob Benson testified. Benson served the CAMTC Board for four years, including a term as the initial Vice Chair. He attended 51 of the 52 meetings held during his tenure. His complete testimony may be read here. Benson’s opening remarks referenced the Vietnam war, in speaking to the present state of affairs at the CAMTC, and he urged the organization to “Declare victory and move on.” I have heard from several veterans who were very upset about that analogy and feel that Benson’s remarks showed a great disrespect for the people who served in Vietnam and a cheapening of those who lost their lives there. I have met Benson personally on several occasions and I don’t think he would intentionally insult veterans, but I have to agree it was not the best choice for comparison.

Beyond that opening faux pas, Benson brings up the following points about the weaknesses he perceives in the CAMTC. One is that CEO Ahmos Netanel is wearing too many hats. There is no controller or operations officer or chief financial officer; Netanel is doing all three jobs, apparently. There’s no doubt he’s a busy man; I run into him myself at national meetings.

Benson also points out other problems: the unwieldy size of the Board–20 people (although currently there are only 19); the fact that there is no central office, which leads to communication and control challenges; a lack of adequate information on the website and delays in getting things posted; 5 years in operation and as of yet no customer satisfaction surveys; a lack of data on how much the CAMTC is paying their management company; a lack of salary standards, and unsatisfactory performance metrics for the dissemination about applicants and certificate holders.He also actually refers to their plan to start approving establishments and massage schools as “delusional.”

Benson isn’t one to complain without offering a solution, so his suggestions are the transition of this organization into a formal state regulatory board, as the other regulated states have; to substitute mandatory licensing for voluntary certification; to use 2015 as a transitional year; and to honor CAMTC certificates and allow holders to convert them to a state license on their expiration date without jumping through any further hoops.

I contacted Ahmos Netanel and gave him the opportunity to respond to Benson’s comments. His reply below is verbatim:

In his comments during the March 10, 2014 legislative Joint Oversight Hearing: Sunset Review of CAMTC, Bob Benson, acting as the voice of ABMP (Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals), advocates for dismantling the current statewide certification program and instituting a state board for regulating massage therapy under the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA). Bob Benson is certainly dedicated to the massage profession; however, he is a minority voice.  In fact, no CAMTC Board member has ever expressed a position similar to his.

The CAMTC Board has accomplished a great deal.  Yes, as with any new organization, there is room for improvement.  However, in a very short time, by any standard, we have put a statewide infrastructure in place to work closely with police and local government, and there is no doubt that consumers can have confidence that a CAMTC certified professional is educated to safely provide care. 

CAMTC has done more than simply oversee the certification of qualified massage therapy professionals. CAMTC has initiated work with local authorities, local elected officials, professional organizations, other stakeholders and the Legislature to modify its enabling law to correct issues and oversights. Presently, the Sunset review process implemented by the Legislature allows for the substantive amendments needed to control illegal massage parlors.  In doing so, we want to be respectful of the work being done by legitimate massage providers and not return to the era of onerous patchwork enforcement— the kind of control that simply assumes massage is adult entertainment.

CAMTC also investigates and un-approves schools as part of ensuring that certification candidates met strict educational requirements.  Ironically, the state bureau which regulates private post-secondary schools, now BPPE, was allowed to sunset between July 2007 and January 2009.  The lack of an official school oversight body during that time had a significant negative impact on the massage industry and the safety of the public.  Stepping in since 2010, CAMTC, with only minimal resources, has been able to un-approve 47 massage schools that were not meeting minimum standards for massage education and we hope to do more beginning in 2015.

In the ongoing and important effort to eradicate illegal massage parlors, CAMTC is asking the Legislature for the authority to provide statewide registration and investigation of massage establishments.  Many local jurisdictions lack the resources to effectively stem the tide of these illicit businesses and CAMTC is up to the challenge. 

The problems raised by the police chiefs and the cities are our problems, too.  Their complaints and concerns are issues we are addressing with great success in many parts of California.  For example, our training programs have been attended by more than 100 local agencies. And many cities – impressed by our organization – now require CAMTC certification. 

The proliferation of illegal massage parlors is bigger than massage therapy alone, but we are an integral part of the solution.  We propose:

  • Raising educational standards
  • Establishing a registration program for establishments
  • Expending local government control over the use of massage as a subterfuge for prostitution

A state board under DCA has merit. It also has significant drawbacks, including starting a new entity from scratch. It is likely that a new state board would take anywhere from 2 to 5 years to become fully operational.  The cost in terms of time and state resources is not warranted when CAMTC is already in place and functioning successfully. 

Further, a state board simply cannot function as efficiently as a private entity like CAMTC.  Consider, as was discussed on March 10th in the Joint Oversight hearing for the DCA, that the current time for disciplinary actions by DCA boards is 540 days, despite the target of 180 days.  Just scheduling a hearing with the Office of Administrative Hearings takes approximately 200 days (testimony by the Legislative Analyst’s Office). Furthermore, the cost to discipline or revoke a state license is over ten times greater than what it costs CAMTC  to discipline or revoke a certificate holder.  CAMTC provides a high level of due process to certificate holders at a lower cost and in fraction of the time that it takes a state board to do the same.

Whatever the merits of moving to a state board under the DCA, it is not going to happen by magic nor will it happen overnight.  It will be a long, costly process. And dismantling CAMTC won’t benefit California consumers or those individuals practicing massage therapy in California.  Rather, it will leave a gaping chasm for both.  

Legitimate massage providers create jobs, promote a healthy lifestyle, and enhance communities.  We cannot go back to the antiquated and oppressive patchwork regulation of the past.  It won’t solve the problem of illicit massage parlors or correct any of the other issues about which cities are concerned.  Only working together – CAMTC alongside cities – can we protect both the public and legitimate massage providers. 

CAMTC is proud of its successes and we look forward to working with the police chiefs, the local communities and Bob himself to do great things for the massage therapy profession and the public.

Respectfully,

Ahmos Netanel

Chief Executive Officer

California Massage Therapy Council

I do not wish to minimize any of the accomplishments and hard work of the CAMTC. I applaud what they have done. However, I’m in agreement with Benson on this one; I’d prefer to see them with mandatory licensing instead of voluntary certification. It won’t be the answer to every problem; it never is. But I do urge them to make the transition, and hopefully, that can be accomplished without the gaping chasm Netanel mentioned.

 

 

 

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Massage Regulation: What is the Point?

Seems like almost daily, on one of my networks, someone will post the question of “what good is massage regulation really doing?” They often throw up points like “prostitution still exists,” and of course it does and it always will. Other complaints are about how much money the state revenue department, or the licensing board, or the Federation, or the testing company is making.Then we’ve got the complaints about taking CE to satisfy the law, and how that’s just a money-making racket. As a CE provider, believe me when I say I’m not getting rich off of it, and very few are. But back to the question, what is the point?

The point of licensing in any profession is basically quality assurance for the public, for their own safety and protection. To get a license, you’re supposed to have x number of hours of education. You’re supposed to pass an exam proving entry-level knowledge . In most places, you’re supposed to get the continuing education in order to keep it. You’re supposed to agree to abide by a code of ethics and uphold standards of professional behavior. You’re supposed to first do no harm. You’re supposed to act in the best interests of the client.

There are now only a couple of states that are the last holdouts with no regulations in the works or already in effect…anyone may call themselves a massage therapist or any other derivative indicating massage, whether they actually know anything or not.

In reality, it’s hard to find out exactly how many members of the public have been harmed by massage therapy. The insurance companies and professional associations don’t like to release that information. Many of the state massage board websites do have license verification online, and some do list disciplinary actions, but in most cases that will only show up if you already know the name of the therapist that has been found guilty of some infraction. It must be said that not every single person who has been found guilty by a board is really guilty…there were times during my own five years of board service that I did not believe the accused person was guilty, but the majority voted that they were. It must be also be said that some therapists who are in fact guilty never ever get reported and thus keep preying on the public. There just aren’t any guarantees, just like with any other walk of life or profession. There are people in every profession that are dishonest or predatory, and massage therapy is no different.

All things considered, I think licensing has been a valuable thing, and personally, I’d like to see it in every single state. Yes, there are still people who will practice illegally. There are still prostitutes who will hide behind massage. But I think on the whole, licensing has brought a healthy amount of awareness and credibility to massage therapy.

I’m not resentful of having to get a criminal record check to get a massage license. If we were being singled out I’d be upset, but every other health care provider in our state has to do it. I’m not resentful of having to take continuing education….I love learning and I actually look forward to taking CE. However, I do think there comes a point in time when that should be optional. Realistically, should someone who has been practicing for 20 years need to attend an ethics class the same as someone who has only been practicing for a year and may not have even faced any kind of ethical dilemma yet?

I’m not happy with the present state of the CE environment, anyway. I think a person who is taking science-based classes or classes designed for public protection deserves more credit than people taking fantasy-based classes. With the long list of inappropriate classes that are currently approved, I really don’t see how attending a class in shape-shifting is doing anything to protect the public.

Some state boards are self-supporting. Some are at least partially subsidized by the state. Some try to educate the public. Some don’t. Some pursue illegal massage more than others. Nothing’s perfect.

The point, to me, is that the majority of us, by paying for that license and jumping through the hoops, are proving that we have at a minimum, the entry-level knowledge to practice massage safely. The majority of us have taken the education, and passed the exam, and meet our CE requirements. The majority of us are practicing ethically. The majority of us are trying to keep massage and sex separated. The majority of us abide by the rules. The majority of us are just here to take care of our clients and do the best we can. There will always be some bad apples, but I think requiring licensing has weeded out a lot that might otherwise be here. Just my opinion.

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ELAP: Now that I’ve Read the Whole Thing…

I spent most of my spare time during the past week reading the Final Report and the Entry-Level Education Blueprint of the ELAP. Again, I will offer my appreciation for the collaboration of the Coalition and the team that actually performed the work on this. It was a big project and obviously, people took time away from their own pursuits to participate in it.

Now that I have read the whole thing in its entirety, I have a few observations on it. I quote from the Coalition statement:

We aspire to have this report influence several profession audiences:

• the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards, which can use The Core as it builds guidelines for a model practice act;

My comment on that: The press release announcing that the FSMTB was going to create a Model Practice Act first appeared on April 1, 2011. In a letter I received dated Jan.31, 2014, FSMTB Executive Director Debra Persinger stated that the Task Force is currently completing the final revisions before releasing it for public comment.

It’s just my opinion that the ELAP will be a last-minute inclusion in that, if it does in fact get included.

• state licensing boards, which can use The Core in setting education requirements for licensees;

My comment on that: What is the Model Practice Act doing, if not that? It seems very possible that this is a duplication of efforts. While there are of course other things included in a practice act, one of them is spelling out the hours of required education. I don’t know any state board that goes much beyond setting the total number of required hours, and how that should be broken down in a general list of required subject matter. Not to mention changing a practice act requires legislative action.

• the Alliance for Massage Therapy Education, which can refer to The Core in creating teacher training standards and curricula;

My comment on that: Aha! And therein lies the clincher and the biggest issue I have with it. Since I couldn’t say it any better myself, I am going to share the comment that Rick Rosen left on my FB page:

“The critical missing element that will prevent the ELAP Core Curriculum from being implemented on a wide scale is the lack of teacher training in our field.

I simply cannot fathom why the cash-rich organizations in our field (AMTA, ABMP, FSMTB) would spend significant sums of money on a curriculum development project, while they continue to turn their back on providing the financial support needed to carry forward the Alliance’s National Teacher Education Standards Project. Without this long-term investment in teacher development, educational outcomes and the quality of massage therapy services delivered will remain inconsistent at best.“

My comment on Rosen’s comment: Nailed it on the head. And it would be another interesting research project to determine what the average training is of teachers in massage schools across the US.

I will repeat Rosen’s sentiments by saying I would like to see all the organizations give this kind of support to the Alliance for Massage Therapy Education and their National Teacher Standards Education Project. 

The Alliance is the youngest organization out there, and does not yet have the kind of cash reserves built up to move this project along at a better pace. The fact is these kinds of projects do require money in order to come to fruition. The Alliance membership is made up of educators and industry partners, and will never have the kind of membership numbers enjoyed by the other organizations by virtue of that fact. I can visualize the ELAP being very useful to the teacher training project–but they need the money to make it happen. I urge our other organizations and industry supporters to put your money into this project.

• the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork, which can use The Core as it identifies beginning vs. advanced knowledge and skills for its Board Certification credential;

My comment on that: The Board Certification exam is already out there and is still practically new. I don’t see any major revisions taking place on it any time soon. The NCBTMB is using their “old” certification exam for their entry-level licensing exams, and has been for years. As a certification exam and a licensing exam should require two different job task analysis surveys and one should not be interchangeable with the other, they are already in muddy water, and I don’t really see how this will clear it up. And, as is the case with the MBLEx, the exams that the NCB is using for entry-level licensing are geared to a 500-hour education requirement. Again, this would require major changes to that as well.

• professional membership organizations, which can use The Core in shaping membership criteria;

My comment on that: Pay the money, show proof that you are either a student or a licensee or a practitioner in an unregulated state, and boom! you’re a member. Within the past few months, myself and others made well-documented complaints about an unethical practitioner who was scamming fellow massage therapists and try as we might, we could not get her removed from the membership rolls of AMTA or the massage listing service. She has now finally been removed, after it was reported that she was also scamming her clients. Or she just didn’t pay her membership renewal fee. Either way, she’s no longer listed, but it took months to get any action on that front.

• the Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation, which can use the Core in evaluating massage and bodywork curricula for programmatic accreditation;

My comment on that: COMTA has had their competencies spelled out for years. The basic difference I see is that ELAP is spelling out the number of hours to be spent in each subject matter area.

• other accrediting organizations, which can use The Core in shaping their accreditation criteria;

My comment on that: COMTA is the only accreditation organization devoted to massage therapy (and they now also include asthetic programs). The other accreditation programs I am aware of approve of all kinds of schools and programs and use the same evaluation criteria for a massage program as they would an engine repair program. I don’t realistically see it having impact on these types of accrediting agencies, although it would be nice if it did.

• school owners, administrators and faculty, who can use The Core to strengthen or validate curricula and to adopt consistent learning outcomes;

My comment on that: I wholeheartedly agree. I encourage all school owners, administrators and faculty to read this document…and I know the majority won’t take the time. I have seen the prevailing attitude of “I’m not going to let anyone tell me what to do at my school,” when I have tried to promote COMTA accreditation (disclosure: I have been a COMTA peer reviewer). It doesn’t matter if it would vastly improve their existing program. Stubbornness is hard to overcome.

• and potential massage therapy students, as they consider where to enroll.

My comment on that: I would be shocked to know that any potential student is ever going to read the 527- page document to help them choose a school. Just my opinion.

More of my unsolicited opinion: I am not critical of this document on the whole. I think it spells out a good foundational education for entry-level massage therapists as it was meant to do, and it requires 625 hours to do it in.

There are still 26 states here with a 500-hour minimum requirement. While it is very true that there are many schools that exceed their state’s hour requirement, there are also a large number of school owners that are determined they are not ever going to do more than the state requires. Neither do I see it having much effect, if at all, in states that already have higher requirements for education.

The ELAP report states that a 2012 survey showed schools are teaching an average of 697 hours. Still, if this were to be legally adopted, which I think is a long shot at best, it would undoubtedly put some schools in the position of “cooperate or close down,” which in the general scheme of things, might not be a bad thing, if their students are not truly well-prepared.

I am just of the opinion that being prepared to pass an entry-level examination, and being prepared for the real world of massage, are two very different things. It also isn’t about hours, per se, but about competencies–a statement, in fairness, made in the ELAP–but it does take a certain number of hours to teach those competencies, and this is what the work group decided on.

Bottom line: I like it, but I do think that in spite of the Coalition statement of support, that there has been some unnecessary duplication of efforts on some of their parts here, and that a good curriculum can only be effective with good, well-trained teachers. I’d like to see an equal amount of time, money, and effort spent on the National Teacher Standards Education Project. 

 

 

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ELAP Final Report & Entry-Level Education Blueprint Released

The Entry-Level Analysis Project Final Report and the Entry-Level Education Blueprint were released today, and it’s a whopper…266 pages in the Report, and 527 pages in the blueprint. Obviously, I haven’t read that all this morning. I do want to take the time to express my appreciation for the collaboration among the Coalition (ABMP, AFMTE, AMTA, COMTA, FSMTB, MTF, and NCBTMB) and to Anne Williams of ABMP in particular, for spearheading the project. Both documents were co-authored by the ELAP workgroup, which included Pat Archer, Clint Chandler, Rick Garbowski, Tom Lochhaas, Jim O’Hara, Cynthia Ribeiro, and Anne Williams.

According to the Report, at the initial meeting of the Coalition in 2011, two pressing issues were identified: the inconsistent quality, depth, and focus of entry-level massage programs, and the lack of licensure portability from state to state.

The big recommendation is that 625 hours of education are needed just to give students the core basics that they need for entry-level competency. According to the report, currently 28 states only require 500 hours; 7 require between 570 and 600, and 10 states require more than 625 hours. In my opinion only, no matter how wonderful the Blueprint, those states that already have higher standards won’t be inclined to dumb it down for the rest. New York and Nebraska, for example, both have 1000-hour requirements. I don’t see portability happening there–ever–unless every other state decides to come up to that level. However, the Report does reference a 2012 study that states the average massage program in the US is 697 hours–so maybe even in the states with the 500-hour requirement, there is a tendency to do more than required–and that’s nice.

For those schools that are less than 625 hours, this recommendation would undoubtedly increase financial costs to the owner that would have to be passed along to the student.

The shocking news, to me, is the statement that 40-50% of graduates are leaving the field within two years of graduation! I would be interested to know exactly how those figures were arrived at.The Report cites unrealistic expectations about the physical demands of massage and compensation, and the evolving life circumstances of 20-somethings. I’m personally not sure how relevant the 20-somethings are; it’s been my own experience in the past 15 years that there are as many middle-aged people (whatever that is, nowadays) that take up massage as a second career as there are young people who jump in right out of high school.

The workgroup would like to encourage everyone to pay more attention to the core curriculum than the hours. According to the document, this can serve everyone:

  • The Federation can use it as a guideline for the Model Practice Act
  • The state boards can use it in setting hours for education
  • The AFMTE can use it in setting teacher standards
  • COMTA can use it in evaluating massage and bodywork criteria for accreditation
  • the NCBTMB can use it for identifying entry-level vs. advanced knowledge for Board Certification
  • Professional membership associations can use it in shaping membership criteria
  • School owners, administrators and faculty can use it in validating curricula and adopting consistent learning outcomes
  • Potential massage therapy students, as they are deciding where to enroll.

There is, within the document, the subtopics of Eastern bodywork, TCM, concepts of qi and all the accompaniments to that, with the caveat that schools may choose to integrate that according to their own philosophy. The focus is on the application of Shiatsu, tui na and Thai massage, which I will not argue the efficacy of, without personally buying into the theory behind them. I’m not going to have this argument here because it wears me out, and frankly, I’m outnumbered.

There is no doubt that a huge amount of work went into this project. Personally, I gave a lot of feedback on it during the calls for comments that happened some months ago, as did several other educators I know. I wasn’t crazy about this idea when it was initially introduced, and I was further distressed by the way the review and comment process was set up…I didn’t think it was good to have such a piecemeal approach to it, but in reality, I feel that the chance that many more people would have responded to the whole thing is probably relatively slim…it would have been just as long in any case. Anne Williams stated during one of the presentations on it that I attended last year that it isn’t perfect, but what is? I sincerely do commend everyone who gave of their time and effort on this huge undertaking. I plan to say more about it after I’ve read every page.

 

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CE: No Approval is Better than Faux Approval

This is hardly the first time I’ve had gripes about the state of continuing education for massage therapists in the US. I’m not happy, and I haven’t been happy for a long time. I’m a CE provider myself, approved by the NCBTMB. That approval is accepted in many places, but there are some states that run their own CE approval processes. Sometimes, the cost and the amount of paperwork just can’t be justified to teach one class that may or may not fill. The CE environment, at least in my state of NC, is also very competitive. It seems there’s a provider on every corner here.

I’ve been distressed with the NCBTMB as an approval body for a long time, due to the total claptrap that they have approved. I also didn’t care much for the MOCC plan proposal from the FSMTB, which would have made all CE voluntary, except those classes that are about public protection, put forth by them on their website. I feel that has the potential to put a lot of good CE providers out of business.

I think it’s time to do away with two prevalent myths that have been used as the rationale for CE regulation: one, that the public is being seriously harmed by massage therapy, and two, that the current CE approval processes are able to provide quality assurance. It’s impossible to guarantee the competence of CE providers or the quality of their courses when it may not be there to begin with. Our field will never advance, and we will not be taken seriously by other health care professions if we continue to operate under these false pretenses.

I recently called for the other organizations to pool their resources to get the NCBTMB written out of the exam requirements in all states. North Carolina set an important precedent for that five years ago by choosing to accept only the MBLEx (except for a limited use by out-of-state applicants). This has simplified the testing process for schools, graduates and that board, and put the regulatory program on solid legal ground.

Rick Rosen has proposed a couple of alternative solutions for CE regulation, the first of which was a National Registry. He has now tweaked that into new template entitled Model Continuing Education Regulations: A Streamlined and Simplified Approach for State Boards.

I don’t agree with Rosen on everything, but I think this is a good plan. Ultimately, I would like to see states refuse acceptance of CE that is not science-based (other than classes such as marketing, ethics, etc.) one of the points Rosen and I disagree on. However, I’m being realistic when I say that probably is not going to happen in my lifetime.  

My main beef here is that  state boards need oversight of what they accept for CE, and they need to have control over entry-level examinations. As long as the NCBTMB is written into state statutes and rules, the regulatory boards are forced to blindly go along with whatever NCB does. As Rosen has pointed out many times in the past, that is an improper delegation of authority—and I definitely agree with that. FSMTB is not even following the advice of its own legal counsel in getting state boards out of this troubled relationship with NCB. Instead of hanging on to so-called “licensure” exams and a failed CE approval program, I would prefer to see the NCBTMB developing specialty certifications, which IMHO is what they should be doing.

It all boils down to this: no approval is better than faux approval. For all that it currently means, we could just do away with CE approvals altogether let the market deal with the good, bad and everything in between. As long as Flower Faerie Healing is acceptable for CE credit, that’s pretty much what we have anyway—except we’re paying for the privilege.

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Here’s the Rub

A couple of different things are bugging me today, so here’s the rub: The NCBTMB referring to their licensing exams as certification exams. There was a period of time when the licensing exams were referred to as the NESL–National Exam for State Licensing.

National Certification, as it previously existed, was retired on Dec. 31, 2012. People who are currently Nationally Certified under the old paradigm have until 2016 to comply with the requirements for the new Board Certification, or lose their “old” certification. I’m not sure of the date that the NCBTMB decided to drop the term “NESL” which indicated a licensing exam as opposed to a certification exam, but now that they have dropped that and are just referring to it as the NCETM/NCTMB, to me it is confusing the issue of what certification is–and is not. I spoke my mind about this yesterday to Steve Kirin and Leena Guptha, and they promised to take this under consideration. As Leena pointed out, they have a lot of things that have gone wrong over the years, and they can’t all be rectified overnight. I do hope they change back to the NESL…in reality they are the same exams, but using the NCETM/NCETMB acronyms has lead people to believe they are Nationally Certified, when in fact they are not–they have simply passed a licensing exam given by that Board, but it is not a certification.

In another development, AMTA sent out a press release this week announcing their new policy of making chapter fees optional. Previously, each chapter has charged whatever they deemed fit for their members to pay. In my state of NC, that was $15…an amount that I found quite reasonable because our chapter rocks! We have a very active organization.

I heard through the grapevine a month or so ago that this had happened, so I went to the source. In a conference call I had with Bill Brown, Winona Bontrager, and Chris Voltarel, they confirmed that the Board of Directors had made this decision in an executive session at the annual convention held in Dallas/Fort Worth, which I personally felt was improper, but they stated to me that it was not improper because direct competitors were present in the open board meeting. I assume they meant representatives of ABMP. I accepted that explanation. The fact is, ABMP is trouncing AMTA when it comes to the membership numbers. AMTA has been around for 75 years. ABMP has only been around for 27 years, and according to their website, they have over 80,000 members. AMTA claims to have about 56,000, the last I heard, but I have heard rumors of lower numbers.

However, I did inform them that I had also heard that Chapter presidents were upset about it, and that a petition was rumored to be going around protesting the decision. The response was “we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” From my reports, the petition does exist but has not yet been sent to AMTA. Other than people grumbling about it on FB, there hasn’t been much said–maybe because most people just didn’t know. I made another phone call this week and complained because they hadn’t put out a press release, and that I thought the membership ought to be informed. Communications Director Ron Precht told me that members were being informed at renewal time, so they hadn’t put out anything about it, but apparently they changed their minds.

I posted the press release on my FB page a couple of days ago, and immediately got a few comments from people wondering if the chapters were going to suffer because of this move. I confess I am wondering myself. I hope not, but I have my doubts about the wisdom of this move. I reported on AMTA’s financial health a few weeks ago, and while they’re certainly not in any financial trouble as a national organization, I can’t speak to the financial health of the individual chapters.

One thing I can speak to is the fact that chapter money is used to pay lobbyists, among other things, and we need government representation now more than ever. The ACA stands to have an impact on the massage therapy profession. There are other things swirling from several fronts that could require legislative changes in many states, such as the Model Practice Act the FSMTB is working on, a continuing education paradigm shift that may or may not happen, and other things that government relations representation is clearly needed for. Although most chapters have a government relations representative, those folks are volunteers, and in all likelihood the vast majority does not have the same political savvy as someone who lobbies for a living. Here in NC, we were paying our lobbyist $20,000 a year the last time I looked. Experienced government relations people need to be on the scene anytime a sunset period is coming up, or anytime statutory changes are being considered. I don’t think the national office has the manpower to be everything to every state when it comes to that.

AMTA states in the press release that they will offer several new services to chapters, so they won’t be part of chapter expenses. And, if a chapter finds that it needs additional financial assistance to maintain necessary and high-caliber services to members, the National Board will look at providing funding. I hope they look hard at paying our lobbyists and not allowing crappy legislation to take over–particularly sunsetting a practice act.

One of the questions that arose on my FB page was what would happen to the huge donation AMTA makes to the Massage Therapy Foundation every year….usually that’s in the amount of $450,000. If they’re not taking it in, I don’t see how they can give it out. I certainly do not want to see the support for the Foundation fall by the wayside.

There are a number of people out there who aren’t going to pay any kind of fee that’s optional. On the whole, though, I think a lot of devoted AMTA members will continue to support their state chapters.

As a member, I have to say that I don’t think this was handled in the right manner. My own opinion is that instead of an executive decision that was made and then foisted upon us, the membership could have been surveyed, or at a minimum, the state chapter presidents polled. My guess is this we haven’t heard the last of this. I’ll take bets they’ll have to back up and punt.

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Love and Light and Fuck You, Namaste

I’m going to spare the magazines that host my blog from having to call me up and tell me they are censoring me because of this blog…I just won’t load it to them. This is my personal site and I can be just as irreverent as I please. I can also take a break from writing about massage politics today just because I want to.

I don’t recall which of my illustrious FB friends I first heard use the phrase “Fuck you, Namaste,” but it was in reference to the behavioral trend that some massage therapists have, presenting themselves to be all about love and light and positivity and serenity, while at the same time letting their own true judgmental tendencies, their passive-aggressive hostility, and their lack of critical thinking skills shine right through. I see it every day. In fact it gets thrown in my face most days.

I am plain-spoken and leave people no room for doubt about my opinions. That sometimes comes across as rudeness when I don’t intend that, especially on the Internet where you can’t hear people’s tone of voice or see their body language or have face to face communication. There are also plenty of times when I intend for my rudeness to come through loud and clear. I can be passionate about something and go from zero to bitch in 2.5 seconds in defending it. I admit that I am missing the tact gene. The difference in me and some people is that I own up to it. I call it like I see it. No one in the massage profession can truthfully say that I have ever presented myself as love and light. I have not. Nor am I the “bitter, vindictive” woman that someone referred to me as last week.

I report on massage politics and the actions (or inaction) of our professional associations, along with a healthy dose of my own opinion about it. I proselytize for massage therapy research, and I expose things that have been proven false, like the myths of massage, or those that are scamming massage therapists and/or the public.

A frequent topic of argument on massage forums is energy work. People have the mistaken conception that I am against energy work. I am not against energy work; I started practicing it myself in 1993, five years before I took my first massage class. I am against holding it out to the public as something other than what it is–healing that you take on faith. It is the same with religion. There’s no double-blind study that we can conduct to prove the efficacy of energy work or the existence of God. You take it on faith, if you’re so inclined. Just say so. That is all.

Tonight I was in a discussion that escalated–it had nothing to do with energy work–but again, the old Fuck you, Namaste, is rearing its head. There are several lively groups of MTs on FB that regularly get into debates on any topic under the sun pertaining to massage. And as is the case when more than one person is present, there is going to be some disagreement. I suggested that someone ought to start a group called “Love and Light” for people who just want to schmooze and pat each other on the back. I won’t be the one starting that.

Debate is a polite word for argument. I wrote a blog about it several years ago. Emotions run high. While I try to refrain from name-calling, there’s plenty of times when I’d like to. If you’re going to make a claim on a public forum, you ought to be prepared to back that up with something besides website hype. If you’re throwing out a “question” to the group that turns out to be one long sales pitch for your MLM group or whatever you’re selling, don’t expect that to fly by too many of us who regularly question things. We’re not that stupid.

There’s a lot of old sayings I can think of concerning the character of human beings. One is “If you spot it, you’ve got it.” Another is “While you point the finger, three of them are pointing back at you.” One old favorite is, “What you think of me is none of my business.” My personal favorite is one that I just saw the other day: “I don’t have an attitude problem. You have a problem with my attitude and that’s not my problem.”

I’m not Miss Popularity. Some people who detest me follow my blog or stay on my FB page because they are interested in knowing what’s going on with the organizations even though they don’t like me personally. That’s fine with me. Somehow I will survive knowing that you don’t love me. And there genuinely are some people here that I can say I have never seen act even remotely hostile or patronizing. But when I see a “Fuck you, Namaste” coming from someone who claims to avoid all negativity while they are going about spreading fairy dust, let me just say, I have had my laugh for the day at your expense, because I have enough balls to own my character traits–or lack of them–and you don’t.

Complaints about my unprofessional behavior may be directed to 1-800-WHAAAAA. Namaste.