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Hey Friends,

 

One of our fellow members, Jane Johnson, posted a compelling question and I would like to ask for your opinions.

Do you feel that your massage program is thorough, and prepares you entirely for a) licensing requirements and b) a professional career?

Are there any topics, modalities, or resources that you wish you got more of from your school? What about business information - could you use more help with basic business, marketing and tax concepts?

Jane is a massage author looking for hot topics, and as your Massage Students page administrator and Student Resource Coordinator at ABMP, I want to know too. What would help to augment the training that your massage school provides?

 

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

 

Erin

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Replies to This Discussion

I am in California.  Minimum requirement for state license as a Massage Practitioner is 250 hrs of documented training.   Licensed Massage Therapist is 500 hrs.  The 250 hr requirement is being phased out so eventually 500 hr program will be required.  In order to stay competitive, individuals will need to take additional CE courses on an ongoing basis.  My school offers lots of them in a variety of modalities.  

Gary W Addis said:

250 hour training?  What state do you plan to practice in?  Mine is a 2-year class, 750 credit hours.  I could be mistaken, but I think NCBTMB (I know that my state does) requires a minimum of 500 hours.

 

Oh, I misspelled my friend Boris's name.  It's Boris Prilutsky. 

Thanks for the explanation.  Sure better than what it used to be in CA, right?  Every wee town with its own licensure fee--and Southern California has lots of wee (but very rich) towns-- heck from about 90 miles out, everything ought to be combined into a city called Southern California! 

 

But I loved the region (I drove long haul for 23 years before entering MT school, and I visited CA at least once every week).

 

Lol--LA is wonderful..and you are right--big!    So much about CA resonates with my family and me.  Have been here for about 8 years now.  As far as the MT profession is concerned, regulations are being updated, and I think each locale that has it's own governance decides who pays "city" permit fees.  Some do; some don't. Also, I think you don't need a permit in each locale unless you have an established business there, i.e. if you do outcalls, it doesn't apply.   It keeps changing.  I suspect the "City of LA" will continue to get as much as possible for as long as they can....you know...to keep that infrastructure going! :)

Were touching on a lot of things but not going into depth with much. Like hot stones or TCM, Traditional Chinese Medicine. Which i'd like to learn more about. After i get out i need to find somewhere to get Hot Stone certified.

To answer your questions Yes i think over all it prepares me to get my licenses and a career. Were in the business mod right now and it's very helpful. My only problem is the current teacher i have is new to the school and teaching and doesn't know really how to teach. She just reads it straight from the book and has us read along. It's very high school in a way.

 

I like the school but i wish they still taught TCM and you could get your stone certification there.

Joyce - thanks for keeping this thread going (and GARY too :)) In regard to local registration /licensure in California - I want to make sure you know about the CAMTC option. CA is one of just a few states that still allows local (city or county) license regulation. This was problematic because it allowed schools to offer bare-bones training programs, that didn't prepare their students to work in many of the cities with higher hour requirements....not to mention the disservice it does to the industry to graduate under-prepared massage therapists. As a solution, cities got together and with ABMP's help, created the California Massage Therapy Council  (CAMTC). The first thing to know about the CAMTC cert is that it is optional. Therapists who choose to comply with local regulation only have the right to do so in city's that allow it. However, the CAMTC certification provides a statewide registration that allows therapists to work anywhere in California. It overrides local city regulations. Because schools in CA have historically varied in their hourly requirements, the CAMTC is a tiered system, offering different pathways to certification or licensure, depending on the the level of training and practice the applicant has. You probably knew about this - but just wanted to make mention in the even anyone out there doesn't. To apply with the CAMTC, start online at www.CAMTC.org.

Joyce said:
Lol--LA is wonderful..and you are right--big!    So much about CA resonates with my family and me.  Have been here for about 8 years now.  As far as the MT profession is concerned, regulations are being updated, and I think each locale that has it's own governance decides who pays "city" permit fees.  Some do; some don't. Also, I think you don't need a permit in each locale unless you have an established business there, i.e. if you do outcalls, it doesn't apply.   It keeps changing.  I suspect the "City of LA" will continue to get as much as possible for as long as they can....you know...to keep that infrastructure going! :)
Sarah - that is unfortunate that your teacher uses a lecture-style and doesn't make it more interactive. I hope that you experience other great teachers while you are there. You can definitely get the TCM and Hot Stone training you desire through a CE course during or after your training, and supplementing your basic training with additional techniques and modalities is essential if you want to grow a versatile practice down the road. TCM is really gaining headway right now - there couldn't be a better time to get on board there. If you log on to ABMP.com, you can access our online CE calendar than helps you to locate CE courses in your area (or online). Take a look!

Sarah Fox said:

Were touching on a lot of things but not going into depth with much. Like hot stones or TCM, Traditional Chinese Medicine. Which i'd like to learn more about. After i get out i need to find somewhere to get Hot Stone certified.

To answer your questions Yes i think over all it prepares me to get my licenses and a career. Were in the business mod right now and it's very helpful. My only problem is the current teacher i have is new to the school and teaching and doesn't know really how to teach. She just reads it straight from the book and has us read along. It's very high school in a way.

 

I like the school but i wish they still taught TCM and you could get your stone certification there.

Oh, and welcome, Sarah!

Sarah Fox said:

Were touching on a lot of things but not going into depth with much. Like hot stones or TCM, Traditional Chinese Medicine. Which i'd like to learn more about. After i get out i need to find somewhere to get Hot Stone certified.

To answer your questions Yes i think over all it prepares me to get my licenses and a career. Were in the business mod right now and it's very helpful. My only problem is the current teacher i have is new to the school and teaching and doesn't know really how to teach. She just reads it straight from the book and has us read along. It's very high school in a way.

 

I like the school but i wish they still taught TCM and you could get your stone certification there.

Hi Erin -- I was not aware of the CAMTC.  I will check it out!  My school offers a 250 and 500 hour MT program. They are preparing/guiding us to be able to apply for CA state certification as a massage practitioner upon completion of the first 250 hours, then encourage us to continue with electives they offer to enable us to attain the 500 hour certification as a massage therapist.  As I understand it, the state is phasing in the 500 hour certification requirement over the next couple of years, which seems like it would supersede local regulations, i.e. state certification seems like it would allow a therapist to work anywhere in CA.  What we have been told is that each local government entity has it's own rules about the cost of a business license, but that is independent of state certification.  It sounds like the CAMTC would be helpful for those who have not completed enough accredited hours for state certification, which could be very helpful in many cases.

Erin Romanin said:
Joyce - thanks for keeping this thread going (and GARY too :)) In regard to local registration /licensure in California - I want to make sure you know about the CAMTC option. CA is one of just a few states that still allows local (city or county) license regulation. This was problematic because it allowed schools to offer bare-bones training programs, that didn't prepare their students to work in many of the cities with higher hour requirements....not to mention the disservice it does to the industry to graduate under-prepared massage therapists. As a solution, cities got together and with ABMP's help, created the California Massage Therapy Council  (CAMTC). The first thing to know about the CAMTC cert is that it is optional. Therapists who choose to comply with local regulation only have the right to do so in city's that allow it. However, the CAMTC certification provides a statewide registration that allows therapists to work anywhere in California. It overrides local city regulations. Because schools in CA have historically varied in their hourly requirements, the CAMTC is a tiered system, offering different pathways to certification or licensure, depending on the the level of training and practice the applicant has. You probably knew about this - but just wanted to make mention in the even anyone out there doesn't. To apply with the CAMTC, start online at www.CAMTC.org.

Joyce said:
Lol--LA is wonderful..and you are right--big!    So much about CA resonates with my family and me.  Have been here for about 8 years now.  As far as the MT profession is concerned, regulations are being updated, and I think each locale that has it's own governance decides who pays "city" permit fees.  Some do; some don't. Also, I think you don't need a permit in each locale unless you have an established business there, i.e. if you do outcalls, it doesn't apply.   It keeps changing.  I suspect the "City of LA" will continue to get as much as possible for as long as they can....you know...to keep that infrastructure going! :)

Hello - In response to your query...

 

I've been enrolled in an affordable school with quality teachers. One of the thngs I've noticed is that we dont talk a lot about Pharmacology and drug contraindications (at least not yet we havent). I think this is a big deal to learn about because half of the USA is medicated and if we administer massage on clients with unknown drugs inside of them, we could potentially hurt them.

In my mind I imagine that when I process client intake forms I will research the drugs as they inform me of them. Anyone out there cross this issue? Is it really even a big deal to fuss about?

Hi.  I too am currently a student.  Out pathology textbook (by Ruth Werner) is an excellent resource, I scored a 96 in the class and refer back to the textbook often.  But if memory serves it barely mentions drugs.  In my limited experience,  prescription drug usage of clients hasn't been an issue-- but it probably will arise sometime in my career.  Besides, the knowing is worth the effort to learn.  Laura Allen, you should get at least a long feature article out of this subject, perhaps a textbook-- Pharmacology for Massage Therapists.

hypnotiqu3 said:

Hello - In response to your query...

 

I've been enrolled in an affordable school with quality teachers. One of the thngs I've noticed is that we dont talk a lot about Pharmacology and drug contraindications (at least not yet we havent). I think this is a big deal to learn about because half of the USA is medicated and if we administer massage on clients with unknown drugs inside of them, we could potentially hurt them.

In my mind I imagine that when I process client intake forms I will research the drugs as they inform me of them. Anyone out there cross this issue? Is it really even a big deal to fuss about?

Do you think that massage students, at large, are kinesthetic learners? Does the 'lecture and take notes' approach turn you off?

I cannot speak knowledgeably about massage students in general, but I personally learn from both approaches.  My brain needs to process information in different ways, i.e. touching, seeing, hearing, in order for me to retain it in long term memory.  Of course the kinesthetic approach is always more fun! :)

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