Everything Education

               Academic institutions that are already running massage therapy programs should be thinking about new ways to grow and evolve them in order to create real quality programs, remain competitive and regain the edge in this rapidly evolving field. Based on my experience, there are many ways in which academic institutions can strengthen their massage therapy programs. I’m only discussing one of them in this blog but some of the others can be accessed in a recent article I wrote at my website: www.Schenkmanconsulting.com at the bottom of the home page. It’s entitled: Massage Therapy Training – The Next Step.  

               Implementing any one of them can make a big difference in the success of the program or school. Institution decision makers should take some time to consider which ways apply to their particular school. Since each institution is in a different place in the evolution of their massage programs, differences in overall mission, philosophy, curriculum, staff and faculty from one school to another will dictate which changes are more relevant to any individual school. However, whether or not any of them apply, it can be extremely beneficial to reflect on these ways and take an objective look at what, if anything, to do next!?

The ‘Smorgasbord Syndrome’

                All too often institutions, particularly those with less hours to spare, stuff their programs with a multitude of short courses in different modalities of massage therapy and bodywork in the hopes and mistaken belief that this will somehow have a positive outcome for the graduate and for the school. I call this the ‘smorgasbord syndrome.’ Although it’s a marketing dream and it may look attractive, appetizing and exciting to an uneducated, prospective enrollee, (as in “look at all I’m going to learn if I enroll in this program”), it unfortunately frequently produces a program that turns out graduates very weak in the fundamentals and ineffective in the basic foundations and technical competencies of treatment. As a result, it can backfire in a lower pass rate for the school on the licensing/certification exam which can ultimately have serious repercussions for accreditation, Title IV funding, etc….

               Employees who hire these graduates complain about lower competence levels and unprofessional demeanors and don’t keep them on staff. The inability for a school’s graduates to hold on to a job will seriously damage the Institution’s placement stats creating further accreditation and financial aid complications. And it’s not long after that when these graduates begin to wake up to the fact that the program they graduated from was, “a mile wide and an inch deep.” That said longer programs, wisely developed, do have the room to offer and competently teach a broader array of forms of massage and bodywork which can be of great benefit to the graduate and to the clients they treat.

It is recommended that as a bottom line all basic, entry level professional programs should be at least 600 hours and should be focused on no more than two treatment modalities, i.e., Swedish massage and Shiatsu, or Swedish massage and Deep Tissue,…….. Given that all the other hours need to be spent on adequately teaching the biosciences including: A&P, muscle anatomy, kinesiology, pathology, clinic internship, professional development, ethics and business, etc.. spending precious hours on trying to teach four or five more modalities basically robs the student of a balanced education. Those hours have to come from somewhere!

               An additional modality can be introduced in a 600 hour program, but it should be made clear to students that it is only an introduction and that real competence will come after many more hours of continuing education classes and practice. Upgrading, revising and staying a cut above by offering a longer, more comprehensive program that is marketed properly can reinvigorate a massage therapy school or program and is something that should be carefully considered.