The sordid story of the National Certification Board vs. the Rest of the Profession grinds painfully on. I am both amazed and distressed at the public relations claptrap the NCBTMB is continuing to manufacture, and distressed that the leadership of this organization is apparently unable to stop fighting what is most certainly a losing battle. NCB continues to base its campaign on distortions, innuendo, and wildly stated accusations directed at our two most respected professional organizations and the state massage regulatory boards that are members of FSMTB.
It took them long enough, but the powers that be at the NCB have finally responded to AMTA’s decision to endorse the Massage and Bodywork Licensing Examination (MBLEx) as the best choice for the path to licensure and portability. The problem is that NCB has come forth with the ridiculous statements that AMTA’s decision was based on “passion rather than reason”, and that the MBLEx is a “threat to the viability of certification and the profession at large.”
On the first claim, it took AMTA a couple of years to finally get around to making this endorsement. Anyone who is familiar with that particular Board of Directors knows they are not prone to making impulsive or passion-based decisions. And NCB’s ongoing assertions that certification is superior to licensure is pure fiction. Each of these credentials have their place in a well-structured profession, and no one organization gets to have all the marbles.
In a separate email sent to certificants, NCB also makes accusations that the MBLEx is “easier” than their certification exams, a claim that is totally without merit. Along with that, NCB is making the bizarre suggestion that state massage therapy boards somehow stand to profit financially from accepting the MBLEx –– another statement that has no basis whatsoever in reality.
By the way, we’re seeing exactly what happens when a professional certification agency hires a “spin doctor” as its CEO: you get “all spin, all the time.”
When leaders sling this kind of mud, it’s called dirty politics. Now that our national election is over and the new president installed, it’s just the kind of thing we’re all sick of hearing. There’s an interesting aspect about this particular fight, however, and that is that the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards isn’t participating in it. They stand quietly by and attend to the business of administering exams like they were created to do, instead of responding by slinging more mud.
The press release sent out by the Federation in response to AMTA’s endorsement states, “Like AMTA, the Federation continues to see voluntary certification as a cornerstone of the profession,” and goes on to express hope that the NCB will realize that the profession has evolved, that their true mission rests in certification, and that they will support the Federation.
As a NCB certificant, it saddens me to see this organization resort to the same kind of strategy of truth-butchering and spreading of baseless claims that is typically practiced by mudslinging politicians.
The campaign is over, our two largest professional membership associations have spoken, and they support the Federation and its licensing exam. NCB should stand down and face the reality that the massage therapy landscape has fundamentally changed. This new era requires an atmosphere of communication and the spirit of collaboration to move our profession forward. Do NCB’s leaders really think the hostility they are cranking out is endearing them to the thirty state boards that have now joined the Federation? That’s thirty agencies that see the value of working together for the advancement of our profession, and for improving portability of licensure. If anyone can make an honest case for that being a bad thing, please post it here.
Peace & Prosperity,
Laura Allen
