The Massage Pundit

I had a blast at the National Convention in Orlando last week. There was so much going on, both in the open and behind the scenes, it was a whirlwind just trying to take it all in. The Rosen Shingle Creek Resort was a beautiful venue for our meeting. My only complaint was that the room was way too small for the opening ceremony; many people couldn’t get in or had to stand the whole time. Otherwise, the accommodations were superior, the food was good, and the staff was very personable and friendly.

I’m sure it will surprise my readers to know that one of the high points of my trip was the better part of an hour that I spent with Paul Lindamood, CEO of the NCBTMB. I’ve written many things about the NCB in the past two years, the majority of it uncomplimentary, and have openly criticized Mr. Lindamood personally on several occasions, so it was quite shocking to some of the membership who chanced to walk by to see us sitting in an open area having a chat. Rick Rosen, newly installed at the helm of the recently formed Alliance for Massage Therapy Education, couldn’t resist taking a picture.

I have to give him credit; Lindamood listened to what I had to say about the NCB and the disappointment I and many others have felt about the direction the organization has taken in the past few years. Whether he acts on any of it is yet to be seen, but I did come away from our conversation feeling like he paid attention to my long litany of woes. He even made the comment that although a lot of my blog posts have been distressing to him, he admired me for speaking out about it. No, this does not mean I have had a sudden change of heart about the NCB…however, I have always said that I did not want this organization to go away; I want them to get back on task, so I’ll be watching them like a hawk and seeing what happens–and of course reporting on it.

Speaking of Rick Rosen, it appears he has manifested his appeal for a “dignified sunset” of the Council of Schools. That in fact is happening; the Board of Directors voted to adopt bylaw changes that elminate the COS and all language relating them. The Alliance is the logical entity to replace that organization. At this stage, the startup of the Alliance is being guided by a six-member Leadership Team of veteran educators. They are in the process of incorporating the organization, creating an administrative headquarters, and planning for the first Annual Meeting in mid-2010.

I’m sure one of the highlights of Rick Rosen’s trip was watching with pride as his wife Carey Smith was given the Jerome Perlinski Teacher of the Year Award. Carey has been educating students as well as other educators for many years, and her award was well-deserved.

Another highlight of the trip for me was meeting so many Facebook friends. Most of you know I’m a huge proponent of Internet networking and I was just thrilled to death to meet so many in person that I’ve known through Facebook, Twitter, and the massageprofessionals.com website. A group of Facebook friends gathered on Wednesday evening, and I met others throughout the convention. Xerlan Geiser-Deery, who practices in Oklahoma and who just started a blog of her own, was one of my favorites, as was Allissa Haines from the MA chapter. Alissa appointed herself the Fashion Police during the convention, and I must say, her critiques were spot-on. Lounging by the pool is one thing, but is it really acceptable to attend a class or a business dinner with your belly-button hanging out? A number of people apparently think it is. Allissa was taking names.

I spent quite a bit of time at the booth of the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards. I’m North Carolina’s delegate this year and was pleased to see so many folks stopping by the booth to inquire about the MBLEx and the other benefits of Federation membership. I spent some quality time with Sally Hacking, who was given a very beautiful award from AMTA; also visited with Debra Persinger, Kevin Snedden, and Scott Miller, all of whom I’ll be seeing again in a couple of weeks at the Federation’s annual meeting.

I was also pleased to meet Glen Moyle, who will be our national president during 2011, and her husband Gordon. In fact, I spent quite a bit of time talking with Gordon, who is a fascinating person with a lot of interesting stories to tell. I sat with them during the Massage Therapy Research Foundation reception. I took a picture of Gordon with Ruth Werner’s husband Curt, who also sat with us. These two are the prime illustration of good men being behind great women.

Diana Thompson had great news to report about the donations the Foundation has received in the past year, and Ruth gave a short speech about her upcoming term as the new leader, just before her beautiful donated quilt was raffled off.

Thursday night I enjoyed the annual LWW author’s dinner. It’s fun meeting all the other Lippincott authors and hearing what everyone is up to. I gave Nina McIntosh, who is ill and couldn’t be with us this year, a quick call and we all yelled our greetings to her. She was with us in spirit.

Also seen and heard: I met Michael Reynolds, president of the Indiana chapter, who is also a FB friend and someone I have long admired from a distance. His company, Spinweb, makes fabulous websites, and Michael is very generous with the marketing advice he shares on FB. He is every bit as charming in person as he is on FB…..also pleased to finally meet Leslie Young Giase, editor of Massage & Bodywork Magazine; Sid Duncan, who does marketing for Massage Magazine, Kim Goral, whom Allissa predicted will one day be president of the Foundation; Cliff Korn, snappy-looking in a green blazer. I was also glad to see many AMTA friends from NC, SC, and GA.

I did hear the distressing news that Florida is considering the passage of HB139, which will exempt graduates from accredited schools from taking any kind of licensure exam. I strongly urge our neighbors to the south to nip this action in the bud. Sometimes schools are guilty of passing students who aren’t up to par just to get rid of them. I don’t think this is a good move, and I hope this bill is soundly defeated.

All in all, it was a great trip. If YOU have never attended a national convention, you are missing out on one heck of a good time. Even the ABMP folks were there; you don’t have to be a member to attend. There is something totally awesome about being among 1000 or so other massage therapists. It’s absolutely restorative! Next year’s convention will be held in Minneapolis, so make plans now to join us.

Peace & Prosperity,

Laura Allen

This weekend while I was teaching ethics to a class of 23 people, I asked how many present have read the Practice Act. As usual, the answer was TWO. I wonder how people think they can comply with the law if they don’t know what it is. I wonder if they know they can have input whenever the act is opened, as it occasionally is. I wonder if they know they can attend massage board meetings; that holds true everywhere, not just in my state; a public board is obligated to have open meetings and to offer a time period for public comment. If they don’t know, it isn’t because I haven’t attempted to personally spread the word–I do it all the time.

There is a lot going on in our profession right now. This week, the AMTA is holding their annual convention. I’ll be heading to Orlando tomorrow to participate. Since representatives from the National Certification Board, the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards, the Massage Therapy Research Foundation, and many others will be on hand, it’s an opportunity to meet those people in person and give them a little feedback.

Last week of the first draft of the Massage Therapy Body of Knowledge project was released, along with the solicitation for comments. We’ve also heard the recent announcement about the formation of the Alliance for Massage Therapy, the new organization led by Rick Rosen; the hiring of Angela Palmier and Christopher Alvarado as new Industry Relations Specialists for the NCB; the NCB’s announcement of morphing into a membership/insurance organization, and their recent announcement about a general advanced certification, which based on the comments on this blog, not too many people seem excited about. Those comments have been forwarded to the leadership of the NCB. We’ve got the MBLEx gaining ground and more states joining the Federation. We’ve got more states forming boards and enacting legislation than ever before. We’ve got more regulation of massage therapy than any other time before.

There are so many current issues that affect our profession. And as a massage therapist, that means they directly affect you. Have you voiced your opinion? Contacted the NCB? Attended a meeting or written a letter to your state board? Been in touch with your legislators? Written a letter to the editor of your trade publications? Weighed in on this or the thousands of other blogs and discussion groups that exist on the Internet? Do you belong to a professional association, and do you let them know what you think, or do you just automatically pay your dues and maintain the status quo?

I am not going to sit on my hands while things go on that have the potential to affect me and my colleagues. I’ve used this blog plenty of times to complain about something, and to give the occasional pat on the back, but that’s not the only action I take. When legislation comes up that affects the practice of massage in my state, I contact my legislators, and I send out announcements to every therapist on my email list. As a current member of the board in my state, I am obligated to be at meetings, but the fact is I attended quite a few before I was appointed, and plan to continue that when my term is over, so I can voice my opinion. I have written the leadership of AMTA on numerous occasions. I haven’t single-handedly managed to change anything, but I always get a response, and it’s good to know they’re listening. I haven’t just written about the NCB; I’ve also written directly to them.

Maybe people just don’t realize that they have the right to speak up. If that’s the case, I’m telling you now, you have the right. If something that affects us and our profession is on the horizon, why don’t you take a few minutes to voice your opinion? Write a letter. Make a phone call. Send a fax or an email. Post an answer to this blog or someone else’s, or write one of your own. Get involved. Don’t sit on your hands.

Since this post is not intended as an attack on the National Certification Board, I decided it would be okay to post it.  The readership needs to weigh in on this, as they are about to undertake an important project:

The NCBTMB announced today in a press release that the organization is getting on with the task of offering an advanced certification examination, with a target date for the exam to start beta testing in April 2010.

While I applaud any effort from them towards that at all, the issue here is that I think they’re a little off target, before they get started. I have heard input from hundreds of therapists who would be interested in gaining an advanced certification in their area of expertise, such as Medical Massage, Oncology Massage, Maternity Massage, and so forth. I haven’t heard anyone say they would line up to take a general type of exam. Furthermore, since the day the MBLEx was introduced, the NCB has propagated their existing exams as the hallmark of advanced knowledge, even though in reality it is an entrance-level exam, so they’ve kind of lost ground by way of their own press.

I think it is of the utmost importance for the massage community to weigh in on this before this Job Task Analysis gets off to a big start. The NCB has reportedly assembled a team of 20 experts in the field to lead this effort that is to take place in November.

I will forward all answers to this on to the powers that be at the NCB. PLEASE weigh in: Would you be interested in taking a modality-specific exam, and if so, in what area of expertise would you seek that advanced certification?

OR would you be interested in taking a general advanced certification exam that just designates you as an advanced professional?

Does either of these work for you? Come on, people, we need for our voices to be heard on this one.

Peace & Prosperity,

Laura Allen