Posted under General & Marketing Massage for Special Populations & Massage for Elders
Good day!
I’ve decided to take a chance here and express an opinion that may not be popular with some. Certainly massage therapy is on a bigger stage as our profession enjoys a period of growth and acceptance by the public and health care settings. Many of us are working hard to elevate our profession and our place among other health and wellness providers. The potential for you to succeed has never been greater. Now here’s the rub– are you dressing like the professional that you are?
I’ve been teaching massage therapists for several years in schools; workshops and conferences; eldercare and hospice. What I’ve observed is a huge range of what is considered appropriate dress for professional events and settings. The range looks something like this: sweats and t-shirts with sandles ; shorts and flip flops; dress slacks and jackets; jeans with holes; scrubbs; skirts and dresses. Now don’t get me wrong– I’m definitly in favor of personal style and freedom of choice. What is troubling me is that at this time when our profession has a real chance to be taken seriously, so many of us are dressing like WE don’t take it seriously. Right or wrong, we live in a society where we are sized up by our appearance. If we want to be treated and paid as professionals, we should dress the part.
I’m not advocating a universal dress code for massage therapists– after all, we are individuals. What I’m asking is that you pay attention to how you present yourself to your clients, to the public and to your colleagues. Just take it up a notch or two (or in some cases three or four!). I’ve worked in healthcare for 30 years– that’s a long time to observe how healthcare providers interact with people in hospitals, rehab centers, nursing homes, home care and hospice. I’ve been involved in decisions about what is considered “appropriate” standards of dress in these settings. I’ve learned first hand that it really does impact relationships with clients, employers and co-workers.
So do yourself and our profession a favor—dress for the success you deserve!
Irene smith on 30 Aug 2008 at 10:41 am #
Ann
I completely agree that we have to dress as professionals to be treated like professionals .
The problem as I see it, however is that as a culture the dress code for professionals in the corporate world has changed, and we are a corporate culture.
Women go to work as lawyers, executives as well as administrators with short skirts, low cut tight form fitting cloths and open shoes and sometimes thongs.
The common sense that used to prevail about dressing , in terms of what message is being sent through that wardrobe, as far as I can tell ,no longer exists.
We actually have to teach this in our courses. We can’t depend upon the students to recognize this component to our profession.
I teach in many different settings as you do. I used to get somewhat angry when Id show up to take students to a facility and someone would have ripped jeans and flip flops. Now I simply recognize that they dont have the slightest idea because they are wearing the latest fashion.
In the 2 hospices where I take interns jeans are appropriate. In the skilled nursing facility where i go they are not. In san francisco on the weekends hospital physicians might be wearing jeans and t shirts. This is all very confusing .
Students are also coming from high school into massage school, going through oversized classrooms where they may have little or no personal attention and then going out to find a job.They are wearing what the culture has acceoted in all other facets of their experience.
I do therefore believe that a dress code or standard should be taught . I think just like teaching presence we have to teach dressing as a skill.
Blessings Irene smith http://www.everflowing.org
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Ann Catlin reply on September 1, 2008:
Irene,
You bring up points filled with insight into the broader influences affecting what we both have observed. Good to hear from you!
Ann
cecilia on 04 Sep 2008 at 12:06 pm #
This is such a great subject to talk about. I am the massage dept manager at a great local spa. I am always trying to come up with ideas to help my therapists succeed and become better professionals, and here we do have a spa dress code. And believe it or not, I still have problems. Some way or another there are always a few therapists who try to wiggle their way out of dress code. They’re main excuse is that their clients come back because of their massage not how they dress! I find this somewhat true, but when you first present yourself and when working with a client for the first time, you of course want to give them a great first impression of your own self care and wellness. And by dressign the part of a healthy, fit massage therapist, I think this is very important. Thank you for that information, C. flores, San Jose, CA.
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[BLOCKED BY STBV] massage therapy schools in california on 07 Oct 2008 at 10:28 am #
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I never thought I will agree with this opinion, but you know… I agree partially now
LMT on 20 Oct 2008 at 2:50 pm #
I strongly believe MT should look professional. I work with clients with pain and therefore I dress with scrubs, that is clean and ironed properly. Dress with low cuts in the front is not professional at all. It is rather disgusting. Nurses, doctors any person dealing with people are dressed professionally. My clients respect me as a professional MT and someone who knows what she is doing and well trained. MT are licensed and CEU are required like all health professionals.
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