From the Chair
Garnet Adair, NCTMB

These days change is the theme for the NCBTMB - prompting us to reevaluate how we do business and communicate with those we serve. It is from that perspective that I begin this message with a word of thanks and appreciation: First of all, thank you to the schools - who have prepared your students to enter the profession and helped make it possible for them to achieve National Certification. Secondly, I wish to thank the NCBTMB staff – the folks that keep this organization functioning; thanks for your commitment, your loyalty, and for making it possible for the Board of Directors and other volunteers to fulfill our mission.

Change in Management
The NCBTMB is letting go of an 11-year business relationship with its management service and plans to begin directly overseeing daily business operations later this fall. Besides securing the human resources needed to effectively run the organization, we will be relocating our headquarters to the Chicago area. We are excited about this change and anticipate a smooth transition from management service to a ‘stand-alone’ organization.

New Executive Director
In addition to the NCBTMB’s change in management and company location, we have recently hired a new Executive Director. John A. Page joined us in late May and has already established himself as a clear, compassionate and conscientious leader. John brings with him extensive management experience in not-for-profit organizations and has worked for more than 30 years in the healthcare field. He has led the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and facilitated their successful transition from a management service to a stand-alone organization, and, helped grow UsTOO International Prostate Cancer Education and Support Network to a community of 350 chapters that serve 50,000 patients per month. Throughout his professional endeavors, John has established effective communications and better business practices between each organization and their stakeholders. We are pleased to have John as a part of our team and look forward to growing with him at the helm.

Applications for Approved Providers
Recently, there have been an unprecedented number of individual educators and organizations applying for NCBTMB Approved-Provider status. While we are pleased by the number of people interested in serving the Certificant population in this way, the onslaught of applications has increased the turn-around time to approximately 16 weeks. Please be assured that staff and CE/Recert Committee are working diligently to make the process as short as possible. If you have any questions about your application for Approved Provider, please contact Melinda Bridges at (703) 610-0236 or mbridges@ncbtmb.com.

Good News for Certificants & AMTA Membership
Earlier this year, the national AMTA office announced that proof of current NCBTMB certification serves as one of the qualifications for an AMTA professional membership renewal. Providing your certificate number and year of expiration simplifies the renewal process and eliminates the need to list all continuing education. Thanks to AMTA for acknowledging NCBTMB’s recertification requirements and making it easier for Nationally Certified practitioners to renew their AMTA membership. For more information about how National Certification makes you eligible for AMTA professional membership renewal, contact the national AMTA office at ( 877) 905-2700 .

I appreciate the opportunity to share with you some of what’s going on for the NCBTMB and look forward to discovering what’s yet to come.

Warm regards,

Garnet Adair

(back to Info Line Contents)

NCTMB's New Approach to School Outreach

As is true for many growing organizations, change is in the wind for the NCBTMB. With recent shifts in leadership and transitioning from a management service to directly overseeing daily business operations, the NCBTMB is establishing itself as an independent organization.

Renewed Attitude of Service and Respect
NCBTMB is taking a back-to-basics approach – using its values to guide the Board as it assesses what the NCBTMB has done in the past and what it will do in the future. This approach includes a renewed attitude of service and respect along with a desire to truly meet the needs of Certificants and the Schools that train them.

Questions of National Certification abound. Whether inquiring about the application process, criteria and curriculum correlatives, or exams, school owners and directors call the NCBTMB headquarters and request assistance every day. They want help in communicating to their students about National Certification.

A New Approach to Communication
While the NCBTMB attempted to address this request by offering Classroom-in-a-Box, the tool did not meet some of the Schools’ expressed needs. Enter a new era: A time when two-way communication is important; when leaders in the community work together and standards are upheld; when Schools and Certificants come first and the NCBTMB is listening to those it serves. It’s time for a new approach.

The School Outreach Advisory Panel (SOAP) consists of 4-5 individuals who represent proprietary schools, community colleges and non-profit schools that span the country. Members of the Advisory Panel will serve as fact-finders, soliciting feedback from school owners and directors, and discovering what schools need to effectively communicate with their students about National Certification.

In the past, similar input was requested. Unfortunately, the collected data was not effectively utilized, presenting a grave disappointment to many. The Advisory Panel will be the first group to gather and analyze feedback from schools, and develop communication strategies accordingly.

With the development of additional exams, changes to eligibility criteria, and a desire to strengthen communications between schools and the NCBTMB, the Advisory Panel couldn’t come at a better time.

Go-To Resource for Schools
Melinda Bridges is a newcomer to the NCBTMB. She has recently filled the position of Associate Executive Director and will serve as the staff liaison to the Advisory Panel. Melinda’s attitude of customer service and expertise in human resources make her a perfect go-to person with questions about certification and will serve as the Schools’ first line of support.

The NCBTMB continues to entertain new policies and establish communication methods to better serve the Council of Schools. To offer your input or inquire about National Certification, please contact Melinda Bridges at (703) 610-0236.

School Outreach Advisory Panel (SOAP) Members

Bernadette Della Bitta Nicholson
Springfield Technical Community College (MA)

Cathy McInturff Ayers
Potomac Massage Therapy Institute (DC)

Edie Moll
EastWest College (OR)

(back to Info Line Contents)

Information for Comment on the New NCTM-A Credential

Whitney Lowe
NCTM-A Program Development Task Force

Due to continual requests from various stakeholders, the NCBTMB has been developing a credential (the NCTM-A) that recognizes the advanced levels of practice in massage. A job analysis study has been conducted and the test construction process is underway. Determining eligibility criteria for the exam has been in process as well. In January 2004, the Eligibility Task Force met prior to the NCBTMB Board of Directors meeting. This task force developed some of the initial eligibility criteria for the exam, but additional work was still needed. A second task force was convened October 2004 with some different members in order to obtain insight from additional individuals. As a result of those meetings, eligibility criteria has been established for the NCTM-A exam. The criteria, along with additional background information, is included below so we may adequately elicit comments and feedback from professionals in the field.

There are three primary areas of eligibility and a candidate must qualify in all categories:

1. Initial Training
The candidate will have completed an initial training program that is at least 500 hours in length. If the candidate’s initial training program is not at least 500 hours in length, s/he will need to qualify for meeting those educational requirements through the regular portfolio review process that is part of the eligibility criteria for the NCTM and NCTMB credentials.

2. Clinical Experience
The candidate will have been in practice a minimum of three years and accumulated a minimum of 3000 session-hours of clinical experience during that time . One session hour is defined as one clock hour of time spent in direct client contact performing therapeutic massage treatments.

 3. Legal/Professional Practice
The candidate will possess one of the following:

• A valid state license to practice massage from the state where s/he practices
• Proof of passage of the NCETM or NCETMB
• Proof of eligibility to practice in the local jurisdiction in which s/he is currently practicing if this region has not passed a state licensure law for massage therapy.

Continuing Education
It was the opinion of the group that attempting to quantify the content and validity of continuing education programs was not only logistically unfeasible, but not a realistic method to determine the acquisition of advanced knowledge. The groups concurred it would be better to publish recommendations (not requirements) for the quantity and content of continuing education programs that would be necessary to acquire advanced knowledge and skills. Using these recommendations acknowledges that there is a wide diversity of methods for acquiring advanced knowledge and skills in addition to formal classroom learning.

The NCBTMB welcomes input and feedback from professionals in the field about the established eligibility criteria for the NCTM-A exam. Please visit the NCBTMB Web site at http://www.ncbtmb.com/ to give us more feedback about this eligibility criteria.

(back to Info Line Contents)

From the Heart, Not the Hands

Have you ever been fortunate enough to have a great teacher, one whose passion and enthusiasm changed your life? Some of the students at the Miami campus of the Steiner Education Group’s College of Natural Health are that lucky—they have Desiree Collazo.

An instructor at the campus since January 2000, the certified massage therapist, esthetician, and reiki master has a self-described “passion for the industry.” More than simply technical instruction, Desiree says her job is to “tell students how exciting and rewarding this career is, and explain how the body works and how we affect it as massage therapists.” Desiree also seeks to impart a sense of community and teamwork to her students because she believes the variety of different massage modalities should prevent therapists from viewing their peers as competitors. The enthusiasm for her subject and her students is the hallmark of Desiree’s work. “It helps me inspire them,” she says. “If I’m not enthusiastic, it shows.”

Not that teaching massage is always easy. “With adult students, it can be difficult,” she says. They already have some education (one of her current students has a master’s degree) and work experience, and can be set in their ways. “I tell them they are here because they want to help people, and they must have an open heart.” Sometimes students begin the program believing that massage is “easy,” or that they already know all they need. “They don’t understand you can hurt people and you have to learn to do it the correct way.”

"Learning the correct way does not end with graduation," she stresses. Florida requires 650 hours of education for state certification, which Desiree feels is not sufficient. “You can’t learn much in 650 hours,” she says. "To maintain that certification, therapists must receive 24 hours of continuing education every two years—also not a lot," according to Collazo. “I tell my students that you don’t take classes because you’re required to, you take them because you need to learn new techniques and improve old techniques. With the Internet, consumers are very knowledgeable these days. If a client asks me about a technique she learned about on the Web, I’m going to be embarrassed if I don’t know about it.”

If you ask Desiree to name the rewards of teaching, she will say there are too many to know where to start. But when pressed, she says, “The greatest reward is seeing people who begin here doubtful, and maybe have low self esteem, and are apprehensive about touching someone else, end up excited about their new career. You see, massage comes from the heart, not the hands. The reward I get from bringing joy and health to a client, I get to give that to 12 or 20 students, who’ll bring it to their clients. That’s my reward.”

(back to Info Line Contents)

The "Ivy League of Natural Health"

Last fall, The Florida College of Natural Medicine moved its Orlando campus from Altamont Springs to an attractive, spacious new facility in Maitland. The fully licensed and accredited new campus offers degree and continuing education programs, all focused on the field of natural health. Infoline talked to Orlando Campus Director Dale Weiberg about the big move.

Infoline: Why did you move the campus?

Dale Weiberg: Our Altamont Springs facility was an older, self-contained building with no capacity for expansion.

IL: How large is the new facility?

DW: We now have 3,000 sq ft of usable space on two floors of a four-story office building. And we have right of first refusal on any of the spaces that go vacant. We now have capacity for about 250 students in our day classes and another 250 at night. We try to keep as low a student-teacher ratio as we can.

IL: Does the new space allow you to offer more to students?

DW: Yes. We have two additional new programs: an associate’s degree in massage and spa training and an associates degree in massage and physical fitness training. In both programs, students go through a massage therapy module and then into their specialty. Of course, there’s a lecture component to both programs, with classes in physiology and anatomy, along with general education requirements. Then, for the clinical component, we have a complete wet room with hydro-tubs and wet tables, and a complete fitness training room with all the equipment students need to become experts in physical training.

Also, unlike colleges that offer massage therapy programs (to the extent that they do), we have a complete retail bookstore and shop that offers students the industry’s best massage therapy products at deep discounts.

IL: What else sets you apart?

DW: We offer a public clinic for our diploma students to have the opportunity to perform services for clients under the supervision of licensed instructors. That practical experience gives our students a leg up when they enter the job market.

IL: Are you set up to help students achieve professional certification, like NCBTMB’s National Certification Exam?

DW : Absolutely. In fact, we’re offering a NCE Review Class three times this year.

IL: So the move was good for the school in multiple ways?

DW: Yes, but you know, this college has been in Orlando for a long time. I’m amazed at the reputation it has in the local market. It’s like the ivy league of natural health. I’ve held administrative positions at a variety of colleges and schools, and this place is first-rate.

(back to Info Line Contents)

To Help People Heal Themselves

Student Profile: Julia Vergara, Miami Campus, Florida College of Natural Health

Coursework
“Currently, I work in accounting during the day and take courses at night. I have completed Basic Massage Therapy which took eight months, beginning Advanced Massage Therapy, and taking my core courses. I’m looking forward to Advanced to improve my skills and learn some more specific treatments and techniques. I will have my associate’s degree in December.”

Prior Massage Therapy Experience
“None. [laughing] I studied marine biology!”

Why Massage Therapy?
“I always wanted to heal people, or help them heal themselves. I originally wanted to go to medical school, but that didn’t work out. When I would give massages to my husband, friends or family, they would say, ‘You’re so good at this! You should do something with your hands.’ So I thought about it and said, why not turn it into a career?”

Massage Therapy Educational Experience
“I recommend this college to anyone. I have complete confidence that I’ll leave here with the knowledge I need to begin my career. Our teachers are great professionals. They’re very passionate about what they do and they transmit that passion to the students. The whole environment here is ‘Wow!’ and it’s because of the teachers and the students. To me, school is the best time of day. No matter how tired I am during the day, when I come in at 6 PM, I just feel great. In fact, once I graduate, I’d like to come back next year and take skin care.”

Career Goals
“I already work at a chiropractor’s office and spa, and as soon as I take the National Certification Exam and get my license, I’ll begin working with them. I’m also looking forward to starting my own practice.”

(back to Info Line Contents)

NCTMB Welcomes Paul Parker as its Director of Certification
Interview conducted on June 28, 2005

InfoLine spoke with Paul Parker, the new Director of Certification, to get insight into his new role, and what attracted him to NCBTMB.

Q: What brought you to NCBTMB and how long have you been with the organization?

I’ve been with NCBTMB since 1997, working as an employee of Association Management Group, through August of last year (2004). I went back to Virginia Tech to complete coursework for my Ph.D. and did consulting work for NCBTMB this past year. When I originally came to work for NCBTMB in 1997, I had just earned a Master’s degree and I saw it as an opportunity to practice professionally some of the things I studied in school.

 Q: What do you hope to get out of your new role?

 I would like to keep doing good work that allows me to interact with great people. NCBTMB contracts with organizations on the cutting edge of ability measurements, and that’s certainly a bonus. NCBTMB also allows me to work for a volunteer population with selfless endeavors. The reason they volunteer is to advance their own profession.

Q: What do you enjoy most about your involvement with NCBTMB?

 The people that I’ve worked with and getting to practice things that interest me for a living.

Q: What are your overall feelings about the certification program?

 It has well-established standards and uses best practices for certification. One thing which is certainly evident, is that the founders of the program did their due diligence by creating a program that could be accredited.

Q: What is your greatest professional achievement?

 Being able to work for and be loyal to the same group for a long time. I feel like knowledge is a commodity here.

Q: How would you describe the NCBTMB in one word?

Well, in two words – inclusive and mindful.

(back to Info Line Contents)

Legislative Bulletin: New Massage Therapy Law in Georgia -
State Legislature Passes the Massage Therapy Practice Act

The Georgia State Legislature officially passed the Massage Therapy Practice Act, SB 110 earlier this month. The National Certification will serve as one of the qualification requirements for the State’s licensure of therapeutic massage.

Senators Unterman, Thomas and Smith introduced SB 110 January 2005. “We owe a debt of gratitude to the Senators and Representatives for their support and to the many practitioners who contributed to the passage of this bill,” said Jane Johnson, Government Relations Committee Chair, American Massage Therapy Association-Georgia Chapter, and a Nationally Certified practitioner. “Relationship matters to our industry. Massage therapists collaborated with bodywork practitioners to craft the bill so it spoke to our professional differences without limiting our practice,” said Johnson. “We wouldn’t be celebrating this momentous event if it hadn’t been for everyone’s persistence and unwavering support.”

Georgia becomes one of 35 states and the District of Columbia to regulate massage therapy. “On May 10th, Governor Sonny Purdue proclaimed safety first by signing SB 110 into law,” said Garnet Adair, Chair of the NCBTMB. “We applaud any law that protects the public and are honored that National Certification will be used as a benchmark for entry-level massage therapists in the state of Georgia.”

National Certification is awarded to practitioners who complete a minimum of 500 hours of in-class, supervised training from a state-approved school or present a portfolio demonstrating equivalent training and experience, pledge to uphold the NCBTMB’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice, and pass the National Certification Examination for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCETMB).

Public safety is at the heart of the Georgia bill and other recent massage therapy laws spanning the nation. “These important changes are in alignment with the NCBTMB’s efforts to increase consumer confidence in the skills and competence of their Nationally Certified practitioner,” said Adair. “Passing SB 110 is good for the State, good for practitioners, and most importantly, good for those we serve.”

(back to Info Line Contents)

NCBTMB Working with Schools

NCBTMB approved the formation of a School Outreach Advisory Panel (SOAP) to address schools' needs regarding information about the national certification program and process as well as customer service issues. Currently SOAP is recruiting members so that various entities such a for-profit, propriety, college-based and small vs. large schools are represented on the panel. In that way, a variety of ideas and strategies from different aspects and viewpoints will be developed and recommended to the NCB. For example, moving InfoLine from a hard copy to a computer document was based on recommendations from schools. After a recent SOAP meeting, the panel discussed the following:

• Ways to facilitate the processing of student applications
• The need to evaluate the design of the certification application pamphlet
• The development of an informative PowerPoint/video presentation to discuss the certification program
• Ways to enhance the website for educators'/students' use
• The need for better telecommunication between the national office and schools.

Based on the discussion, specific recommendations were developed and will be presented to the NCB for consideration.

The SOAP is comprised of one chair, four members, one Board Liaison, and one Staff member. Communication of SOAP activities will be via emails, teleconferencing and a face to face meeting. NCBTMB is looking forward to improving communication with two important stakeholder groups, schools and students.

(back to Info Line Contents)

NCBTMB
8201 Greensboro Drive, Suite 300
McLean, VA 22102
703-610-9015 … Fax 703-610-9005
1-800-296-0664 (automated line)
e-mail: info@ncbtmb.com