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Massage Therapy Body of Knowledge Project Update February 2009
The Massage Therapy Body of Knowledge (MTBOK) Project Stewards recently met in San Antonio, Texas to establish next steps in the MTBOK development process. The Stewards are pleased to announce the establishment of a structure to articulate the foundational elements common to a MTBOK shared by all stakeholders in the profession. The foundational elements of the MTBOK consist of:
• Definition of massage therapy (scope of practice, terminology, describing the field);
• Definition of the competencies of an entry-level massage therapist, in terms of knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs).
This profession-wide initiative will be managed and supported by a project manager. The position will serve a twelve-month contract and will report directly to the MTBOK Stewards. A job description for the Project Manager position and application procedure has been posted on www.mtbok.org.
A task force, made up of subject matter experts in the field—practitioners, educators and researchers—will be established to define, develop and articulate the MTBOK. The task force will be seated in July, 2009. The task force will be managed and supported by the Project Manager.
Individuals interested in serving on the task force are encouraged to visit www.mtbok.org in March to review the task force criteria as well as steps required for submission of interest.
The MTBOK Stewards consist of representatives from the American Massage Therapy Association, AMTA Council of Schools, Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals, Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards, Massage Therapy Foundation, and National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork.
Report from the Massage Therapy Body of Knowledge Meeting
Kansas City, Missouri, November 5-7, 2008
Representatives from American Massage Therapy Association, AMTA Council of Schools, Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals, Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards, Massage Therapy Foundation, National Association of Nurse Massage Therapists and National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork gathered in Kansas City to continue the planning work begun at the July 13-15 meeting in Milwaukee for development of a Massage Therapy Body of Knowledge (MTBOK). This was the next step in the collaborative effort to advance the profession.
In addition to these stakeholder representatives, four additional individuals with a commitment to and knowledge of the profession, who have exhibited strong collaborative and leadership skills–were in attendance.
The meeting took place with the intention that the group could come to agreement on the definition, scope and approach to the actual work of establishing a common MTBOK, to be done by subject matter experts in the field–practitioners, educators and researchers. The group fulfilled this mission through the following agreements:
Definition and Scope of the MTBOK:
It was agreed the body of knowledge for the massage therapy profession should be defined as follows:
The Body of Knowledge for the massage therapy profession is a living resource of competencies, standards and values that inform and guide the domains of practice, licensure, certification, education, accreditation and research.
- Competencies refer to the Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs) that enable massage therapists to perform their work in a safe and effective manner. Knowledge is the technical information, theory and research that support the practice; Skills are the psychomotor capabilities a massage therapist utilizes; and Abilities are demonstrable behaviors – both innate and learned – that result in an observable outcome in the treatment setting. (KSAs will be defined for both the entry level of practice, as well as for areas of specialized and advanced practice.)
- Standards are the established and documented norms or requirements for the profession. They include such components as a Scope of Practice definition, Code of Ethics, Standards of Practice, Nomenclature, Taxonomy, Education Standards (including Curriculum Standards, Teacher Qualifications and Institutional Requirements), and Workplace Standards (including Ergonomic Factors, Facility Requirements and Practitioner Capacities).
- Values are the unique attributes, qualities and principles that are embodied by individual massage therapists as well as the institutions and organizations that comprise the profession.
The attendees determined the foundational elements of the MTBOK shall consist of:
- Definition of massage therapy (scope of practice, terminology, describing the field); and
- Definition of the competencies of an entry-level massage therapist, in terms of knowledge, skills and abilities.
Additional elements, which will be built upon the foundational elements and further, define the norms, requirements, language, and accepted practices for the profession, include outputs such as Code of Ethics, Standards of Practice, Taxonomy, Education Standards, and Workplace Standards. Competencies for specialized and advanced areas of practice will also be defined.
Approach to the MTBOK:
It was agreed that the initial phase of the project would be to define the foundational elements as listed above. The meeting participants agreed that the work should be conducted by a taskforce independent from the control or undue influence of any stakeholder group or other professional entity. This taskforce will be comprised of professionals held in high regard and acknowledged as experts in the subject areas being defined. In addition, it is likely that a staff person unaffiliated with any massage profession organization would be hired to manage and support the activities of the taskforce. It was discussed that as part of its independence, the taskforce would share its results with the profession broadly, and would not seek “approval” or “ratification” from any stakeholder group. However, the participants agreed that the taskforce should establish a process to circulate its findings for comment.
In the best interest of the profession, the participating organizations agreed their role in this project should be one of stewardship. This means they would not control the project but due to the importance of the work and its impact on the profession, they would be accountable for its success. The group also looked at the resources needed for this project, criteria for taskforce members, an estimated timetable, and financial costs of the work.
The stewardship group will be comprised of representatives from the American Massage Therapy Association, AMTA Council of Schools, Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals, Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards, Massage Therapy Foundation, and National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork. The stewardship group will confirm details of the MTBOK plan over the next several months through conference calls and a potential face-to-face meeting.
The meeting concluded with the group reflecting on the collegial spirit of the gathering where everyone worked together for the common goal of advancing the profession. Each attendee expressed their continued commitment and support for this unifying and collaborative MTBOK effort.
January MT BOK Consortium Meeting – Executive Summary, Ver. 3 - 3/12/08
The massage therapy (MT) profession has been asking the profession’s leadership organizations to work together to develop consensus around definitional and scope issues – what is typically called the Body of Knowledge (BOK) for the profession. Since January 2007, the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) has convened and hosted four meetings to explore this possibility. The long term goal is to advance the profession through collaborative action around a common definition of the BOK for the profession. This involves developing a deeper, shared understanding of the profession, including how it’s already changing and needs to keep changing in response to a changing MT marketplace. This strategic view of the profession will serve as the basis for identifying and managing projects to develop or select specific, common definitions of the MT BOK, prioritized and time-phased based on their relative importance in advancing the profession.
Since January 2007, the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) has convened and hosted four meetings to explore this possibility. The long term goal is to advance the profession through collaborative action around a common definition of the BOK for the profession. This involves developing a deeper, shared understanding of the profession, including how it’s already changing and needs to keep changing in response to a changing MT marketplace. This strategic view of the profession will serve as the basis for identifying and managing projects to develop or select specific, common definitions of the MT BOK, prioritized and time-phased based on their relative importance in advancing the profession.
The criteria used to identify initial participants in this collaborative effort was nonprofit, public-interest, 501c3 and 501c6 organizations that are mission driven, have charitable or educational purposes recognized by law, whose earnings do not benefit private individuals or shareholders and who represent cornerstones of the profession and generate much of the profession’s body of knowledge. Based on these criteria, the following organizations were invited to participate in the first four meetings.
- Accreditation – Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation (COMTA) and National Accrediting Agency for Cosmetology Arts & Sciences (NACCAS)
- Certification – National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB)
- Regulation – Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards (FSMTB)
- Research – Massage Therapy Foundation (MTF)
These initial meetings focused on exploring the possibility of working together on the BOK for the profession, the desired outcomes of the collaborative work, and how best to approach the profession to produce them. The group was very clear that their job was not the actual work of defining a common BOK, which would require an expanded set of participants, but to form as an organizing "committee" or group to help get this effort off the ground and to the point where this common BOK definition work would be feasible, especially since this type of multi-organization collaboration is a big first step for the profession.
At their last meeting in January 2008, the group made significant progress:
- Discussed and identified key aspects of what the future of MT is likely to be, so the MT BOK effort is aimed at what is likely to emerge in the future not just at what exists today. One likely future direction, that will figure prominently in this BOK effort, is the evolution toward career paths for the profession. Like most other professions as they mature, MT’s will likely be able to follow career paths based on levels of competence within the MT core or within MT specialties, with specific standards and credentials for each stage of professional development.
- Drafted a map of all the key entities involved in the delivery and support of MT, outlining the value relationships between them and the standards, requirements, and guidelines used to define each of these relationships. Collectively, these would make up a “total quality management system” that could begin the process of defining the MT scope of practice and quality standards, which are essential for legitimizing and elevating the profession within the external environment in which the profession operates.
Three of these organizations agreed to move forward with this collaborative effort to organize a profession-wide BOK initiative, now being called the “Massage Therapy Body of Knowledge Consortium (MT BOK Consortium) – AMTA, FSMTB, and NCBTMB. Other organizations may join the consortium when their governing bodies approve their involvement or for BOK definition projects requiring expanded participation. The consortium developed the following guidelines for moving forward with the next steps in testing the concept of working together to organize the BOK effort:
- The MT BOK Consortium provides a solution coming from the community themselves. The intent of the Consortium is to maintain a small core group to efficiently organize, coordinate, and guide the BOK effort and to tap into the larger MT community for the knowledge and expertise needed to integrate or create common BOK definitions that reflect the best practices of the profession.
- A first cut at a prioritized plan of MT BOK projects. The consortium agreed it is critical to demonstrate a short-term success working across these organizations, before attempting something more expansive. So the group picked a small test project – to develop a common code of ethics – to learn from and to test this concept. It is the consortium’s expectation to widen the circle of inclusion once the test project has been completed and more complex projects are undertaken.
- An initial set of agreements on how the group will continue to work together effectively and efficiently as a multi-organization consortium focused on advancing the profession, while still representing the specific needs of each organization in the consortium, including: monthly phone calls; an online group work space; and objective, third party project management and facilitation.
The MT BOK Consortium is beginning to address many of the issues raised by those in the profession, but the process does take time to integrate the various positions MT organizations have and to develop, test, and fully implement the process by which they reach out to the full profession. The consortium would greatly appreciate your support as they move forward with this effort we all agree is so important to the future of the profession! |
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