The Ethics of Education

By Nina McIntosh

I recently took an online study program and test to complete the continuing education credits my state requires for licensed massage therapists. I admit that I chose this particular course because it was inexpensive and easy—the material was pretty elementary and covered basics I already knew. My state’s licensing board approves this program, but I didn’t really learn anything. Do you think I was dishonest in completing my credits this way?

—Meredith S., state withheld

Dear Meredith,

You haven’t violated the letter of the law—but the spirit of the law (or requirement) is another matter. It’s because you already know this that you’re experiencing twinges of guilt.

States require continuing education credits so that massage therapists will invest the time and energy necessary to keep up with a rapidly evolving field. Your license is intended to assure clients that your practice is up to certain standards. At its best, it demonstrates that you’re a conscientious practitioner who cares about her work and her clients.

As your experience demonstrates, there are glitches in the system. Practitioners can always find state-approved programs that essentially do little more than rubber stamp the annual requirement. This means that being licensed isn’t always a reliable measure of a practitioner’s commitment to furthering her knowledge and improving her skills.

In the end, you have to answer to yourself and your own standards. So the real question is, what have I done in the last year to help me take better care of myself and my clients?

There are many ways to further your professional development. Approved courses do exist that you would find stimulating. I believe this would be your best route (although, since I offer workshops and home-study tests myself, my opinion in this regard might be biased).

Still, there are other effective ways to advance your work. These might not get you the credit your state requires, but they will definitely help you better serve your clients. For instance, you can seek technical advice from more skilled practitioners. You can consult with a former teacher about dealing with a picky client or setting limits for a demanding one. You can take a class that, although not strictly about massage, can directly benefit your work—learning to meditate, for example, can reduce your stress and help you feel more centered, resulting in more focused sessions. These are just a few examples of how you could, in essence, design a personalized educational program. Perhaps you’re already doing that without realizing it.

The bottom line is that you have to meet certain requirements in order to maintain your license or certification. But approved courses aside, it’s up to you to judge whether you’ve genuinely deepened your practice. If that online course you describe was the only thing you did to educate yourself this year, it sounds as though you may have cheated yourself—and possibly your clients, too.

A Flawed System
Some of us live in states or belong to national organizations that don’t require continuing education hours. For most of us, however, these requirements are a reality with which we must contend. There’s no doubt that the system is flawed and doesn’t always measure the quality of learning. You can sit through a workshop and obtain your certificate without acquiring any new ideas or skills because of unchallenging material, an instructor’s lack of skills, or your own lack of attention.

State and national boards need to take some responsibility for approving substandard programs: cheap and easy courses are tempting for harried massage therapists. It sometimes appears that boards okay any offering if the necessary fees are paid and paperwork turned in. Once a course is approved, it’s difficult for boards to weed out consistently poor quality programs unless they receive complaints from students. Thus, we also have a role to play in maintaining the quality of approved courses.

However, as flawed as the system is, these requirements typically serve us well. Many massage therapists concerned about time and financial pressures need the extra motivation to attend a workshop or take a home-study course. Aside from the value of the instruction, workshops are a way to come together, share our experiences, get support, and break the isolation that is so often part of our work lives. Also, although they don’t provide in-person support, solid and relevant home-study courses can be a boon to massage therapists who can’t travel. They provide useful information to practitioners who would probably not have taken a course unless they were nudged to do so.

Continuing Our Education
Whether or not we’re required to do so, we need to keep learning throughout our careers. Schools and training programs, no matter how thorough, can only teach us the basics and give us a preliminary set of tools. As beginners, we don’t yet know who we are or what will interest us. As we begin working with clients, we begin to discover where our talents lie, what techniques intrigue us, what we’re drawn to explore. We learn to distinguish between the kinds of clients we love working with and those we find difficult. This process gradually reveals the gaps in our knowledge and skills. In this way, each of us finds out how we can make the best use of the continuing education resources available.

Another compelling reason to pursue continuing education is the explosion of information in our field. These days, there’s no shortage of ways to expand our knowledge. We can specialize in anything from baby massage to geriatric work. We can pursue advanced training in a wide variety of related bodywork methods. Aside from learning new techniques, we can also learn more about creating better boundaries and polishing our professional relationship skills.

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Bodyworkers can’t keep up with every new trend, of course, but we are obligated to follow our interests and passions. We can find a niche and deepen our skills in a single method or explore and discover new areas we find challenging. Keeping our intellectual spark and curiosity alive is an important part of self-care, and when we take good care of ourselves, our clients can’t help but benefit.

Nina McIntosh combines more than twenty years of experience as a bodyworker with her previous years as a psychiatric social worker. She is the author of The Educated Heart: Professional Boundaries for Massage Therapists, Bodyworkers, and Movement Teachers , now in its second edition. For more information, contact Lippincott Williams & Wilkins at 800-638-3030 or visit www.lww.com.

Have tough questions about professional boundaries and ethics?

Send them to:
Nina McIntosh, M&B
1271 Sugarbush Drive
Evergreen, Colorado 80439
or e-mail editor@abmp.com

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