The NCBTMB just announced their latest project – creating an advanced exam to certify massage therapists. They are doing their job task analysis to determine what is needed but frankly I don’t have much confidence in their company or programs. This is what they should have been doing all along. Is it too late? With the creation of the MBLeX exam which is fast becoming a favorite in each state for licensing requirements they should have started a long time ago rather than putting so much money into fighting the state boards.
I for one have never seen any value in being nationally certified or in maintaining certification. Are people being asked to prove their credentials in other states? I used to hear a few mentions of employers only hiring nationally certified massage therapists in small towns or places where massage is not as well known or accepted but that could easily be gotten around by showing that you were an competent massage therapist.
I for one don’t know how they will determine what makes for an advanced massage therapist with all of the different types of massage out there. Who will need it? Who will take the test when you can study different types of massage and practice them effectively without it and you can get actual certifications in different types of massage from each school/program.
I actually have started thinking about the idea that basic massage school needs to move into a 3-4 year program like Canada and Japan. We also should be studying these other countries to see how it is working there. I used to be in the camp of less education is better and that you could start practicing massage with 100 hours of training and still think that the right person could do that but because there are more massage jobs out there now than there ever has been in the last 20 years the low pay in those jobs is a problem.
They haven’t even done any market research to see if this is needed as far as I know – have they?
What is next for the massage profession?
Read Laura Allen’s blog post on this at www.massagemag.com
NCBTMB Press Release (pdf)
From their press release:
For additional information, contact NCBTMB Director of Exam Development Elizabeth Langston, CAE, at 630-652-0482 or elangston@ncbtmb.org.
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In our transient society, people move from state to state with ease. I personally relocated to Florida after several years up north. National Certification via a massage test, whether it’s NCBTMB or MBLEx, it allows for reciprocity and therapists can choose to relocate with ease if they pass their massage exam. Not to mention it adds credibility to an increasingly skeptical customer base.
Actually it has nothing to do with reciprocity – there is none right now at all. Even if you have taken the test and passed you still need to fulfill the number of hours of training that are required in each state. Reciprocity is a whole other ballgame and is being worked on but it will be a long time coming.
It does nothing to add to credibility-especially the NCE. The new MBLEx will offer more in that way eventually.
You would have to contact the CA Certification Board.
Julie
you would have to ask the insurance company. There is no way to know but asking.