The National Certification Board for Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) needs some serious help. Their press release (pdf)last month indicates that they are moving ahead with their project to create an advanced credentialing. What I find most interesting is that they are moving ahead without really finding out if the massage profession even wants or needs an advanced credential.
They are doing a very short survey to massage therapists but it was only sent out to their current members as far as I know which is also very biased. (Correct me if I am wrong on that.)
Seriously folks – you have to take the survey and/or contact the NCBTMB to tell them your opinions or they are going to waste your money again!
This is the contact information from the press release:
For additional information, contact NCBTMB Director of Exam Development Elizabeth Langston, CAE, at 630-652-0482 or elangston@ncbtmb.org.
A few notes:
anyone can take the survey and anyone can take it multiple times…
The survey was only sent out to NCBTMB members.
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Commenting on the above statements. I have been an LMT for 25 years as of 12/17/2009. In all my years I don’t think there is much I haven’t seen, heard or experienced dealing with my own successful practice for nearly 16 years, serving as insurance committee chair for the Fl State Massage Therapy Assoc. for nearly 19 years, and communicating with and presenting to massage practitioners across the country since 1990 as a CE Provider for Massage Insurance Billing Procedures, Laws and Rules.
I have done a lot of thinking of tiers, levels, credentialing and all the other such subjects that arise. I personally would hate to see such take place in our profession. I say this because I KNOW for a fact, there are many who have spent time, money and enthusiasm in learning advanced techniques, some from the best in the industry. They have become “certified” in some of the techniques, including myself.
However, I would be willing to testify from personal experience of hiring close to 70 different massage therapists over the many years in my massage establishment in addition to those who stayed with me 6-7 and 12.5 years. I have hired those with excess experience and those right out of massage therapy school.
I can say that about 85% of those straight out of school received the most compliments and the most requested return from clients /patients. Why? Because they had an ego that needed building, they didn’t have the know it all attitude for the lack of better wording for the moment. They had the need to be appreciated, they were determined and willing to be taught new techniques and to learn all they could.
They had no CREDENTIALING, NO CERTIFICATIONS, They had only a desire to do better and to make it work for them. I feel it would be a terrible shame to leave these therapists out of the equations until they EARNED a “higher level”. I personally would have been left in the cold. I took all sorts of additional continuing educational training and certifications for increasing my massage abilities. I can say this, each one of those courses taught me maybe only a couple of new techniques that I could successfully, effectively use in my massage services. Not just one, but each and all have helped to increase my capabilities (sometimes subconsciously) to provide the best, effective service to injured, ill and all clients/ patients to make a difference in their lives.
The above is the reason for my success!!! Not because I successfully billed insurance. But I billed insurance successfully because I had the skills to make people want to return over and over again with great service and great fees. That is why nearly 200 doctors referred regularly to my office, not because I was CREDENTIALED OR CERTIFIED in ANYTHING other than know how skills.
So for NCB and any other company wanting to Credential or tier our levels of practice. I am against it. I feel that what IS important is that the therapists who wish to bill insurance for their services, l now how to do it successfully, ethically and correctly from the very first claim.
If we want to continue to move forward in the medical field it is not credentialling (or “medical massage” that insurance companies are looking for, (UNTIL continued talk, articles and flack about it from within our own profession causes them to), it is properly submitting claims and avoiding the mistakes that are raising red flags.
I recently presented a good portion of my insurance billing course to several fraud investigators from many different insurance companies around the east coast of the US in a specially called meeting. They enthusiastically told my husband and I that from what they saw of what was presented when we presented and how I teach insurance billing to massage practitioners, “if they all billed, used forms like you use and followed your instructions we would have none of the fraud situations and ethical questions and denials of claims that we are now having across the country with billing, coding, over coding, over billing and over charging by massage therapists.” One even asked if I would come to Virginia to present to their adjusters.
I am telling you, it is not credentialling or certifications that will lift us up in the medical field.
It is personal presentation, ethical billing.coding and effectiveness of treatment and proper documentation of those legal and medical claims.
It is a continuation of education to EMPLOYERS, INSURERS and PHYSICIANS that will make a difference.
We all get so hung up on training, certification and such. When in my 25 years a client/ patient/ physician nor insurance company NEVER, EVER asked what my credentials were, nor what TECHNIQUES or titles I had. They want progress of patients treatment, they want claims submitted CORRECTLY so that their data based software programs do not kick them out.
Well that’s all for now. I certainly hope I have not stepped on anyone’s toes. That is now how I became successful in this business. I just wanted to help open some eyes to the truth if anyone will listen.
Sincerely
Vivian Madison-Mahoney
865-436-3573
vivianmadison@aol.com if you would like to contact me.
Hi Vivian,
Thanks so much for taking the time to reply to this. This debate is a good one and it is heating up. There are many others who also think advanced credentialing will be a waste of time. I was just going to go over and read a good debate on this on massageprofessionals.com with a letter from David Lauterstein that has a reply from someone from the NCB.
Good reading!
I agree with you! I don’t think certification or credentialing has anything to do with being a successful massage therapist.
Julie
Julie,
Thanks for posting a link to the survey.
If NCB peeps read this, please do not just rely on AMTA and ABMP as a means to “spread the word” about surveys (or bloggers, for that fact, even though I appreciate bloggers like Julie for getting the word out there). There are a lot of other online resources used by MTs and there are a lot of therapists that don’t belong to AMTA or ABMP since they get their insurance elsewhere. It would make the NCB look a lot better at getting feedback from the WHOLE community (in the US, of course) if there was some sort of proactivity in doing that in the future. Just sending the survey to the nationally certified and then sitting back and letting others carry the news just looks bad – as if the only ones worth surveying are the ones that are already certified. From a pure marketing standpoint it doesn’t make any sense either. If you’re looking for feedback from the whole community then please post links on yahoo groups, as many forums as you can find that professional MTs use, facebook MT groups and massage school discussion boards as soon as a survey is available and please don’t wait on others doing it for you.
And check IP addresses to make sure no one can do it multiple times (that’s probably fixed by now!)
My 2 cents.
But thanks again, Julie. I see you mentioned it on a yahoo group too.
Hi Julie,
Just for clarification, AMTA has sent the needs assessment survey to their members and made it available on there website. It is my understanding that ABMP is also sending it to their members as well.
You also mention that “What I find most interesting is that they are moving ahead without really finding out if the massage profession even wants or needs an advanced credential.” In fact, the needs assessment, prior JTA’s and the JTA that will occur following the needs assessment has yet to be completed. This will determine what the advanced credential is going to look like—and as far as one being “needed”, I’d encourage you and your readers to review the comments by both AMTA, ABMP and many of their leaders as well as leaders in this profession, requesting and demanding that an certifications be created. Almost every single health care profession in the world has both advanced certifications and specialty credentials, why should massage therapy be any different?
Kaye, I’d like to congratulate you on completing your massage training, and specifically at such an exciting time in our profession. I’d also like to encourage you to research the options and make your own decision with regard to the licensure exam that will best serve your needs. The beauty of our profession is that we are able to make choices and take paths which are best suited for us personally. You will find that several people have opinions based on their personal experiences, but they are just that—their personal experiences. Without understanding where you live, what your professional goals are and what areas of specialization, practice type, education, etc., it would be very difficult for anyone to recommend an exam or anything else for that matter. Even the topic of advanced certification/specialty credentials would, in fact, be a voluntary situation. You may find that you choose to do pursue that option, or not. Denying someone the ability to make that choice simply because they did not feel it was beneficial would not be fair.
It never ceases to amaze me that this profession has so many incredibly intelligent people who are dedicated to the practice of massage therapy. I sincerely hope that we can harness that passion, intelligence, and communication to respect each other’s choices, and advance this profession. I realize that change is scary, particularly to those of us who have been in this profession for years. Let’s not let fear and asssumptions cloud our ability to make a knowledge based decision.
Respectfully submitted
Thanks for clarifying that.
I am not afraid of advanced certifications but I just think it would be impossible to do. I am confident in my work and have never once ever been asked if I had any certification in 20 years of practice. I have never been certified by the NCBTMB and would rather give up my 20 year career than do so.
I for one can not see how they can ever manage an advanced certification… How will they classify all of the over 250 different types of massage training? And especially after they put in meridians and chakras into their basic requirements which is really ridiculous because it is not a necessary part of massage training. It should be optional.
What would make for an advanced massage therapist? How will they classify someone with structural integration training, craniosacral therapy, lymphatic drainage specialists?
What about just leaving certifications to the specific groups and schools like the Rolf Institiute, Upledger, Reflexology, Polarity, etc.?
Just because some people say it should be done doesn’t make it true that it is needed. Find out what makes a successful massage therapist by studying them over time or something like that. Get some real data would be one option. What would really advance this profession? Just because other professions have different certifications doesn’t automatically mean it is right for the massage profession does it?
Yes I have heard many teachers and schools asking for advanced certifications but just because a group of people are asking for it does it really mean that it is needed? I also think that most comments came before the MBLEx exam and also because the MBLEx will soon replace the NCBTMB they have to do something to stay in business. When does their financials come out?
Oh Boy!
I just took the survey. Talk about trouble!
They are asking if these 3 should have advanced certifications, Integrative Medicine, Aromatherapy, Ayurvedic Therapies> And my all time favorite, Chair Massage.
I think they are headed for trouble in trying to certify non-massage techniques and trying to certify ones like Rolfing, Structual Integration and a list of others that already have certifications. What are they trying to do? Drive a wedge between us?
And mess with Chair Massage!?!? Watch Out!
I recently graduated but haven’t taken the exam. What is your opinion of this new exam,MBLEX? What I was told when i called is that they’re in only a handful of states yet I can take it here in NJ if I want to(they have some kind of agreement with the states they’ve got listed) My brain was kind of fried so I’m taking some “breathing” time. Thanks so much for your site & information.
I think it is the best thing that ever happened to the massage profession. Take it if you can and don’t mess around with the NCE.
It is more than a handful now that offer the exam.
http://www.fsmtb.org/html/licensing/mblex.html
Julie