I know what we resist persists. Perhaps it is time to cease the resisting and start a real revolution. Give me a raspberry beret! I still find it amazing that a simply stated blog can bring about so many tangents. I do appreciate everyone’s input but, to me the input seems to miss the mark. Once again the focus is huge, the organization grandiose, the intentions good- however, it is all meaningless. It is all meaningless unless it serves the majority of the profession and in turn, the consumers.
The profession is made up of people that are passionate about what they do and they do it one client at a time, in a small room. So forgive us, the average MTs that do not translate well to large concepts, organizations, meetings or politics. The greatest majority of MTs do not vote in national elections, do not attend national conventions, and do not have time or motivation to stay abreast of these politics. They are too busy trying to make a living.
Being a full time Massage Therapist for over 20 years, and a certificant for many years (’92-’07) I had an opportunity to experience the benefit of being Nationally Certified in Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork. Having been an educational provider for a number of years (’95 – ’04) I had an opportunity to experience the benefit of that as well. Unfortunately, I cannot say that there was any benefit. Now that I have tossed off that burden of paperwork, cost, and unnecessary initials after my name, I feel like the slow kid in class that just got the joke.
You would think that with all the brain power and advanced-degreed individuals involved that they could have looked at history and learned from other professions. You would not have been surprised or offended if they had modeled themselves after those that were successful. I and many others appreciated the beginning of the NCB and the potential it had. We could only see it getting better and better. Unfortunately it did not. It got worse and worse. It became a monster. I am not a degreed scientist but I can find little to no comparison to any other professional healthcare organization when I look at the NCB.
When NCB began, they made great statements that the average MT thought were promises (We were not skilled at reading doublespeak spin yet). We believed that they would set the standard for education. I would have never believed that they would (this many years later) still be accepting a certificate from, not a licensed school, but a community education class that meets in class for 36 hours and does everything else as homework to get a 250 hour certificate, (then does it twice to get a 500 hour certificate).
We were told the grandfathering was going to be offered for only 2 years, then it was 4 years, then they just renamed it. In spite of there being licensed schools available in every state, and there being an apparent availability of student loans for students, they still continue to offer a portfolio option. This not only devalues the certificants but also the schools.
We believed that the leadership would be Massage Therapists like us, people who had at least for a significant amount of time, had lived by their hands, and would understand us and our needs. These leaders we envisioned would be passionate and progressive, not overpaid, egotistical, disconnected, talking heads.
We were told it would matter. We thought it would be meaningful. What is meaningful to the average Massage Therapist is that they can do their work and pay their bills. So, of course, I foolishly thought that this credential could help with creating actual jobs and strengthening the profession. It also seemed follow that the certificants would benefit from the massage consumers preference for credentialed professionals. Was I the only one that thought that?
Many people just pay for things without thinking about them. When we pay an organization or credentialing body, we are doing that because they in turn must do us a service. In that vein, they work for us. No one at the NCB in recent years seems to have grasped that concept. Instead they have forged ahead as if they were invincible. They are only invincible if we give them that power. How could it have shifted so subtly and yet so dramatically? How is it that the very organization that was so supportive of massage legislation could turn like a mad dog and dump huge sums of money (that we paid them) to work against legislation? Can we fire them now?
A credential is only as good as its governing body. At this point the value is highly questionable. In spite of their horrible customer service, negligent management, selfish leadership, irresponsible stewardship, and blatant avarice, they managed to create a monster. Not a gentle, misunderstood Frankenstein – a very expensive monster, who quickly forgot who created it, why it existed, and for what purpose it was created. It became a purposeful, malicious, greed-driven monster. The answer, at this point, is not to give the monster more legs and make it more expensive, nor is it to continue to monetarily reward the monster’s keepers for not doing their jobs.
We need to grasp the revolutionary concept that we are not just a lowly mass of practitioners; we are more powerful than we realize. As a profession, we have more control than we ever imagined, if we can just stand together. The monster is actually in our employ, it works for us, we feed it (pay it) and give it the power. Some of the keepers may be power mad, but I don’t think they really understand the potential that could weigh in here. It may be time to fire the monster. I know that is very difficult to think about. How many states are still ONLY requiring the NCB? How many will have to go through lengthy, expensive legislative action to change that? I have no idea, but I know people that read this blog do. I can only hope it is really easier than it seems. Most things are.
Things can change. The average MTs need to come out of their small rooms and stand together. They need to vote, show up to meetings and let their voice be heard. When they do, I seriously doubt you will hear any of them say they cannot do their next massage, (or any session in the future) without the NCB. When it comes to credentialing or a governing body, we have to look at what is truly necessary, essential, and functional. We have to look to the future and stop paying others to pretend to while they line their own pockets and ignore us.
Let’s get clear – the sky is not falling. One organization gone bad and going away will not stop a single practitioner from continuing to practice in the future. It might save us all some money. It will open new doors of opportunity. It will create new ways of doing things.
When I check the date on the milk carton, if it is bad, I pour it out!
