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Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals:
Advancing professionalism through practice support, ethical standards, legislative advocacy, and public education. |
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Creating
a Training Program: ABMP Recommended Curriculum
Copyright © Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals. Recommended Length of Training Program The appropriate length and breadth of a massage training program depends centrally on a school's goals and objectives. ABMP staff members have visited some excellent 150- to 250-hour programs that limit their focus to basic Swedish restorative massage or to seated massage. Some other programs aiming to prepare students for a sophisticated medical massage or somatic therapy career feel they require 700, 1,000 or even 2,000 hours to accomplish those goals. Partly due to historical choices made by influential schools and partly because many state license and national certification education requirements specify it, 500 hours has emerged as the most prevalent program length. It's the closest thing to an accepted professional standard. ABMP is pleased to work with schools with varying program objectives, so long as they meet legal minimum requirements. What follows are suggestions for a 500-hour curriculum because that reflects the most common choice. The appropriate components of a 500-hour program vary depending on priorities and goals of the school. Certainly you want your students to have a solid understanding in massage, anatomy, physiology, business and professional conduct. ABMP believes the exact number of hours dedicated to each subject in order to accomplish this task varies based on your philosophy and expertise. Many institutions integrate a portion of each of these subjects into every class. The range of hours suggested below allows the school the freedom to choose which subjects are deserving of extended hours and/or the inclusion of topics the school believes will be beneficial to students. Recommended 500-Hour Curriculum Performance Expectations Theory, Practice and Techniques - Recommended Hours: 200-300 Performance Expectations Anatomy & Physiology for Massage - Recommended Hours: 100-150 Performance Expectations Student Clinics Copyright © Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals. Student clinics are an important part of student training, and ABMP recommends that this segment should make up approximately 20 percent of curriculum. There are a variety of ways to set up and run a student clinic. The two most common methods are: 1) Run by school faculty. Some schools choose to take ownership of the clinic and have a regular flow of clients from the community that consider the school clinic their massage establishment of choice. Typically, the school charges a minimal fee and utilizes these funds to keep the cost of tuition down. Students provide massage while school faculty handle the administrative end of the student clinic. The goal is to ensure that a student graduates feeling comfortable working on clients and has solid knowledge of draping, ethics and practitioner/client relationship boundaries. 2) Run by students. Other schools prefer to have the students take ownership of the clinic. Space at the school is provided while the students are responsible for the set-up, administration, advertisement, scheduling and provision of massage. School faculty oversees the program, reviewing the planning and execution and addressing any problem areas. Students are given the opportunity to learn from their mistakes; however, they also are given the opportunity to learn by going through the process of setting up a practice, identifying problem areas, sharing ideas with one another and utilizing valuable organizational skills. Typically, the school charges a minimal fee to offset the cost involved in running the clinic. When this type of clinical setting is applied, students are normally encouraged to take their clients with them when they graduate. The goal is to ensure the student can start and run a successful practice and graduate from school with an established client base. However the school decides to run a student clinic, the exercise is very valuable to the students and invites the community to be involved at the school. The clients of the clinic should be encouraged to provide feedback via written comments. Most importantly, time should be allotted to discuss the exercise: what worked, what didn't and what did the clients think? Course Outline for Internal Use (available in .pdf format) Creating a School Bookstore Copyright © Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals. Before you begin, you'll likely need to obtain a retail sales license and tax number. This process varies by city and state, so check with your state revenue department for details. When conceptualizing a bookstore, it's important to clearly determine what you want to achieve with your bookstore. Are you hoping to attract the public and bring them into your school, or are you planning to only serve your students? Will the bookstore provide only class materials and massage-related products, or will you incorporate gift items, clothing and school memorabilia? If the intention of the bookstore is to bring the public into the school, you may consider a coffee shop, juice bar or deli. Many shops attract the public as novelty and gift shops; however, they are typically found in storefronts with relatively heavy foot traffic. If you are only planning to serve your students, then your bookstore should be relatively easy to set up to carry the supplies needed for classroom instruction and the necessary items for students to start their practice. Following is a list of items you may want to consider: Appointment books To stay abreast of new products and ideas, be sure to read the "New Products" section of Massage & Bodywork magazine. |
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