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Documentation

Do you document EVERYTHING that happens during your massage session? I had one of my old students call me today. She had documented a conversation she had with a client where he had requested a genital massage. Her boss told her not to document those conversations because they are "private." I couldn't believe that this employer was serious. All documentation is confidential in it's own right. I told her to keep documenting everything (including inappropriate conversations) that happens during her sessions.
What do you think?

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Permalink Reply by Mike Hinkle on September 16, 2009 at 10:38pm

Hillary,

I agree... document everything.

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Permalink Reply by Hillary Kate Arrieta on September 16, 2009 at 10:41pm

Well that was easy :) I was trying to think of a legit. reason not to document such a thing.... Can't come up with any.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Hinkle on September 16, 2009 at 11:00pm

Have seen this happen. Therapist says nothing, guy comes back five times, therapist continues to "put up with it". Sixth time he says, "She has been doing it all along and now she says no! I'm going to the police."

Therapist goes to her room and comes back with documentation, even signed by another therapist that had witnessed some of his aggressions, week after week. We never heard a word afterwards from him. But, I wonder how things might have went had she not kept things documented.

Hillary Kate Arrieta said:

Well that was easy :) I was trying to think of a legit. reason not to document such a thing.... Can't come up with any.

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Permalink Reply by Gerry Bunnell on September 17, 2009 at 5:44pm

If it is not documented, it never happened....

never happened....

never happened...

DOCUMENT EVERYTHING! Too much documentation will not bite you in the a**. Too little can.

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Permalink Reply by Laura Allen on September 17, 2009 at 7:28pm

I think you gave her the right advice. Inappropriate behavior on the part of the client should be documented, especially if it's a group practice, where more than one therapist might be seeing the same client. I'd personally be looking for another job where the boss isn't an idiot.

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Permalink Reply by Bill Cahalan on September 17, 2009 at 7:52pm

I 100% agree,document, especially these types of conversations. That client should be barred from that place of business and the therapist needs to find a new place to work. The owner is going to hang her out to dry.

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Permalink Reply by Jorge Arnaldo Pabón Acevedo on September 25, 2009 at 7:59am

Well, it's really important to write everything. Maybe, nothing more will happen, but just for be carefull, it's better have it documented. I write still when some one call for something else, with day and hour. It's really hard to be a Great Massage Therapist, but it's really easy lost our reputation with little comments and mistakes.

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Permalink Reply by Terry Craddock on September 25, 2009 at 4:44pm

I being a male do not have that problem ...yea right ! I had a female client who felt it was ok to grab me on the glute area...I stopped the session. told her the session was over and documented the fire out of it...When she came out of the treatment area I told her she was not welcome to return ....
I would not tollerate a client nor a boss who thought this type of behavior is Ok.