Ethics

Comment

Comment by Eve Demey on January 29, 2010 at 10:12am

I would ask and do ask in my practice
After all, it is in front of my eyes. I cannot deny what I see.
Clients do forget as they see the scare everyday, they do not think about it anymore.

Comment by lee kalpin on January 29, 2010 at 10:01am

I agree with Rachel. My health history form asks if there were any injuries or accidents (or surgeries), and the date. If the client did not answer this, and I see evidence of an injury, such as a scar, I would certainly ask what it was. I would say something to the effect of "You did not mention that you had an injury to your arm. What happened, and when was this? Does it affect the movement of your arm in any way? Does it cause you pain?"

I find that some clients misinterpret what we are asking on our intake. For example, if a client comes for massage treatment for a sore back, she may think that an injury to her arm is not relevant to the problem, and therefore doesn't mention it.
After you receive this information, you then need to update the health history form.

Comment by Taya Countryman LMT on January 29, 2010 at 8:03am

I teach that assessment is a combination of written, verbal, visual, palpation, & more and that all of these must be consistent. If a patient does not write on your intake form that they have had surgery or a serious accident then you must ask. If you saw a mole that was irregular in shape, which can be the first sign of skin cancer, as a therapist you must ask them about this and refer them to their physician especially if it is in an area that is not easily seen by them (like on their back). I am sure you would say something. I believe that being honest with your patient creates trust. So by asking about the scar it says, "I see it and I am asking because I care and I want to provide you with the most professional treatment." By the way, my new intake form is 5 pages long. The more I know the better my treatment plan even if they are here for a stress reduction or spa treatment. The class I teach is called: Assessment and Integration of SRT. www.StructuralReliefTherapy.com

Comment by Rachel Sheard, LMT, NCTMB, CIPI on January 28, 2010 at 11:20pm

So here's a question... Do you ask your clients about large/unusual scars that they didn't mention during the intake conversation? Obviously, it would be out of line to ask about tattoos, and I was thinking some scars can be similar, or maybe they have a tragic history behind them... Reason for asking, is I recently had a new client that had a long, deep scar around her upper arm--bicep/delts/tricep. I didn't ask what happened there, but only whether the area was sensitive or tender at all. It didn't look new, but definitely sparked my interest. She said that it was only tender/painful if it was pushed directly down to the bone. She didn't offer any other information about how she got it, and it looks like it would've been painful.

Comment by lee kalpin on December 1, 2009 at 8:28pm

I think that problems with trading or bartering can be controlled somewhat by limiting the trade to one for one. If you get into a longer term trade, it can become much more problematic.
For example, I know a therapist who traded with a contractor. She provided massage and he was to renovate one of her rooms. He was coming in regularly for massage, but the renovation project was going slowly. He gave first priority to his "paying" customers and meanwhile she was living in a half-completed mess of a room. It is deals like this that I think are very risky. If it is a one-for-one trade and it goes badly, you have lost only one hour of your time and work. If you get into a longer term trade, it can become very complicated.

Comment by Erica Olson on December 1, 2009 at 7:27pm

Absolutely. Honestly, the worst problems I've had involve trade with other MTs, including to one lying to me outright about her plans for the evening I was to receive.

Like I said, we do everything we can to provide good customer satisfaction. If the trade is our idea and it falls flat in our reception . . . well, we know not to trade with that person again. There are enough people around who are interested in trading that it doesn't much become an issue. We've gotten fairly picky, but trading our goods for someone else's goods/services seems to go pretty well.

Comment by lee kalpin on December 1, 2009 at 6:45pm

What would you do if a trade went wrong? Have you ever had a problem with the other person not living up to their side of the bargain? Or of one party being dissatisfied with the trade?

Comment by Erica Olson on December 1, 2009 at 6:19pm

Where I live, the town thrives on trade. I barter/trade like crazy, but I am very explicit about the guidelines ahead of time. My sweetie and I do a lot of bartering with food (he's a caterer and we raise a lot of our own meat), but we make sure that the other person feels he's getting his/her "money's" worth. Three-way trades are also fine with us.

Comment by Eve Demey on December 1, 2009 at 5:55pm

Yes, paying is easy and clean.
I only trade with very close friends and very rarely.
Good day to all

Comment by lee kalpin on December 1, 2009 at 5:53pm

We cannot be sure how carefully the REvenue Dept follows these things or where they might get their information, but the law certainly does require that services are registered as income.
I agree with Nancy that it is cleaner to pay for what I want and what I buy. When I get a massage, I pay for it. That way I do not have an obligation hanging over me that I owe someone a massage, even if I am too tired or too busy to honour my commitment.

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• Next ›
• Page