Laura Allen's Blog Posts Tagged 'FSMTB' (53)

Every time I turn around, it seems that something is on the horizon that affects CE providers–and the therapists who are obligated to get CE in order to maintain their license.  The latest salvo has been fired from the state of Maryland, where legislation is afoot with big changes in the CE environment. According to the Maryland Chapter of AMTA, the proposed regulations mean that…

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I try to keep abreast of what’s going on in the political scene of massage–and to update my readers on that. I am amazed at the amount of people who apparently don’t care. I hear things like “I’m just too busy doing massage to keep up with that stuff.”

Well, here’s a reality check. There are still plenty of places in the US where we are treated like prostitutes or some other category of second-class citizen. Right this moment in Chicago, the zoning commission is…

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The Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards was formed in 2005 with the intention of bringing state boards together in the spirit of collaboration to address the needs for consistent scopes of practice and entry level standards across the country, the need for a valid and reliable licensing exam that would be accepted in all jurisdictions,and the need for a common database with licensing and disciplinary information and the ability to store critical documents.

After a…

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I’ve been a student in massage school, an administrator and instructor of a massage school, a state board member serving on the committee that approves massage schools, and a continuing ed provider that visits many schools, and I have seen more than a few things that disturb me.



I’d have to say the worst of these are schools who are so misleading to students; the owners “sell” their school to prospects by promising them they’re going to be making X amount of money the minute they… Continue

Were it not for the fact that I have already posted a blog titled Financial Shock and Awe at the NCBTMB, I could certainly have used that for this one. The subject matter is the same: the Form 990 filing of the NCB, except this one is for the latest return, from the fiscal year 2008. The previous posting was about the 2007 form.



Here are the cold hard facts: Revenues were down by over a million dollars, while expenses were up almost that much. The NCB is showing almost $2 million in… Continue

I’m wondering if the old adages “no news is good news” and “bad news travels fast” have been responsible for my writer’s block the past couple of weeks. I do tend to report it when things go wrong in our profession, although I occasionally hand out kudos as well.



I started a series on the financial health of our organizations, and it attracted very few comments. The NCBTMB has still not posted their 2008 filing, which I’ve been waiting for with bated breath. The Federation of State… Continue

It’s that time of the year when a lot of people pause to give thanks for those things they are grateful for. I need to throw in my two cents.



A few months ago when I checked in at the AMTA National Convention in Orlando, I was thrilled when I opened my registration packet and found that instead of just my name badge, some kind soul had put the word “PRESS” in big letters underneath my name. To whomever that was, thank you.



Since I have been blogging about the politics of… Continue

This is the second in my series on the financial health of the non-profit massage therapy associations.



What a difference a year has made to the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards. In the 2007 fiscal year, the FSMTB’s Form 990 showed gross receipts of just over $43,000. The 2008 shows those revenues as exceeding $355,000. Looks like it was a good year, and the expectation is that income will continue to grow as more boards join (there are currently 33) and more students take… Continue

I just returned from the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards annual meeting, held at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, TN. I must say that the venue was fabulous--in fact over the top--and miraculously cheap. They gave us a rate of $110 per room, including breakfast and free Internet access. It is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. Enough gushing about that--here's what happened at the… Continue

This weekend while I was teaching ethics to a class of 23 people, I asked how many present have read the Practice Act. As usual, the answer was TWO. I wonder how people think they can comply with the law if they don't know what it is. I wonder if they know they can have input whenever the act is opened, as it occasionally is. I wonder if they know they can attend massage board meetings; that holds true everywhere, not just in my state; a public board is obligated to have open meetings and to… Continue

The NCBTMB (National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork) has announced that Angela Palmier and Christopher Alvarado are joining the NCBTMB as Industry Relations Specialists. In my opinion, that's the first positive action they have taken in a while, and I hope it is a sign of better days to come for the NCB.



Both Palmier and Alvarado have long involvements with the massage profession and with AMTA (American Massage Therapy Association). Both have served as… Continue

Once again, our professional membership organizations have spoken, and once again, the NCBTMB (National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork) is not paying heed. I reported back on June 25 that the NCB has a new initiative in the works to expand their scope from a certifying body into a membership organization.



ABMP (Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals) was the first to respond, and AMTA (American Massage Therapy Association) has now followed suit in… Continue

The National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork has issued a press release this week regarding the "premature disclosure" of their plan to create a new membership organization.



I scooped their big announcement on my blog, but in fact, I did not publish that until I had seen a number of comments publicly made about it on Facebook. Les Sweeney, president of ABMP, has now issued a letter that has been shared on the Massage… Continue