Research And Our Profession
Research
Did you know that 73.6% of facts or statistics are made up?
Just like that one was.
While there are many things about our profession that are intangible and difficult to put numbers on, there are also many studies and data that are solidifying the efficacy of our profession and driving the direction we are headed.
When it comes to research, there really is something for everyone.
AMTA: Prior to the AMTA National Convention (which Allison recapped here) I attended Chapter Volunteer Orientation Program (CVOP) where I learned how AMTA National works and what the vision for our organization is. It was explained that a lot of recent changes have been happening at the National and Chapter levels because of survey responses, research, that National had gotten from volunteers. They had found that volunteer satisfaction had dropped and have been working to find and implement ways to decrease volunteer stress and burn out. See Volunteer Opportunities.
Our Profession: AMTA National gave $475,000 in donations to Massage Therapy Foundation (MTF) in 2016 and has pledged for at least that much in 2017. The Massage Therapy Foundation is the only organization I know of that focuses energy and resources only into research and education related to massage therapy. We may already know the benefits of massage from our client results but because of the MTF we can share the research based evidence with other healthcare professionals to create and deepen those relationships. There have been some great research reports put out recently related to massage therapy and pain. Find research.
Future Massage Therapists: The Washington Board of Massage has opened the education sections of the WAC and are going to be deciding if and what changes need to be made in the basic education of massage therapists in our state. Our AMTA-WA Government Relations Committee has put together and submitted recommendations to the Board of Massage based partially on ELAP. AMTA National was one of the seven Coalition organizations of the Entry Level Analysis Project (ELAP) that was completed in 2013. ELAP created a research based report listing recommendations of core content and training hours. Learn more.
Knowledge is power and research can give us power to change ourselves both professionally and personally.
By Mandi Denning
Financial Administrator