Angie Myer

Hi Renee, This is a very specific question that COMTA cannot officially recommend a course of action. As long as you meet COMTA standards, curricula can look very different. However, if you do ask a good 'best practices' issue that I would encourage other schools to respond to. Most schools do stagger Anatomy and Pathology classes; usually Anatomy & Physiology is a pre-req for Pathology, but since you have them reorganized, I'm not sure the best course of action. I will also forward your question to Kate Zulaski for an unofficial but expert opinion on the matter. A final note… >>>

Hi Renee, Great question. COMTA standards do not specify that the hours awarded for clinic must all be directly hands-on massage hours. The standards generally refer to hours that the student is required to be in clinic; this is often more than the actual hands-on massage time. This is fine, as long as the school can justify how these additional hours are supporting the course objectives. For example, if students are required to be in clinic from 9-12 (3 hours) and they perform 2 hours of massage but the rest of the time is for set-up and debriefing, that is… >>>

Hi Stephanie! This post seems a natural extension of your last one on research and thus I should reply further: I couldn't agree more! Although I was explaining the need to emphasize research value and skills vs. writing skills for certificate students, I think one of the values of a degree is that it produces a more "well-rounded" and thus effective professional (in any field). Therefore, the AAS that you provide can push your students to challenge themselves to be a more skilled practitioner, not just technically because of a longer program, but because of the general education courses (English!)… >>>

Stephanie , Thanks for sharing what you're doing and your challenges. As an English teacher, I am biased toward expecting and teaching good writing skills myself, but keep in mind that Competency 6.3 does not technically require WRITING a research paper. The research competency has been specifically designed to relate to what massage practitioners need to do: understand the value of research to the profession, and know how to find, read, and critically evaluate quality research in the field. A natural assessment of this skill would be the "research paper," but it could be something else. The rationale for expanding… >>>

Renee, Thank you so much for honestly sharing your challenges, and I guarantee that you are not alone in this! I have personal experience taking two schools through accreditation where curriculum modifications were necessary...and some of these people have been teaching the same thing for 20 years! If it's not too late, I recommend starting by giving your instructors a copy of the competencies and have THEM identify which competencies they believe that they are already meeting--and can demonstrate such. Then work from there. What needs to be added? Where is the best place to do that? Within classes? In… >>>

Hi Renee, Welcome to the forum and thank you for participating! Your post reinforces why professional development in instructional skills is so vital. It has often been ommitted in the past from professional development policies which focuses on continuing education in professional/technical skills, but you are right. No matter how qualified a person is in his/her field, without the appropriate instructional skills--which includes classroom management--the teaching is ineffective. It seems like we shouldn't have to deal with this since we teach adults, but alas, we all know the reality. I am glad to see that you are being pro-active to… >>>