Angie Myer

About me

Angie Myer has twenty years experience as a teacher and administrator in public schools and higher education. She is currently serving as a Content Accreditation Specialist and Curriculum Consultant for the Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation (COMTA). In this position she works with massage and aesthetics schools in the accreditation process, providing guidance, reviewing self study reports, and preparing analyses for the Commission. Prior to holding this position, Angie worked as Director of Operations at the International School of Professional Bodywork and Dean of Education at Mueller College of Holistic Studies where she was integral in their COMTA accreditation.

Angie holds a Masters degree in Curriculum & Instruction and specializes in competency-based curriculum design. She is also a certified Holistic Health Practitioner and has worked as a massage therapist in private practice, clinical, and resort spa settings. Prior to her work in the holistic health industry, Angie was Associate Professor of Teacher Education at the Community College of Denver after teaching elementary school.

Activity

Angie Myer

Discussion Comment

Clinic

Nancy, I know of many schools who use this approach successfully. I have one question: what do you do if you can't cover all the clinic supervisory spots? Is that ever an issue? The Commission is always concerned that clinics are well-supervised by qualified faculty, so that will be one thing to reassure them about. Thanks, Angie Myer

Angie Myer

Discussion Comment

Student Recruitment

Nancy, I am curious if any other participants have had similar challenges in this area. When I worked admissions, I had the same curious need, but of course people are not very forthcoming with such information. I know there are consulting firms with whom to contract who will find this information out as an independent source and report back, but I am sure this is expensive. People are probably uncomfortable with such communications after working with someone, so I wonder if anonymous surveys could be successful. Are you familiar with SurveyMonkey? It is an online survey company that many of… >>>

Angie Myer

Discussion Comment

SSR Challenges & Successes

Hi Nancy, Welcome to the forum! Thank you for sharing both challenges and successes. TaskStream can be a little intimidating at first, but I think you'll find that compared to standing in a copy center trying to get everything printed and shipped, it is a welcome change. :) As you have been through it before and have so many colleagues on-board, you are probably prepared for the amount of documentation that must be maintained and submitted; that is usually overwhelming for first-time applicants. My only suggestion is to pay close attention to any changes in the Standards and/or SSR directions… >>>

Angie Myer

Discussion Comment

Research Literacy

Terry, I am glad that you posted because this reinforces the benefit of a Self Study Report. It is good to be able to acknowledge where we are as schools going through the process and use the Standards to improve in some areas. If you are in a large institution, it is often helpful to "blame" it on your accrediting agency. We hope that we can help in advocating for the changes that you want to see. As you move forward in revising curriculum for this Competency, I hope that you take the time to read through all the other… >>>

Angie Myer

Discussion Comment

Generating Effective Feedback

Laura, Great question, Laura! I hope someone can jump in with their success stories, but I know this is a common frustration. The joke answer has always been to feed them, but we found that it actually worked. Combining the meeting with more of a networking/meet & greet can also give them incentive to come if they see value for themselves and not just "helping" you. Most recently I know many organizations are moving to virutal meetings because it can be so much more convenient. Sending out an agenda and any relevant documentation ahead of time (so they know there… >>>

Angie Myer

Discussion Comment

Distance Education Communication

Lurana, Yes, this is absolutely essential and the primary way it is differentiated from "correspondance courses" (which is not allowed). Quality distance learning is NOT independent study and should not be considered as such because the faculty member must be very involved in methods such as you recommend. Thanks for posting, Angie Myer

Angie Myer

Discussion Comment

Research Literacy

Lurana, I also like how you have paired the learning of research skills with the final clinic (as described in the clinic forum). I think that gives the students much more incentive to learn it and provides an application and depth to the material that they wouldn't otherwise have. I encourage others to integrate research this much into the curriculum. Best, Angie Myer

Angie Myer

Discussion Comment

Clinic

Lurana, Thank you so much for sharing such a thorough clinic experience! Have you found that your students skills are enhanced due to the amount and progression of clinic experiences. You didn't state the total number of hours, but is it still under the 25% maximum in Standard 2.7? Thanks again for sharing; I'm sure it has inspired others. Best, Angie Myer

Angie Myer

Discussion Comment

Research Literacy

Dawn, What a comprehensive introduction to research. I think it's practices like these--instilled in new therapists entering the field--that will go a long way toward enhancing massage's reputation in the healing arts. Best, Angie Myer

Angie Myer

Discussion Comment

Faculty Professional Development

Hi Terry, Welcome to the forum! You bring up such a crucial element. The best ideas are of no use if they won't work in the "real word" of our work. I believe this is where a lot of schools implement a mandatory but once-a-year faculty inservice to include a lot of this information. And the age-old tip to provide food always worked for us! Another idea is to take advantage of the online technologies where instructors can take trainings at their own pace. Not to self-promote but MaxKnowledge has many instructional courses that can be taken through the COMTA… >>>

End of Content