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Would You Like To Have A Massage Therapy Career?Massage therapy---Me? Become a massage therapist? Have a massage therapy career? First, you should take a look at the starting pay for massage therapists. Have A Great Story About Your Massage Therapy Career?Do you have a great story about your massage therapy career? How did you get interested in massage therapy? Please share it here! What Other Visitors Have SaidClick below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...
Sick Of Corporate America
My Massage Therapy Career Start
Drugs Smuggled Into Australia In Massage Chairs
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Pennsylvania May Require A License For Massage Therapists
Not rated yet The steps are not hard. Each state (USA) has different requirements for education and licensing.
I am registered as a massage therapist in the state of Texas and it is also the state in which I went to school. The first thing I did was research.
I called and made an appointment to tour the school and get more information. I was impressed and gave the school my deposit right then and there and classes started 2 weeks later. I was on my way to a rewarding new way to help people with a massage therapy career! It took just 6 months for me to complete the schooling. Each class was divided into lecture and then clinical, or hands-on training, using each other (students only) as clients and massage therapists. Each class during clinical we would work on a different student so we got to work on a lot of different body types. For half of the clinical period, we would be the massage therapist, wearing hospital scrubs. For the other half, we would be the client, changing into a hospital gown and using our own sheets on the massage table. The gown and sheets were issued to each student by the school. For 6 months, I lived and breathed massage therapy. I read my massage therapy text constantly, staying up late at night, reading and studying as we had exams every week. When I was not studying, I was practicing being a massage therapist, performing my massage therapy routines on anyone that I could convince to get on my table. At the beginning of school, my instructor had each member of the class write both a vision statement and a mission statement for our individual massage therapy businesses. Then we had to formulate a business plan. If you still have not created a business plan but you are planning to have your own practice, here is some information about how to write one. At the end of 5 months, we took our written finals and then began the internship of performing 40 massages on clients of the school. The school made the appointments and we had a month to get the 40 massages in. Some days, I performed 5 massages in a row and other days, just one.
Confidentiality is very important as a massage student and as a massage therapist. When I finally got my 40 massages in, I got my certification from the school along with a packet of papers that I had to mail in to the state of Texas. They issued me a temporary license and gave me the date and time of my written and clinical exams in Austin. At that time, I went to the Texas licensing website and learned exactly what the scope of my license would be. Also at this time, I considered how I would promote my outcall business. The most important marketing element I could provide at the time was a professional-looking business card. Another important marketing tool is the massage therapy gift certificate. As December approaches, many massage therapists have sales on gift certificates to be given as Christmas and Hanukkah gifts. And would you believe that I have even more information for you on massage therapy gift certificates? Once I had read the laws concerning massage therapy in my state and knew what I could and could not do, I was ready to get some information on the different types of insurance coverage I would need for my practice. Once my insurance was in place, I was ready to begin my massage therapy career with my first official paying client. When the first client was ready for a massage, the client had to complete a client intake form and I had to do some pre- and post-massage charting. In between clients I had to study and practice massage strokes and routines because 4 months later I took my state exams. I was so glad to get them over with. After a very long 2 week wait, I found out that I had passed them both and was granted a one year license as a Registered Massage Therapist in the state of Texas. My massage therapy career was now official! This year, 2006, Texas has switched from renewal once a year to once every 2 years and when I renew in October, I will be a Licensed Massage Therapist, LMT instead of RMT so I will have to print new business cards. In order to renew my license and my massage therapy career, I have to pay a fee and show proof that I took at least 6 hours of continuing education for the year. ***Update*** When I received my renewed license in November of 2006, I became a licensed massage therapist like massage therapists in most other states. It takes a little getting used to remembering to put LMT instead of RMT after my name! So my massage therapy career is going full swing as an LMT. You can search for requirements in your state by going online and checking with your state health department's website. Okay, you have finished school and you have your license in hand. Now you need to consider massage therapy job listings and, of course, the all-important massage therapy income. Let's take a few moments to further discuss massage therapy career options that are available to you if you do not want to go into business for yourself right away. Just a few are listed for your exploration:
Work in a spa. Return from Your Massage Therapy Career to Chair Massage
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