How do RN's become massage therapists?

massageRN · Jun 2, 2008

Words of Encouragement.......

https://allnurses.com/forums/f300/bringing-massage-therapy-back-into-nursing-260240.html

Please review this article at this website. I can only encourage those nurses who want to become a massage therapist. Enjoy.

davidcrn69 · Jun 30, 2008

Wow, nurses know there's no schooling required for sarcastic remarks like that one. Massage is taught, rather briefly, in nursing school. Could that mean it is part of a nurses scope of practice? And nurses are professionals and can be compensated for perfoming therapies in the practice act. You already went through years of school to be a nurse, why would you want to go back to school? Read a book and practice on your patients (with consent). Okay I'm getting to sound stupid now, but you can give massges for money as a nurse. You can't claim to be a CMT, but nurse giving good massages sounds good to people..then they can also discuss their other problems with you that they wouldn't with an MT.

massageRN · Jul 2, 2008

I'm sorry to say you don't just "get a book and Practice" on your patients even with consent. You need to have at least 500 hours of massage therapy training. My suggestion is you need to look up the State Board laws regarding massage therapists and nursing in your state. Massage may be within the scope of our practice , however there is more to it than all of you think. Also you can contact the national certification board mentioned earlier in this forum. Now as for doing a "good massage" just because you are a nurse and collecting money for it is not in our scope of practice . #1 that is very unprofessional, #2 you are now practicing massage therapy as a massage therapist not in the scope of nursing. Our scope of practice as a nurse in massage for our patients is a night time backrub for a patient who cannot sleep or a foot and hand massage to decrease pain by 20% for a post surgical. I as a licensed massage therapist and nurse certainly would certainly not let you touch me without the proper training we go through. And while I'm at it also massage therapists do not provide psycho therapy and solve other peoples problems and that goes for nursing as well. We do a 10-15 minute interview before massage and are usually quiet during a massag eto allow the person to relax and enjoy the energy and balance of their bodies. You sir need to get a professional massage and do your homework before you give advice to nurses to just go out and collect money to do a "good massage" because you can loose your nursing license especially when while doing a massage and something happens and you do not have the knowledge base to know what to do and your nursing Liability Insurance will not cover you because you were acting in the capacity as a massage therapist.

davidcrn69 · Jul 3, 2008

Mabey you did put in the 500 hours and can't imagine someone getting paid for the same thing without your special credential.

massageRN · Jul 3, 2008

I am extremely professional and proud of the work that I do. Please reread the answers in this forum as this is a forum about becoming a nurse massage therapist and I fully agree with a lot of the reply's posted here. I'm sorry if your a little miffed If I did not agree with yours. I'm only here to provide my many years of experience and I'm not in the job for the glorious pay we may or may not get but a nurse in some states can get into a lot of trouble doing massage without a license. I see that Nurse M.T. and Yogi rn2b also gave good solid professional advice of the same. I just don't want some nurse thinking she can be a massage therapist by reading a book. There is not one hospital here in the U.S. that will hire a nurse as a nurse massage therapist from reading a book. Sorry about your confusion about this field of nursing.

touchhealth · Jul 4, 2008

Hi!

I am not a nurse, but I am a massage therapist who works in a hospital setting. I strongly suggest you check the specific licensing requirements for the state your practice in. For instance, in New York you need something like 500-700 hours and you are licensed as a healthcare professional. If you aren't aren't registered with the state as a licensed massage therapist and you practice masage, it's a felony offense.

However in California (where I live) you only need 140 hours for a minimum certification, but each city has their own requirements to practice (some keep it at 140, others go up from there...some don't even check). Again, it is important to know the regulations for the state and city your practice in. As a general rule, most massage therapists agree it takes about 500 hours of training to really develop your touch, learn a variety of modalities, and then master those modalities that work best in your practice.

Lastly, as far as just getting a book and practicing on patients is concerned, I think that is a dangerous amount of liability to take on. I doubt you would be covered if something went wrong. To be a nurse massage therapist implies working on clients and/or patients with a wide variety of contraindications, symptoms, and illnesses. Learning from a book is fine for a basic relaxation massage on a relatively health individual, but it would be a great dis-service to work on patients without more specific hands-on training and guidance.

There is a definate difference between relaxation/spa massage, and a more clinically centered massage for patients. That's another consideration: what type of population are you interested in working with? I always wanted to work with patients in hospital settings, but without the RN I had to jump through a LOT of hoops and additional training before I got there.

I've met many RN's at my massage school, and all of them have really valued their massage training. Going to massage school is a fantastic experience! Good Luck!!

zenman · Jul 5, 2008

Wow, nurses know there's no schooling required for sarcastic remarks like that one. Massage is taught, rather briefly, in nursing school. Could that mean it is part of a nurses scope of practice? And nurses are professionals and can be compensated for perfoming therapies in the practice act. You already went through years of school to be a nurse, why would you want to go back to school? Read a book and practice on your patients (with consent). Okay I'm getting to sound stupid now, but you can give massges for money as a nurse. You can't claim to be a CMT, but nurse giving good massages sounds good to people..then they can also discuss their other problems with you that they wouldn't with an MT.

I learned Zen shiatsu in an Oriental Schol of Medicine and then asisted my teacher for three years before teaching my own classes. In Texas, I was able to practice Zen Shiatsu without a massage license and under the BON ONLY because I could demonstrate training in that modality.

davidcrn69 · Oct 17, 2009

maybe I'm way wrong; so in essence, having just a plain ol' RN license now is like having a H.S. diploma in nursing. It just doesn't mean as much..unless one tacks on one expensive cert or degree after another. Why not then lobby the

ANA or whoever to mandate education in specialies from the start? It's cool. I have since tacked on a couple of certs to my RN title and don't mind (CEN, MDS coordinator, BLS instructor, ACLS, PALS). But I feel I learned the most in nursing school and reading on my own. I bet you do give a great massage. Hope you keep up your other knowledge, to be flexible and marketable in this dicey economy we now have!

massageRN · Oct 18, 2009

maybe I'm way wrong; so in essence, having just a plain ol' RN license now is like having a H.S. diploma in nursing. It just doesn't mean as much..unless one tacks on one expensive cert or degree after another. Why not then lobby the
ANA or whoever to mandate education in specialies from the start? It's cool. I have since tacked on a couple of certs to my RN title and don't mind (CEN, MDS coordinator, BLS instructor, ACLS, PALS). But I feel I learned the most in nursing school and reading on my own. I bet you do give a great massage. Hope you keep up your other knowledge, to be flexible and marketable in this dicey economy we now have!

In order to maintain my license in the state of Illinois as a massage therapist we need 48 CEU'S per 2 years, while nursing is only required to have 20 per 2 years....Hmmmm extreme you might think for "just a massage therapist" so I also make myself very much in demand with continuing education. Not only am I a Certified Childbirth Educator and NALS certified, I'm also certified in perinatal massage, infant massage and an instructor, bamboo massage certified, oncology massage certified and a certified breast massage therapist for our breast cancer patients. I have a lot of modalities to offer. So no David for once you are right! pursuing further education especially in nursing is a must but you have to gear it to your interest or specialty. I believe some states have what is called Advance Practice Nurses who are masters prepared. I'm not interested! I went with my heart and soul and was not interested in this area. Believe me I was not prepared for the expense of this license as compared to my nursing license upkeep. The cost is absurd to say the least. National certification 200.00/ 2yrs, the license alone for the state is 175.00/ 2yrs. plus all the continuing ed classes which are intensive and average 450.00 to 650.00 each for the above ones I took. Needless to say I was a tiny bit taken aback so thank you for bringing this up. For those of you interested please look into what it will cost you to maintain your license as each state is different. Thanks David for your input.

touchhealth · Nov 17, 2009

The cost is absurd to say the least. National certification 200.00/ 2yrs, the license alone for the state is 175.00/ 2yrs. plus all the continuing ed classes which are intensive and average 450.00 to 650.00 each for the above ones I took. Needless to say I was a tiny bit taken aback so thank you for bringing this up. For those of you interested please look into what it will cost you to maintain your license as each state is different. Thanks David for your input.

Hi!

Just wanted to point out regarding the above post about costs: as a licensed or certified massage therapist, ALL costs for maintaining certifications, licensing renewals, personal Liability Insurance, background checks, fingerprinting, and all continuing educations (after meeting the minimum standards for your state) are TAX WRITE-OFFS as long as you document, keep receipts, and file properly. Even the cost of massage oils, essential oils, and mileage on your care driving to a clients house is a deduction. My favorite deduction is the cost of receiving a massage from other therapists (this is considered "Research and Development.") We learned all about this in our "Business for Bodyworkers" class, and it was absolutely fantastic to find out!!! If you're working as an RN, you would have to file separate return (1099 MISC) for your massage business as an independent contractor. SO worth it. All those costs are completely and legally neutralized.

A word of caution: I'm certain the above information applies for massage therapists in California. It might be a good idea to hire an accountant who specialized in small business management to help you get your deductions sorted specific to your states laws about massage therapy. (The costs of the accountant would be a tax write-off too)

TristleRN · Nov 29, 2009

Hi, I know it's been a while since your original post but I was wondering if you made the move into massage therapy? I'm also a nurse who has gone to school for massage therapy. I live in the state of New York, which requires 1000 hours of training. Ideally, I would love to leave nursing, but that pays the bills. The therapists that ultimately make the most $$ are those in their own business, hiring others to do most of the work. Currently I work at a gym doing massage in my spare time. The clients generally call me directly and we work out the time schedule. Having only 3 classes left for your BSN, if that were me, I'd finish that up....even one class at a time you'd eventually finish. I'm still a full time nurse. I do wish you best, but was curious as to where you were in the process.

ixnay · Jul 29, 2011

I'm getting ready to make this move myself. I'm a BSN with a critical care background. I just bailed out of anesthesia school because I came to realize that I really didn't *want* to be doing that kind of high pressure stuff the rest of my career. I'm going to start massage school in a little over a month, and am really looking forward to it. Now I just need a job so I can pay bills... Certainly the money won't be CRNA kind of money, but I'm not interested in getting rich anyway. A more laid back, lower stress life is what I'm after. I figure massage will be a pretty good way to do that.