Is there a calling for massage therapy?

Hi Newtress,

My experience is rather limited. I just graduated nursing school and cannot locate a job at present. I have been apprenticing with a certified massage therapist for the last 2 years. He is an end-stage non-hodgkins lymphoma patient and needed someone to perform manual lymph drainage.
As he is certified, as I understand it he can bill insurance companies for his services. In this area (Philadelphia suburbs) I understand he is the ONLY insurance certified massage therapist. He has more business than he can handle and he very much wants me to work with him. He thinks that maybe, since I am a nurse I could be grandfathered (I don't think currently in PA a massage therapist has to be certified to perform massage, but that is about to change) and be considered "certified" as well.
I also did home health care for a while and I was cautioned about performing massage on patients. As I understood the nurse who cautioned me, it was because if they had circulation issues, I could inadvertently massage a clot into the circulation.
I have only had one experience in nursing school giving back massages with lotion. It was a night when there were few patients and few meds, so we students had a lot of time on our hands. My patient took a fancy to me and thought I was trying to seduce him with the back massage. He made a few innapropriate remarks and I had to set him straight. I was more embarrased than he was I think!
So, I don't think I aswered your question but I have often thought about how I could use the experiences I have had to make myself a more marketable nurse. I have often thought there might be a need for someone with healthcare experience to be a hospital companion/advocate (paid for by the family/individual). With nursing ratios of 7-10 to one nurse, maybe families would pay an outside healthcare worker to sit with their family member and be an advocate for the patient in the family's interest. When I worked in home healthcare, one family used to have me sit with their mother to simply be present. Of course, I reported to the family all that went on while I was there and made sure their mother was taken care of. I was not permitted to help the patient do things by the hospital, but when the patient was in pain or needed to use the commode, I was able to ask the desk politely if anyone could help her. Seems to me that often the call bells are often not seen/heard since nurses are in the rooms with other patients. The family I worked for understood that, as they were all involved in healthcare. They were not looking to sue anyone, just wanted to make sure their mom was not overlooked.

Lisa

I don't know if a back or shoulder rub would be an issue. I think the bigger concern might be the legs, but one could always question the patient for risk factors and collaborate with the healthcare team for the relative risk.

I've have looked into the massge aspect of nursing but for the neonate or premature infant (no clot concerns). The articles avail. abound, as well as certification programs.
The benefits appear apparent in Hosp. in regards to decrease FiO2 req. & shorter stay, as well as providing an oppourtunity for parents involvement in care by teaching massage for use at home.

Have yet to find a facility that incorporates it into any program.

Perhaps your own initiate to become credentialed, licensed & certifide by the best programs avail. will make the proper presentation to get a program started
for all spectrums of the clientele with deal with in the hospital setting

Worked NICU 25yrs.

Feeds4

I'm a licensed massage therapist and I'm currently working as a CNA as well. I think the whole embolus/massage worries are largely unfounded. I don't see how a gentle massage could dislodge anything. For the elderly in particular, I don't hear anyone saying "go deeper, go deeper!" They are thanking God simply to be touched. I would think that those support stockings that cut into their legs an inch or two would more likely cause an embolus than a gentley massaging lotion onto thier legs.