[drkolie]

you won't regret it........wonderful addition to an already great calling. Just check out the schools carefully. Went I went in san jose, many of them were on the police watch list. I called them because I was getting mixed reviews from friends. They cound not tell me which was best, but when I gave them some different names of schools, they did tell me which ones they would not go to themselves. I attended a one day, free class at one of the schools to see if I like it and found that the whole idea was to have everyone as naked as possible and teach that a proper massage could not be performed with sheets and towels and such. I am no prude but this was a little too focused on skin..........good luck in your search. SF Had quite a few a couple of years ago.......enjoy!

[kyutnurse]

Hello people,
I am unsure of what I need to do next...the " Nurse-Massage Therapist" role sounds inviting but some have been saying discouraging things to me. I have found a "Swedish- Massage class for Certification" from a local massage therapy private school, but I wonder if it's worth going for--- tuition wise, it's a little expensive for a 15 days classes...but after that, I will be certified...so I could practice. Financially, as a new grad RN it's tight budget right now...I am just wondering if I could make some money as a nurse-massage therapist myself....
kyutnurse@yahoo.com

[flaerman]

Hello, I am an RN with 19 yrs experience and currently work in the ER. I am also a Reiki practitioner which differs from massge as it's healing with a llittle
less touching than massage therapy. I have used it with great success on babies and children especially during spinal taps etc, but have only it used on adults once for a patient otherwise my co-workers. This is due to the fact that in the state of Florida doing Reiki in a hospital setting falls under the category of massage therapy and require that I have a license for same. This is not fair as Reiki is not massage therapy. I am currently working with my reiki Master and an activist group in South Florida to change the law in our state legislature to enable Reiki practitioners to practice on people freely provided the recieving person knows what Reiki is and consents to have it done. I use Reiki as an adjunct for my patients who are having problems and pain that medication isn't relieving, or can't be used. I don't charge for this when doing it on the job. I have done it in tandem with my wife who is spiritual counselor, minister, and Reiki practitioner as well out of her office where we do charge for a Reiki session. We also perform Reiki for free on sick pets in our area as well.
flaerman

[drkolie]

Originally Posted by kyutnurse

Hello people,
I am unsure of what I need to do next...the " Nurse-Massage Therapist" role sounds inviting but some have been saying discouraging things to me. I have found a "Swedish- Massage class for Certification" from a local massage therapy private school, but I wonder if it's worth going for--- tuition wise, it's a little expensive for a 15 days classes...but after that, I will be certified...so I could practice. Financially, as a new grad RN it's tight budget right now...I am just wondering if I could make some money as a nurse-massage therapist myself....
kyutnurse@yahoo.com

Well in my experience, every state is different and with some, even the city is different. You should call your local board of registered nursing to find out if massage is under your scope of practice or if it is not allowed and is under a massage licencing board. In northeren california, I was covered in one city with only an RN and a five dollar business licence. However 2 blocks away, I was not and needed at least 200 hours of MT training, finger prints, testing by the local police dept, etc. plus $$$$$. So that is where I would start. Then I would ask yourself, do you feel safe providing MT in any situation. Most Nurses training does not provide long clinical hours in MT. Some do and some have none at all except for telling you what it is. The same exists in Medical schools as well. Good luck to you in your goal............

[Skili]

Hi eveyone-another "tired" nurse, but also have been interested in massage therapy since the early 80's and never had the time/money to do anything about it. I currently am taking a sabbatical(?) from nursing and hope to enter into a massage program within the next yr. at the community college that(yippee)recently started offering a course in therapeudic massage. I am in Illinois/starting in Jan we have to be liscesed and take boards from what I understand.I think its gonna work out real well, they require,psych,anatomy,health, nutrition and though I had them yrs. ago, they say I don't have to repeat them since I have worked as an R.N. in the last 5 yrs. I AM S0 excited! For those nurses who did the switch, do you still nurse?If you don't how do you feel about leaving nursing behind? (I think there is a possiblity I may-I'm getting too old for it I think)Are there places that you can work and get health insurance? Thanks for your replies.

[healingtouchRN]

I plan on cont. nursing, hopefully parttime, so I can keep benefits & retirement. I want to do MT parttime as well. 20 hours of each would be fine! I would like to teach more whether it be MT or nursing or health stuff in general. I am just tired of working all the holidays, while I watch "regular" people go have fun over the holidays or whenever. I always feel chained to the hospital, because I know its understaffed. Guilt drives me to stay I guess. I do love the idea of helping one client, one hour at the time, with out phone interruptions, call bells, nosy people popping in during a procedure....it's very frustrating.
Best wishes! I graduate in Sept. from MT school....Ciao!

[Nemhain]

Hey Everybody! I've been a licensed massage therapist for a while now and I was just wondering if you all were aware of the "National Association of Nurse Massage Therapists". Massage Therapy is a recognized nursing specialty!

A good place to start if anyone is concerned with program quality in looking on the COMTA website. COMTA is the accediting arm of the National Massage Therapy Association. Just because a school is not accredited by COMTA it doesn't mean that it's not good, but you may be taking your chances. Your best bet is to contact graduates of the massage school you would like to attend and talk to them about their experience.

Good Luck

[allmynez]

Originally Posted by Tired Nurse

Hi, I am also a massage therapist as well as a "real nurse." Looks like this forum has been pretty quiet. I know there are large numbers of us that are re-focusing from just nursing to massage therapy and nursing. It would be nice to hook up with others and talk. I am in a small midwestern town, and use mostly swedish type massage. I am taking my massage chair once a week into the hospital and working on employees. They love me and it is helping decrease stress levels! What are others doing?

Well, to me you sound like a very educated person and massage therapy looks like it was a good career move for you. My dilemma is I am an 22y/o LPN I also to would like to get into massage therapy. I would like to go back to school but I was n't exactly sure what to do. I know I did not what to be working for someone forever, I liked the idea of massage therapy because it expanded on my medical background and I felt it also appealed to my entreprenuerial side. But on the other hand people are like just get your RN I recieved a lot of negativity about going into this career due to it's uncertainty and salary. I would hate to spend so much money on the school and it not work out. I am just trying to weigh my options out but I do have to make up my mind soon. I basically looked at it I live in New york city , I must be able to find work in gyms, salons, spas, doctors offices, etc. Since it is a new field I should get into it know before every body hops on the bandwaggon and it becomes more regulated. They say their is a shortage of nurses you can't even get into a RN nursing program where I live you have to jump through so many whoops sometimes I think it is to deter people from going because that have such a great demand for the programs. But I don't really want to get my RN I think this would be a better career path for me and it is also more appealing I can see myself enjoying it as for my RN I can't. I got a little taste of the nursing world and I can't see me doing it for the rest of my life.

[LVN2006]

What do you think about massage on diabetics or those with compromised immune systems

Originally Posted by nurseyperson

Hello! This new forum is for anyone interested in massage, nursing and the combination. I am an RN working mostly ICU, Neo ICU and ER (all prn), a former
travel nurse and wife and Mom. I am currently taking classes for Medical Massage Therapy. Anyone who is a massage therapist, nurse interested in it, or wanting information to benefit you patients is invited to post.

There are different types of massage therapy. There is the mostly widely known Swedish massage with oils. The kind I do is with clothes on, no oils and is medially based. It is a combination of trigger point therapy, neuromuscular reeducation, myofascial release, soft tissue mobilization, manual lymph drainage, acupressure, to name a few aspects of it. Add in nutritional support, and a nurse's knowledge and common sense and I can help most people in some way or another. The whole idea is to balance the systems and regions of the body, especially effective with neuromuscularskeletal dysfunctions. I use the GUT Method, which was developed by Elena Goetzel after years of "putting it all together". Very interesting!!! and effective!!
So.... let's talk!!!



------------------
nurseyperson

[healingtouchRN]

Originally Posted by sylviamon

What do you think about massage on diabetics or those with compromised immune systems

I think it's awesome, There are so many types of massage & bodywork for those diabetics (my grandmother is an IDDM & has regular massages but usually in a chair or side lying since she is obese). Lymph drain is great for comprimised clients. I wrote my case study in Healing Touch using a dear friend who had Non Hodgkin Lymphoma as my client following her thru a 9 months while she had chemo & I did techniques to boost immune system & energy levels. She is now back into her consulting job traveling nationwide as a social worker. I am forever learning the compliments personally as I have been treated by my chiropractor the past 2 weeks & had my business partner do reflexology & Reiki & Healing Touch on me before or after my adjustments. I actually was pain free for 5-6 hours one day after living with chronic back pain. My chiropractor was thrilled it gives us an idea that I have a goal of potentially being pain free with constant fine tuning. Like fueling & doing PM on a car engine....must keep up the work to get results.