Massage Refresher???

I attended massage school many years ago and would like to get my license. I need to take one of the national exams to apply for licensure in my state. Does anyone know of a refresher course anywhere in the country??? I need a short, intensive workshop or weekend type course. Thank you!

I have passed and maintained my license while I was in nursing school, but haven't been working. I am seriously considering starting to do massages again, but feel I am out of practice. If you do find any refresher courses, would you let me know as well? I would greatly appreciate it. If I come across anything I will let you know.

Novelideas86,

Hello, I've been a massage therapist for 20 yrs and applied in March to Nursing school. I'm waiting to

hear if I got in. I will always keep my massage license active though. How was nursing school for you and are you currently working in the field ?

I am not yet working in the field. I take the NCLEX-RN tomorrow at 8 AM. I do have a good job prospect, but I haven't heard anything official. I'm really excited to start working, so I am keeping positive.

Nursing school was incredibly stressful for me. I wasn't able to afford a place of my own during school, so I had to move back in with my parents. Even then I was just barely able to cover my bills most of the time. This is on top of the fact that nursing programs are difficult. It is a lot of intense and important information in a relatively short period of time (depending on your program). If you are financially stable, this will help decrease that stress for you. It is also extremely important to develop a support network. This can be family, friends, or classmates for example. A lot of the women I went to school with had kids as well as jobs. It is possible to successfully complete the program while living busy life. It was at least a little stressful for all of us, we all handled it differently, but I think they would all join me in saying that I feel it was worth it.

So, how was the test :)

I passed!!! I just found out about an hour ago. Thanks for remembering :-) Have you heard about your application yet?

The National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (NCBTMB) lists accredited massage schools in your area. You can find info at: ncbtmb.org

Edited May 11, 2013 by chris2732
typo

The US Career Institute (in CO) is listed as an accredited NCBTMB school.

What I found out about this program is that you can complete the massage therapy courses (at home and self-paced) prior to the on-site training in Colorado.

After you finish the massage therapy courses, you have to do 200 hours of on-site training (in 4 weeks) at the US Career Institute in CO.

This seems like a good refresher for massage therapy.

I don't live in CO, so I would need to rent a place for 4 weeks near the school. I'll ask my nursing colleagues if they would be interested as well.

Mtsteelhorse, have you looked into the US Career Institute at Ft Collins, CO? Any thoughts?

I attended massage school many years ago and would like to get my license. I need to take one of the national exams to apply for licensure in my state. Does anyone know of a refresher course anywhere in the country??? I need a short, intensive workshop or weekend type course. Thank you!

[mtsteelhorse]

I actually called the intstitute as I thought it would be a great refresher. Unfortunately the 4 weeks are concurrent and I can't afford to be away that long. I wish they would break it up a bit more. I'm thinking it's not gonna happen for me in the forseeable future.

I attended massage school many years ago and would like to get my license. I need to take one of the national exams to apply for licensure in my state. Does anyone know of a refresher course anywhere in the country??? I need a short, intensive workshop or weekend type course. Thank you!

I found a massage techniques certificate program at Ashworth College.

[mtsteelhorse]

What do you know about that program???

What do you know about that program???

They offer a certificate in massage techniques. I'm trying to get in touch with an instructor or director of the program to ask questions. I have yet to hear back from them.

Edited Jun 22, 2013 by chris2732
edits

[mtsteelhorse]

Thanks Chris2732. I have not been able to log on to AN for some reason. Glad to get this info. Sent you a PM. Thanks again!

[mtsteelhorse]

Hmmm...looks like a good basic program. My main concern is that the MBLEx has a lot of anatomy, origin and insertion of muscles, kinesiology, etc. I don't remember that stuff. :***:

Hmmm...looks like a good basic program. My main concern is that the MBLEx has a lot of anatomy, origin and insertion of muscles, kinesiology, etc. I don't remember that stuff. :***:

If your skills are still okay and you just need a refresher to pass the test, just search for NBLEX practice tests/courses on google. I saw one not that long ago. As far as the skills, I think it'll come back to you. Then again I only graduated in 2007 and I had been practicing off and on for the past three years.

Shamefully, I admit I practiced for several years without ever getting my license. I was certified through my 750hr program, but when I was practicing in southern California at the time, you had to be licensed in every city you practiced in. I did my own mobile massage business (I would go and do perform massages at people's homes or offices) and I didn't want to pay hundreds of dollars for all the cities I had clients in. Also, I didn't want to be on uncle Sam's radar so he could collect taxes on my tips to.

Now that I'm in nursing school, I thought about getting my license and working at a spa here in Atlanta to pay my way through.

Good luck!

To the OP....

Did you graduate from your massage program curriculum? If you have, most states require ~12 CEUs per calendar year to maintain a license; having said that, most state boards will let you sit for the exam as long as you've completed the sum of all required CEUs from the year of graduation. So, essentially, you can find any number of CEU providers and choose whichever modality/special interest topic that appeals to you and let it serve as your refresher courses for you to be able to sit for your exam. You will also probably save a lot of money doing this, as you will pay tuition toward any school for a refresher course and STILL be required to complete the required CEUs anyway.

You can choose live CEU courses, which cost more but give you great hands-on tactile refresher, or you can also choose online courses for more modest price points.

If you didn't graduate from your program, you are out of luck. You will not be eligible to sit for the national exam without the required 500-800+ hours of education under your belt... Good luck to you!!!

If your skills are still okay and you just need a refresher to pass the test, just search for NBLEX practice tests/courses on google. I saw one not that long ago. As far as the skills, I think it'll come back to you. Then again I only graduated in 2007 and I had been practicing off and on for the past three years.

Shamefully, I admit I practiced for several years without ever getting my license. I was certified through my 750hr program, but when I was practicing in southern California at the time, you had to be licensed in every city you practiced in. I did my own mobile massage business (I would go and do perform massages at people's homes or offices) and I didn't want to pay hundreds of dollars for all the cities I had clients in. Also, I didn't want to be on uncle Sam's radar so he could collect taxes on my tips to.

Now that I'm in nursing school, I thought about getting my license and working at a spa here in Atlanta to pay my way through.

Good luck!

=

Publicly confessing to having operated an illegal business in several cities, and also to federal tax evasion, are two things I wouldn't confess to, or list on my application to any BON.