massageRN

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.

Angelwork, I would love to be in your shoes working in the spa! Nursing is a great job, even though I missed my daughters first steps, many holidays , birthdays and parties I have always had a job. I don't have to rely on someones tips , got health insurance and can work extra if I need some extra money. Rotating shifts is the worst but hey we have to pay the bills. The work is rewarding , there are many areas to choose from such as specialty areas like pediatrics and ob to oncology and forensics depending on what you are interested in. As in any area some bosses are good, some are bad its even better when you are the boss. Its very rewarding however to combine massage with nursing and you have a headstart knowing anatomy , muscles and some of the disease processes. Good luck with your endeavor I think its a good one. It is one profession that you would be highly respected in.

You can make it a full time career...the jobs as a nurse massage therapist are few in hospitals so looking at a spa, rec facility or chiropractic office may benefit. The job is strenuous and the limit to massages are about 3-5 /day anything over that is tiring to your body. I know I wouldn't want to be a therapists #6 massage of the day, I 'd rather be the 1st! I utilize the massage as an asset to my nursing job. My patients love it! However when we have low census /patients on our floor they cancel our hours and we take turns doing so. This is a nice part time addition to make extra hours working in a spa one day and the opprotunity to work extra in the spa is always there so I can make up lost income. I love the exercise , its my relaxing job as I say and a break from the stress.

Also being recognized is a specialty area called holistic health nurse. This may be even more to your advantage.

There are requirements for the state of Ohio as well and all massage therapy whether therapeutic or relaxation is a manipulation of soft tissues, therefore requiring a license. Due to the personal nature of the work ethics and backround checks are usually required as well. In Ohio you need to graduate with 750 hours of massage eduacation and pass their state tests as well. I certainly would report to your state if these therapists are not licensed. Please refer to this site for Ohio requirements: http://www.med.ohio.gov/pdf/eligmt.pdf. The reason states are establishing these laws is because you need proper education for your safety as well as the client you are massaging. Just because you have your nursing license does not mean you can massage. Sure we know anatomy and muscles etc. but it is still out of our scope of practice as a nurse. I certainly would not want to be hurt by someone who thinks deep tissue is just "rubbing a little harder" or having a registered sex offender working on me during my massage. Please refer to your individual states because if they are requiring a license and you are massaging without one you could lose your nursing license or put on suspension for years or probation. Some of these states also fine you as well, and the fines are hefty. So as a massage therapist does this mean I can give out Motrin 600 mg for pain after your massage or antidepressant because that patient was prescribed them or heck why not hydrate the client with some IV fluids. No these massage therapists worked very hard for their education and license just as we did for our nursing license. Please have respect for each others professions because I thought the same before I went to massage school and boy was I in for a big surprise after I started. There was more to it than I realized!

sorry according to your state board licensure in your state requires you to have 500 hours from an approved school plus the following testing. it depends on each individual state.education requirements500 hrs and 60 college credit hrstitlecertified massage therapist cmt registered massage practitioner rmptype of credentialcertification cmt registration rmpstate law teststate practical or written examwritten examnational exam requirementncetm, ncetmb or nccaomceu's24/ 2 yearsinitial cost of license$350require city licenserenewal fee$200/ 2 yearsliability inscredentialed practitioners3,003

This is a little beyond my scope of practice, perhaps consulting a lawyer may be in order.

I'm jealous! you are very lucky to have a choice!

Here is the link for a policy from Harris County Psychiatric hopsital in Texas. At Least their policy is in writing unlike the place I work at but basically we follow the same and it seems to be working well and fair. We have to remember the hospital is also a business too. I know all too well the hardship of being cancelled my hours but its better than being laid off. http://hcpc.uth.tmc.edu/procedures/volume1/chapter1/employee_expectations_and_qualifications-20.htm

As a nurse massage therapist , I do a lot of massages! Even with the economy the way it is. There are many benefits health wise to massage therapy so many people use it as a complementary alternative in conjunction with their physicians treatments. In order to do those massages however one of the criteria when I was in school is you have to be in good physical condition. Giving a massage is very demanding on you as a therapist. It is enlikened to doing Tai Chi exercises with an added muscle pressure to the person receiving the massage. Proper body mechanics is one of the secrets to longevity at this profession. Most masssage therapists I work with limit their massages to 4 per day. Try being in a "fencing " or lunging position and using upper body strength while walking around a table doing massage on muscle tissue using arms, hands and thumbs. The average length of a massage therapist in the profession is 10 years according to AMTA. However I know therapists who are in it for a long time. My suggestion to anyone who is considering a change in profession from nursing to this is to take a Massage 101 course at your local college, also get a dvd and try doing a massage for an hour on a friend or relative. Your heart has to be really into understanding the energy exchange and doing the "dance" to efficiently relax someone. It is also beneficial to the giver of the massage....meditative , relaxing and rewarding, and watch out all your friends love you even the ones you just met.....There are also many modalities in massage therapy that may be more suited to each individual person. Ashiatsu massage using your feet, Reiki , cranio-sacral therapy and healing touch all focus on energy therapies while even certification in infant massage may be a good focus with less physical needs. Also may I suggest a wonderful book for the nurses who are interested in massage it is made just for us it is called HEALING MASSAGE by Marsha Jelonek Walker and takes you through a wonderful explanation of all modalities and even energy bodywork. Amazon.com has it! http://www.amazon.com/Healing-Massage-Simple-Approach-Healer/dp/0766806928/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222664992&sr=8-1 Enjoy the power of touch!

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.

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.

From my research and understanding , Indianas licensure is to take effect in january of 2009. grandfather clause usually require you to be an established practioner which usually means at least 3-5 years of practicing massage therapy. As an RN i thought the same until doing the research. The school and experience was all worth it. This is not just a rubby dubby job we're doing here and require some extensive knowledge base in anatomy and knowing(memorizing) all the 650 muscles , their insertion points and their attachments. which is not fully covered in nursing school. Also not covered was the ethics, business practices and techniques for specific sports injuries and contraindications to massage. In Illinois we may not need a license and it is within our scope of practice but per state requirement for the safety of all we are required to still have minimum 500 hours of education in massage therapy. Will anyone hire you or take you seriously as a massage therapist without that massage therapy license- sorry no. That is the purpose of the licensure. National certification is even better. for more info follow your chapter from AMTA(American massage therapy association) or www.ncbtmb.org for more info on national certification. Also required are continuing education credits yearly to maintain your license but I won't get into that in this forum. Good Luck and go to school! There is never an easy way out unless you win the lottery and even then you have to pay tax. here is an additional article pertaining to Indiana massage license http://www.massagemag.com/Resources/USCan/inlaws.php

Juniper... There are a few areas to work in nursing related to a nurse massage therapist. Some hospitals hire LMT RN's to do the massage therapy for the occasional hopital massage, integrative therapy departments and spas that are popping up, keeping departmental budgets in mind they would hire a massage therapist instead as they would most likely make less per hour. These jobs are far and few between. What you can do is one of two things.Be creative.. create your own job and make your self valuable to your place of work. 1. become certifed in a specialty area of massage and incorporate that into your work such as a Nurse LMT can specialize in fibromyalgia and arthritis and work in a rheumatology clinic or for a physician, I on the other hand had to become more creative and since I work an OB unit became certified in perinatal massage and infant massage. I incorporate these therapies in my care and teaching of patients. I also teach the hospital infant massage classes. These ceus count not only for continuing education for massage but also for nursing licensure as mandated by my state. Other areas where there is a great need for massage in nursing care is on oncology units and also with hiv positive patients who greatly need touch in their care. Orthopedics to help increased movement and circulation after being in a cast for 6 weeks . Do you know working in an orthos office may be a great idea! 2. Own your own business....I know at least 3 nurses who own their own spas, franchise adventures and medi spas. As a nurse our scope of practice is much wider and nursing was voted one of the most respected careers for women across the nation according to Johnson and Johnson(baby lotion and shampoo company)good luck with your endeavors. I hope I don't sound discouraging but I would love to hear from other LMT/RNs with some creative ideas also.

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.