PopTart

Nurseyperson-- You are a godsend!! Thank you for answering every one of my questions. I have a few more...I have read in several places that MT's make ~$50.00/hour. Is that a good estimate? How many massages can a person do in a day? Now that medicare is covering massage therapy do you see an increase in physicians prescribing MT for their patients? And lastly, something personal...I gained about 50 pounds while I was pregnant and working nights 1 1/2 years ago and I haven't lost it yet. Are the students in the classes pretty healthy and normal weight? I wouldn't like being the only fat person in the crowd that no one can find muscles on. I'm wondering if I should devote myself to getting slim before starting classes. BTW-I'm getting a treadmill this week. I could walk forever. Wish me luck, and I wish you well in your business. So, could I call myself a NMMT? Nurse-Medical-Massage-Therapist Thanks again, Cindy [This message has been edited by PopTart (edited February 06, 2001).]

Hi- I'm a RN in Texas and I'm pretty sure I want to continue my education and become a nurse massage therapist. I'm looking at the schools in my city and trying to decide on one. Can you tell me what the difference is between a medical massage therapist and a nurse massage therapist and just a massage therapist? I'm sure it's the training and opportunities to work with different kinds of problems. Maybe you could give me some background or refer me to some information on career opportunities in the different areas? My city (Austin) doesn't have a medical massage therapy school, but there is one school that is mostly into swedish massage (300 hours total) and another that goes into deep massage, sports massage, etc. (over 750 hours). I looked at the sites you posted but am still a bit confused. Would I have to attend the approved schools in order to become a medical massage therapist? If so, then I would have to travel to Dallas. Surely there's another way. Any info would help. I want to make an informed decision and I'm trying to do a lot of research online. I'd like to find out the job satisfaction of mt's (hope it's not like nursing) and personal experiences. BTW-what does CMP mean? Thank you, Cindy [This message has been edited by PopTart (edited February 05, 2001).]

Hi-- 1. Call a community college or university and take the GED tests. You'll need your GED no matter what profession you decide on. 2. Find out what nursing school you want to go to and request information from the school. A community college is great, it's a lot cheaper and the classes are smaller. You can get your ADN (RN) there and if you decide to get your BSN after that you can go to a university. 3. If you are concerned about the cost of tuition and materials, go to the financial aid office at the school and request a loan form. They can help you with deciding what type of loan to apply for. I've never seen anyone turned down for a federal loan. Borrow only as much as you really need because you have to pay it back and if you default on your loan the BNA (Board of Nurse Examiners) can revoke your nursing license. Try to get grant money, too. Ask about Pell grants and any other grant money they offer. You can get thousands in grant money and it doesn't have to be paid back. Good luck. [This message has been edited by PopTart (edited January 28, 2001).]

Hi and congrats. The previous posts sound like good advice. I only have one thing to add--snack on fat-free or lowfat snacks. I'd say that 80% of our nursing class gained a significant amount of weight with the stress of school. It has a way of sneaking up on you and it's a different kind of stress when you graduate and start working so it's hard to get the weight off. This might not apply to you but a lot of us wish we would have been a bit more prudent in our eating. Good luck.

I'm in Austin, Texas and LPN's do everything an RN does except give IV push meds and blood. They are just as responsible and have the same workload as RN's but they make about $6.00/hour less than RN's.