A Canadian Massage Therapy Education Environmental Scan

  • Amanda Baskwill, PhD, MSc, BEd, RMT Humber College
  • Bryn Sumpton, BScN College of Massage Therapists of Ontario
  • Stacey Shipwright, BA(Hons), RMT Centennial College
  • Lynda Atack, PhD Centennial College
  • Janet Maher, PhD Centennial College
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3822/ijtmb.v13i4.453
Keywords: accreditation, pre-service education, learning environment

Abstract

Background: Massage therapists have been a part of Canadian’s health care since 1919. The profession has gone through great change over the past 100 years including adjustments to entry-to-practice education. An important recent change was the implementation of massage therapy (MT) education program accreditation. In light of the likely disruption as a result of programs becoming accredited, a

scan of the current state of MT education in Canada was undertaken.

Methods: An environmental scan informed by seminal medical education efforts was used to describe the thoughts and opinions of MT education stakeholders in Canada. Specifically, stakeholders were interviewed regarding the current state of MT education and their comments were analyzed for common themes.

Results: Twenty-one stakeholders participated. Four themes were constructed: variation, isolation, stagnation, and accreditation. Variation is described as the impact of differences in content and quality of the education provided in MT colleges. Isolation is described as the feeling of the participant being separated, or disconnected, from the regulator, accreditor, or colleagues due, at least in part, to a lack of communication or networking opportunities. Stagnation is described as a lack of activity, growth, or development within MT education. Participants talked about accreditation, both as a solution for some of the challenges previously mentioned, and as a potential challenge in itself.

Conclusions: Several challenges to MT education were described by stakeholders that they hoped would be remedied by national MT program accreditation. Despite some limitations, this environmental scan forms a baseline for stakeholder views on massage education in Canada upon which future comparisons can be made. While the environmental scan results are most useful when applied to the MT in Canada context, stakeholders in other countries may also find them interesting and valuable when considering challenges facing their own education programs.

Author Biographies

Amanda Baskwill, PhD, MSc, BEd, RMT, Humber College

Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellness

Stacey Shipwright, BA(Hons), RMT, Centennial College

Massage Therapy Program, School of Community and Health Studies

Lynda Atack, PhD, Centennial College

Applied Research Centre

Janet Maher, PhD, Centennial College

Applied Research Centre

Published
2020-09-03
How to Cite
Baskwill, PhD, MSc, BEd, RMT, A., Sumpton, BScN, B., Shipwright, BA(Hons), RMT, S., Atack, PhD, L., & Maher, PhD, J. (2020). A Canadian Massage Therapy Education Environmental Scan. International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork: Research, Education, & Practice, 13(4), 12-24. https://doi.org/10.3822/ijtmb.v13i4.453
Issue
Vol 13 No 4 (2020): International Journal of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork
Section
Education
Copyright (c) 2020 International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork: Research, Education, & Practice

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