State-Board Group Releases Job-Analysis Results

Results of a nationwide job-task analysis, released March 26, show that 84 percent of respondents think that massage licensing should be required throughout the United States. Two-thirds of respondents think the field should not be separated into more than one licensure category, such as relaxation/medical or energetic/hands-on.

These are among the results of the analysis administered by the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards (FSMTB), which is creating a national licensure examination to serve the needs of the regulatory community. The purpose of the analysis is to ensure the examination reflects current practice, according to an FSMTB press release.

Other results include:

• The massage-related tasks identified as most important by respondents are: 1) Communicating with clients on their comfort level and perceived effectiveness of treatment; 2) Maintaining client confidentiality; 3) Maintaining ethical, professional and lawful relationships with clients; 4) Choosing treatment techniques appropriate to tissue condition; and 5) Identifying endangerment sites/sites of caution.

• The top five modalities/approaches used in practice in the United States are Swedish (87 percent), deep tissue (80 percent), trigger-point therapy (50 percent), myofascial release (50 percent) and reflexology (42 percent).

• The majority of respondents (59 percent) are aged between 35 and 54 years.

• Sole practitioners account for 35 percent of respondents, while 26 percent are independent contractors.

• Respondents who work with special populations primarily work with the following: pregnancy (63 percent), geriatric (55 percent), chronic illness (44 percent), trauma (34 percent) and the physically challenged (31 percent).

The FSMTB will publish detailed results from its job- task analysis survey on its Web site at www.fsmtb.org as data becomes available.