So many factors go into selecting the right continuing education class as a professional massage therapist or bodyworker. Most of these variables will depend on the individual practitioner—where she currently is in her career, as well as where she hopes to go.
Here, we will explore a few of the most common factors that should influence one’s decision when it comes to continuing education classes, in hopes of helping professional massage therapists and bodyworkers select the most suitable continuing education experience.
One of the biggest factors in choosing continuing education will be whether you live or work in a region or facility where continuing education credits are required, either to maintain your license to practice, your position of employment or both. If this applies to you, then you need to stay abreast of exactly what type of continuing education requirements are in place and exactly how many continuing education credits you need to earn.
In some areas, professional massage therapists and bodyworkers may have at least some “wiggle room” when it comes to picking their continuing education classes, if not total freedom in choosing which continuing education courses they take. In other regions, practitioners may be required to take specific continuing education classes.
There may also be rules as far as which continuing education providers are “approved” by the governing board or regulating entity. Therefore, to make sure your continuing education credits will count for maintaining your license to practice or your position within a company or professional organization, it is crucial to stay up to date on what is required.
Once you have figured out these more static variables, you can turn your focus to the more personal factors that should influence your decision about which continuing education class to take next. For starters, tune into your thoughts and feelings about the current state of your practice.
This is a rather broad guideline, but when broken down, it basically means considering how you feel about the techniques and modalities you offer each day, the type and number of clients you tend to see, and even the amount of income you make.
For example, pay attention to whether you find yourself growing bored of certain techniques or modalities, or even not feeling quite as excited about what these techniques can do for your clients. If this is the case, you might benefit from taking a continuing education class on a new and different technique or modality, which you could add to your practice menu and your session sequences.
Also, if you begin to see a pattern in your own level of enthusiasm when you see a specific type of client, such as an elderly person, a person with an athletic injury or a pregnant woman, this could be a sign that you would enjoy a continuing education class that focuses on techniques and methods specifically designed for such clients.
As far as your income goes, most professionals would not turn down a chance to bring in more clients and earn more money. Consider taking a continuing education class on marketing techniques for massage therapists in order to boost business and your bottom line.