A couple of months ago I got a wild hair and wrote another article for the Alabama Kneads newsletter (our AMTA Alabama quarterly publication). It was finally published yesterday so here for your reading pleasure is the full text.
Free CEU Credits or Down the Rabbit Hole
By Sharon L. Bryant
I was just minding my own business one afternoon, trying not to waste time and attempting to do something professionally responsible. This is how I found myself on the Alabama Board of Massage Therapy (ABMT) website toodling around and reading the minutes for the past few board meetings when I caught myself diving down a rabbit hole. Lured by the promise of easy money (aka free CEU credits) I went on a two-week odyssey that you can read about here without having to dust yourself off afterwards.
I suppose it depends on what you consider free, perhaps no-cost, sweat-equity CEU credits might better describe what I found on this journey. As I was reading in the ABMT Board Meeting Minutes for April 13, 2012, I found this statement, “Mr. Warren reported that licensees can obtain 25% credit toward CEU if they write published articles in the Board’s newsletter.” So what does that mean exactly?
My assumption was this: If I were to submit an article for consideration to the In Touch newsletter (the official newsletter of the ABMT) and if it were accepted and published then I could earn 4 hours ( = 25% of the 16 required hours per bi-annual license renewal period) of CEU credit.
In order to verify my assumption I took to the ABMT Administrative Code otherwise known as the Rules & Regulations. I kept thinking the four hour credit sounded like something I’d read before, but alas, the PDF file that downloads from the ABMT website is not searchable and I couldn’t find it. So I shot an email off to the board asking for more details and boy am I glad I did.
You know how things aren’t always as they seem? Mr. Warren’s statement, as published in the minutes, wasn’t entirely accurate. Ms. Renee Reames responded clarifying that the 4 hours of credit would not pertain to articles published in the In Touch newsletter unless you were actually a member of the Board. Which doesn’t mean you can’t submit to the In Touch newsletter, it just won’t earn you credit if they publish your article. However, if you submit to Alabama Kneads, our very own AMTA Alabama Chapter newsletter, you will earn the credit.
The rules are pretty simple, write something up that is of interest to massage therapists, have your friend proofread it, submit it to Kristie Williams and wait to see if it gets published. If it is published, then you can claim 4 hours credit on your CEU reporting form next time you renew your license. You will probably want to keep a physical copy of the newsletter it was published in, just in case, but then aren’t all writers enamored enough with ourselves that we would keep it in the bottom drawer anyway?
There are a couple of other stipulations that go along with earning CEU credits non-traditionally, i.e., not paying someone to stand in front of you and teach. You can only earn 4 hours of credit with this method for each bi-annual renewal period and since one article counts for 4 hours of credit then only one article per bi-annual renewal period will actually earn the credit. Further, 4 hours is the limit of non-traditional credit you can earn per renewal period so other non-traditional CEU opportunities can’t be counted for credit.
If you want to read more about how to earn those no-cost, sweat-equity CEU credits, refer to the Alabama Massage Licensure Act section 34-43-21 part B. A little research and elbow grease could add up to saving some dollars you may or may not have in your pocket when it’s time to renew your license and verify that you have indeed fulfilled your CEU obligation to the Red Queen, excuse me, the State.
References:
1. Alabama Board of Massage Therapy
2. Alabama Massage Therapy Licensure Act – Code of Alabama Title 34 Chapter 43
3. Alabama Board of Massage Therapy Administrative Code Chapter 532X1
Or you can read the full Alabama Kneads Fall 2012 newsletter. My article is on page 6!
***Harvest Moon Massage is Decatur, Alabama’s Barefoot Massage Therapist