Continuing Education Units

mortarboardI wanted to write a post on CEUs because all through massage therapy school and now with conversations with professional therapists there seems to be much consternation and mystery surrounding the Alabama Board of Massage Therapy policies regarding acceptable providers.

If you go to the Alabama Board of Massage Therapy website you will find a list of Approved Continuing Education Providers. The list is not short, but it certainly is not comprehensive.

One of the providers I did not find on the list was the Deep Feet Ashiatsu trainers which concerned me considering that I earned 25 CEUs and invested a substantial amount of money for the course as well as the setup of my practice space.

I knew that 25 CEUs should cover any requirements for my license renewal with the State Board as well as get me close for the NCBTMB renewal. So I decided to just call the State Board and ask. And boy, am I glad I did. It seems that Alabama now accepts any CEU provider that is approved by NCBTMB.

What does that mean for massage therapists in the State of Alabama? Well, it gives us a much larger pool of providers to draw from and allows us to customize and focus our practice in the areas we want to focus on instead of being limited by a list of providers who provide what they provide. It gives us the security of knowing that we’re being educated by a provider who has gone through a screening process and is approved by a national authority. It allows us each to offer unique and alternate therapies and treatments making the area richer in options for the clientele. And at the end of the day, it’s ultimately about the clientele, their needs, and our ability to serve them in the manner that they require.

So coming back to requirements and as a quick reference for myself the following links outline the State of Alabama and NCBTMB continuing education requirements for license renewal.

State of Alabama – 16 hours of CEUs every 24 months preceding license renewal. The actual code is here. You’ll need to scroll down to page 33 to find it.

NCBTMB – 48 hours of CEUs every 48 months preceding recertification. 6 hours of CEUs which must pertain to ethics. (Also proof of 200 hours of work experience!) The description is at NCBTMB here. *

AMTA – 48 hours of CEUs every 48 months to maintain professional membership. AMTA’s policy is here. *

So, that’s all I have about CEUs today.  Happy learning!

*I maintain membership with NCBTMB and AMTA. If you hold membership with different authorities, they will have their own set of requirements.