Maybe you read the post I wrote a while ago about how you get what you pay for when you search for massage therapy services. If so, you probably already know what my opinion is going to be concerning cheap continuing education. *This post may be more directed at massage therapists, but massage therapy consumers can benefit by knowing a bit more about how to find a better massage therapist.
Recently, I’ve been seeing a lot of chatter on social media about how expensive massage therapy CEs are and how massage therapists really want to stop, “Paying an arm and a leg,” for continuing ed. I’ve seen comments concerning giving up their first born, pints of blood, and other ridiculous exaggerations on the costs of classes.
Continuing education classes cost money, some more than others. Online classes are a lowest common denominator situation with canned curricula that leaves a lot to be desired when learning hands-on techniques. They are however good for ethics, business classes, and refreshers for book work. Live, in-person classes cost more than online classes with good reason. Having an instructor prepare, teach, demonstrate, observe, troubleshoot, and correct deserve money and respect. Specialty classes, those that involve certifications in specific methods that not all other massage therapists offer, cost even more.
If you want to learn a new technique or improve your current skills, your computer is best used to find an instructor and their teaching schedule. Evidence is mounting that learning is best done when we are engaging with the world and without screens.
There’s Nothing Wrong With a Bargain
Don’t get me wrong, I like bargains and there’s nothing wrong with them. Unfortunately, as professionals, the continual seeking of bargains when it comes to continuing education leads to stagnation and sometimes degradation of our skills. Imagine graduating from massage school and never taking another hands-on class again. How do we expect to progress and mature in our profession if all our continuing ed is done online for the cheapest cost possible? And without being professional and discriminating in how we spend our CE dollars, how can we expect to be taken seriously by the community, medical or otherwise, and also be valued and paid for our experience?
And what about our clients?
Now imagine what our clients think. Maybe they don’t care? Maybe they care a lot that the person they pay to be an ally in their healthcare cares enough to spend the money to be the very best.
I simply can’t afford it…
Check out your local AMTA chapter. Members get a discounted rate on CEs and even non-members get a pretty good rate. Most chapters host nationally certified instructors once or twice a year. Check out your local massage schools. They also bring in nationally certified instructors occasionally and while the cost is usually more, you can save by not having travel expenses.
You Can’t Afford Not To
I know it’s not what we want to hear, but it’s important and it’s what sets the good massage therapists ahead of the bargain hunters. You simply cannot afford not to budget for and spend your CE dollars on quality, continuing education.