This is 3 of 5 in our 2015 House of Delegates Blog Series. Our Delegates and Alternate Delegate convened to review each of the 3 Recommendations and each of the 2 Position Statements. We've provided a pros and cons section for each. Please read and offer your thoughts on this year's Recommendations and Position Statements. You can earn FREE MA Chapter education! Get to know more about the House of Delegates and this year's Recommendations and Position Statements by clicking here.
Recommendation: Wisconsin Chapter Recommendation (Online CEs)
Whereas:
● Professional Members are required to obtain continuing education hours (CEs) for renewal of AMTA membership, and many require CEs for renewal of state massage licenses or certifications.
● Other professional organizations offer members CE hours as a means of improving member satisfaction and retention. Such organizations include Association of periOperative Registered Nurses, The American Psychiatric Nurses Association, Florida Medical Association.
● The American Massage Therapy Association currently offers a variety of CE opportunities online for purchase, the infrastructure for providing such an offering would not need to be created.
● Such continuing education could be distributed electronically, the financial impact would be minimal, limited to content creation, initial labor expense of posting online, and ongoing hosting.
Therefore be it resolved that the House of Delegates recommends that the National Board of Directors offer complimentary online CE for members.
Pros:
1. We can compete with the ABMP who offers free CE’s on-line to attract more massage therapists to choose the AMTA over ABMP.
2. Free CEU’s would help massage therapists stay current & educated. Not every MT can afford CEs.
Cons:
1. Would it be better to focus on what the AMTA offers (that ABMP does not) rather that trying to offer what the AMTA doesn’t currently offer (& the ABMP does)?
2. Even free CEs are not really free. It costs money to create & maintain these on-line courses and that money has to come from somewhere, probably our own dues.
3. Would Chapter subsidies be the answer? Chapters could offer low cost CE’s, that would be funded in part from National budget.
4. Would it take away from face to face and hands-on classes that the chapters offer now?
Thoughts? Comments? Ideas? Please post in our comments section below. You can earn FREE education just by doing so!
Please continue to visit the AMTA-MA's blog over the next few weeks as our 2015 HOD Blog Series will cover each Recommendation and Position Statement. Each blog post will have a pros and cons section created by our AMTA-MA Chapter-elected delegates. We invite you to share your thoughts in the comments section of our blogs. Check your inbox the week of JULY 26TH. We'll be sending out a brief survey to enlist your feedback on these recommendations and position statements. Anyone who comments on any of our blogs, on HOD-related social media posts on Facebook or Twitter, or by completing our survey will be entered into a raffle for a $75 chapter education credit! That is equal to one full day of education! Make sure you can receive our emails by signing up here.