It's not easy to face the realization of having been misled.
And the misleading does not have to be intentional; it could have been done with the best intentions in the world.
But those good intentions don't change the facts that, as a result, the student is launched into real-life practice operating with poor information, is bringing misinformation into the relationship with the client, and is being publicly evaluated on the basis of that misinformation by other potential partners in a unified healthcare team.
It could have happened to any of us--the field of massage is notorious for promoting teachers out of the ranks of students who have simply passed the class they're now expected to teach. Biomedical physicians have nothing on massage when it comes to "See one, do one, teach one".
No blame, no shame: one set out to create that situation; it just evolved that way, undirected. And there was an unspoken social contract that allowed it to continue, because the need for teachers was so high.
But the social contract has changed out from under us, and the current situation is no longer sustainable in light of the responsibilities expected of healthcare professionals.
Ralph Stephens names the problem as the very first one in his list of the educational "seven deadly sins":
Standardizing the number of hours or the curriculum content (ELAP) will not improve educational outcomes as long as our massage educational institutions are allowed to:
- Employ unqualified instructors.
...
Two things are needed to "heal" the problem, money and moral conviction. ABMP, AMTA and FSMTB must be persuaded to give substantial and ongoing financial support to COMTA and AFMTE to assist them with their respective missions. COMTA because we need a strong accrediting agency dedicated to the field of massage therapy. That is the natural place for educational standards to live. AFMTE because their Teacher Education Standards Project (TESP) is the trail that the entire education sector must follow if we are to truly "elevate" the profession from the sad state in which it currently exists.
These organizations also need to take a public stand - an unequivocal position - that the operational practices listed in the "Seven Deadly Sins" are no longer acceptable in the massage therapy field; that we expect better from our schools and programs. They may not have the force of law, but such moral courage on the part of community leaders, consistently stated, can and will instigate a change in institutional behavior.
Stephens is right about going forward--but what about all the students, practitioners, and teachers who are coming to grips with the fact that much of what they were taught is exaggerated, counterfactual, or simply wrong?
It takes a great deal of courage on their part to stare unflinching into that abyss, and to engage with what's needed to collect, assimilate, organize, and share good information.
The upheaval and disruption in the process is causing a great deal of moral distress and pain in people who are re-evaluating where they are, and how far away they are from where they need to be.
One thing that they do not have to worry about here is being blamed for having been taught wrong.
The policy here is, "no blame, no shame": it is not someone's fault that they did not get the education they deserve, and if they are trying to fix that situation, they deserve--and will have--our support in that journey.
The Buddhist concept of samma-vaca--"right speech"--is a useful guide to discourse here at POEM.
It's often summarized as, "Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?".
We'll examine those questions in a slightly different order than they're usually posed.
"Is it true?": The standard at POEM is that we will not pass along misinformation here.
Massage stakeholders can depend on POEM for accurate information about massage.
If someone is making a factual error, it's ok to correct that error civilly and professionally. That means focusing on the facts, not on the person--no personal attacks, just connecting the dots on what the facts are.
Not everything is a matter of fact, of course--there is no scientific answer to the question "Is chocolate or vanilla better?"--and interpretations, creativity, and imagination are welcome topics for discussion, as long as active misinformation doesn't ride along.
"Is it necessary?": There is a wide consensus that something is rotten in the state of massage education, so yes, having a portal to the shared body of biomedical knowledge that members of a unified and client-centered healthcare professional team all draw upon to varying degrees is an absolutely necessary--and as-yet unmet--niche that POEM is being developed to fill.
"Is it kind?": Absolutely: everyone who participates here can expect to be treated kindly. Kindness does not mean letting misinformation go uncorrected; it means that misinformation will be corrected in a civil, professional, and kind manner, without attacking the person.
When someone does not have access to good and high-quality information, because of gaps in their education, the kind and considerate thing to do is to offer them a bridge to obtain that information.
Giving them an opportunity to correct themselves is far kinder than leaving them--and their clients--to the consequences of misinformation.
We're in really deep waters here, as a result of a number of historical, social, political, and cultural factors all coming together and synergizing.
But if POEM has any say at all in the matter, then we will get through these difficulties, because we'll support each other in learning and growing along the way.
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Source: http://www.education.noaa.gov/images/article_ocean_floor_2.jpg accessed 26 August 2012