Nevada Alliance of Massage Professionals (NAMP)

 The next meeting of the Nevada State Board of Massage Therapy is scheduled for February 11, 2011.

The item on the agenda of most interest is a review the 2011 Legislative session. The following bills have been listed on the agenda: Read the rest of this entry »

Nevada Administrative Code

Click HERE for a link to the meeting announcement.

The Nevada Administrative Code is at the heart of your professional life. It is important for all therapists to be informed and to protect the standards for massage in our fine state. It is also our concern to protect the therapists who are working hard to provide the very best therapeutic massage for their clients.

There are 6 topcs covered by the proposed regulations:

1. Education Requirements
2. Requirements for Restroom Signage
3. Changes to the Unethical or Unprofessional Conduct NAC
4. Managing Massage Therapist
5. Requirements for Restoration of Expired License
6. Scope of Practice Committee

If you cannot attend, you may submit your comments to nvmassagebd@state.nv.us.

Nevada Administrative Code

The first group of proposed changes to the Nevada Administrative Code were presented at the August 13, 2010 meeting of NSBMT. An outline of the major points, with an analysis is below. Remember that these NACs have not yet been to the Legislative Council Bureau, or been through a workshop. A link to the full text of these proposed new regulations follows at the end of this post.

Section 1

The first section of these proposed regulations is an amendment to Section 26 and provides that the phrase “unethical or unprofessional conduct” shall include:

• Violating any term or condition of a subpoena or order issued by the Board or the staff of the Board
• Failing to provide any document, data or information required by NRS or NAC to a member of the Board or a member of the staff of the Board upon his request;
• Prohibiting a member of the Board or member of the staff to enter the premises of massage establishment during normal hours;
• Interfering with or refusing to cooperate with work being conducted by member of the Board or a member of the staff while on premises.

Analysis: Read the rest of this entry »

Issues

• Election of Officers
• MBLEx Policy
• Sex Offender case
• New Committee appointed
• California Massage Schools Read the rest of this entry »

The next meeting of the Nevada State Board of Massage Therapists is scheduled for Friday August 13, 2010, in Carson City and Las Vegas.  The location has yet to be announced.  You can find updated information on the NSBMT website a few days prior to the meeting for the specific location.  You are encouraged to attend and if you have any concerns, voice them in public comment.

The most recent meeting of the State Massage Board was held April 9, 2010. The next NSBMT meeting will be on Friday June 11, 2010. NAMP’s next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday June 22, 2010, at 7pm in Reno (details on events/meetings tab above). Please join us to find out what was discussed at those meetings and the ongoing concerns of Board activity affecting our local massage community. Thank you so much for all of your support.

Here are the issues that came before the NSBMT on April 9th:

• California Massage Schools under investigation

The reinstated California Commission on Post Secondary Education has issued a list of Massage Schools that are under investigation. Nevada applicants for state license will have to present proof of residence if they attended any of the schools on this list.

• Formal policy for handling CEH’s at license renewal

The policy for a temporary license has been written and approved.

• Therapeutic Breast Massage Consent Form

A consent form to be used by individual therapists has been approved.

Other Items:

We continue to follow the CEH’s that get approved and those that don’t. There is still much room for improvement.

Come get all the details: April 20, Classic Residence by Hyatt on Plumas, 7:00 pm.

We will have copies of the draft of the consent form, the list of California schools and other information. We are also working on plans to expand our state-wide presence.  Bring your concerns and input and help us build the strongest possible Massage Profession in Nevada.

Watch this site for more information.

The most recent meetings of the State Massage Board were held February 12, 2010 and April 9, 2010.  NAMP’s next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday April 20, 2010, at 7pm in Reno (details on events/meetings tab above). Please join us to find out what was discussed at those meetings and the ongoing concerns of Board activity affecting our local massage community.  Thank you so much for all of your support.

NAMP is seeking input from all therapists in Nevada about inspection standards. Currently Nevada has said they would inspect each massage location up to 4 times a year. This is the same standard as the Cosmetology Board. To our mind there is great difference between Cosmetology and Massage. They penetrate the skin with sharp instruments and handle dangerous chemicals. We have not found any other state doing as many inspections for massage therapists as does Nevada. This issue is vital because Staff salary is one of the largest items in the Budget, and therefore a driving force on the fees.

We absolutely believe that is it important that all massage locations are safe, clean and sanitary. The question is how many inspections are required to assure this is true, and does the number need to be the same for all locations. If there is a difference between locations, what should be the determining differentiation factors.

We are compiling information from other states. Many states do an initial inspection upon a location opening, then perhaps once a year or upon complaint.  We need your input to help us prepare the position for NAMP on this issue. Join us at the February 23^rd meeting and tell us what you think. If you can’t attend the meeting, please send us an email.

Over the past year we have seen a large change in the evaluation and acceptance of Continuing Education Hours (CEH). NSBMT is making a concerted effort to be more consistent in their evaluation of CEH’s. Difficulty comes from the widely incongruent standards from different providers. This difficulty is increased because the State of California has no active commission of post-secondary education thus no state evaluation of the schools. At this writing it is our understanding that California is in the process of re-activating the post-secondary commission, so we can hope for greater clarity in this area in the new future.

NAMP has been pressing for two things in this area: 1) Fair and consistent evaluation of CEH courses; 2) Greater latitude for CEH than for initial education. It is our belief that continuing education should provide opportunities to obtain education in the diverse areas of learning that improve the work of the professional massage therapist.