ADVOCATE FOR MASSAGE THERAPY AS A RECOGNIZED & RESPECTED HEALTHCARE PROFESSION
On 9/1/21, revisions and additions to the regulations in the Massage Therapy WAC Chapter 246-830 will go into effect. One of the changes that will affect licensed massage therapists the most is that CPR will be part of our CE requirement to renew our licenses.
Historically, we only needed to have completed CPR in massage school to obtain our initial massage license. However, starting 9/1/21, it will also be a requirement to renew our massage license. You can see the new CPR CE requirement at: WAC 246-830-475. The new CPR subsection states:
(2)(c) Maintenance of certification in American Heart Association CPR or equivalent. A maximum of four hours is allowed per reporting period.
It is also a requirement in many insurance contracts, if you are an insurance provider. We have always been able to use CPR for CE, but now it is a requirement.
At the time this article was written, online, classroom and online-classroom hybrid options were available and were easy to find on the internet. If you live in a more rural area, check with your local fire stations and hospitals to see if they have resumed in-person CPR classes.
One thing about CPR classes, at the end of class you get a card showing that you passed, but it doesn’t indicate the number of hours you attended to obtain your certificate. Our suggestion is to create a form and take it with you. Make sure it has all of these details pre-filled in as indicated in CE WAC 246-830-475 subsection:
(4) A massage therapist must provide acceptable documentation of continuing education upon request or audit. Acceptable forms of documentation include, but are not limited to: (d) Other formal documentation that includes the following: (i) Participant’s name; (ii) Course title; (iii) Course description; (iv) Date or dates of course; (v) Number of hours; (vi) Indication of being an in-person course, self-study as referenced in subsection (3)(c) of this section, or distance learning as referenced in subsection (3)(f) of this section; (vii) Instructor’s name or sponsor organization name or names; (viii) Instructor or sponsor contact information; and (ix) Signature of the program sponsor or course instructor. The self-study allowed in subsection (3)(c) of this section is exempt from this requirement.
(4) A massage therapist must provide acceptable documentation of continuing education upon request or audit. Acceptable forms of documentation include, but are not limited to:
(d) Other formal documentation that includes the following:
(i) Participant’s name; (ii) Course title; (iii) Course description; (iv) Date or dates of course; (v) Number of hours; (vi) Indication of being an in-person course, self-study as referenced in subsection (3)(c) of this section, or distance learning as referenced in subsection (3)(f) of this section; (vii) Instructor’s name or sponsor organization name or names; (viii) Instructor or sponsor contact information; and (ix) Signature of the program sponsor or course instructor. The self-study allowed in subsection (3)(c) of this section is exempt from this requirement.
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Advocate for Massage Therapy as a Recognized & Respected Healthcare Profession