The rest of last semester went fairly well. However, my final Oral Practical was very stressful, so I felt I needed to take some time away from Massage Therapy. So that’s why I haven’t posted anything since November.
Christmas gave me a needed break. I had some time to think about what it is I’d like to do with myself after graduation.
I still have a lot of passion for working with chronic pain clients, and have interest in continuing to work in this field. That said, I know that getting that sort of work will be difficult, especially as a new therapist. So what I’m considering doing is trying to find work in a general, clinical setting for 2-3 days per week and then slowly building a hospital or home-visit type practice for chronic pain patients on the side. To start, I think I will only be able to work 3-4 days per week, in order to give my body some time to get used to working that amount. I do a fair amount of clinical and hands-on work right now, but it’s not the same as seeing multiple clients a day, so I know I need to ‘ramp-up’ to a full time practice once I’m certified.
This semester is mostly for review. We’ve covered almost everything the CMTO requires us to know for the written and OSCE exams, so now it’s just a matter of practicing what we know and studying as much as possible to review the last three years. When I looked at the exam criteria, at first I thought it was a lot of information I needed to review. Then I realized that there are some key areas I need to focus on, and others I can skim over, because I know the material quite well already. For example, I know I need to review the anatomy of the central nervous system, because I’ve forgotten a lot of the finer details of brain anatomy. I also know I need to review my palpations, because (like most RMTs) I have a general feeling for muscles but don’t have all of their origins and insertions memorized any longer. By contrast, I don’t feel I need to spend a lot of time reviewing MT legislation, Standards of Practice, or Ethical issues, since I know those quite well. I also don’t feel I need to spend much time on the micro-anatomy of muscles, as I also know that quite well.
I’ve made it a personal goal to try to update this journal more often over the next few months. We’ll see how that goes.