Agenda Item: III.C.3
May 1993
Page 1 Submitted by Kate Jefferey
Membership Entrance Exam Full Document on Archive.org
At recent National Board meetings, suggestions have been made about eliminatiing the MEE; the Membership Qualificaitons Subcommittee was charged with studying the issue for this report.
A brief history of the MEE is in order. In 1983. M.Hungerford, the National Education Director at the time, initiated the MEE as a means for people to test into the AMTA. Next, in 1984, Bob King as National Education Director revised the MEE. At the time there were approximately 15 AMTA-approved curriculum Schools in the country, meaning many people who had learned and were practicing massage but did not have the opportunity to attend such schools could still demonstrate their competence and be granted membership to the AMTA. The introduction and administration of the MEE at this time promoted the growth of the AMTA. At the time of the creation of the exam and throughout the years it has been modified/improved there was no formal attempt to consult expert exam-designerd to ensure psychometric validity. Being used "as an entry into a professional organization-NOT into a held of employment, the exam did not and does not HAVE to be psychometrically exact. From 1984 to 1988, membership within our organization increased by 60%. About half of these new members continued to come in through the MEE. During this time there were many problems with the implementation of the exam, causing criticism and complaints. Also, beginning about this time, the AMTA and massage therapy began to emerge as a health profession. We find ourselves now in the forefront of the public eye, with media attention on our practices, with a full-fledged Foundation for grants and research, with the Council of Schools as a strong force for standards in education, and with the National Certification Exam in place to test massage therapy applicants from all backgrounds through their grandmothering program until 1994, and their further extension of eligibility for professional experience as well as some documentable education through 1995. (See pg. 6 of the 1992 National Certification Examination for Professional Massage and Bodywork Candidate Handbook.) "
The AMTA invested about $250,000 into the creation of the NCE. Now that there have been 2 official seatings for the exam, {at the time of our Conference in Hawaii, 3!), many of our members and others in the fields of massage therapy and bodywork are becoming nationally certified. This will help our profession take its place in the new health care system and will grant reliable status for those who have passed the exam. Because so many of our own AMTA members who joined through the MEE the NCE after it's fourth sitting in December 1993. this seems an appropriate time to realty spend time, energy, and money educating that portion of our membership about the benefits of taking the NCE before it is too late for them. It would perhaps be an appropriate time to petition the NCE Board to consider extending their grandmothering program for another twelve months to accomodate more Individuals. It might be added that the successful completion of the NCE exan qualifies a person for membership into the AMTA.
Originally, with the creation of the MEE, it was seen as vital that in our hands-on field we administer a practical exam as wall at a written, so that basic strokes couid be demonadstrated and potentially hamful practices could be screened out. The practical has always been difficult to administer and involves an incredible amount of subjectivity on the part of the examiner. This has been made more evident as we use untrained votunteers on a chapter level to adminster the MEE. When the remits of practicals have been questioned, often the repeateed practical yeilds a different result than the Original, causing many questions to arise. This continues to the
present time.
In New Hampshire, where a practical exam is given to each person applying for a massage practitioners license, the tests are also administered by volunteers with no training. We rely on these volunteers to give up at least two full days a year to oversee practical massage sessions the most important goal of which is to eliminate anyone who could be harmful to the public if individual fail a practical they arrange to taKe it again at another testing time, and they can do this up to three times hopefully to eventually pass.But the major flaw of the system is that it is all dependent on the efforts of volunteers, and that if they were to become trained in testing they would have to be financially supported by the state, at least for a certain minimum of training.
The state exam practical is not equivaient to the MEE practical, because again one tests for entry into a profession while the other tests into a professional organization. I have not found a comparable situation to our MEE practical among other professional organizations, (admitinq time to prepare the report has been short.) If we need comparables, we can conduct a more directed search for this information through the National Offce.
I? i '*',® ^ !. tnimense change. There are fifty-six AMTA-approved
?®^ directory, a huge leap forward in available education compared to the earfv
1980 5 vve are seetrig the necessity of training massage therapists in such subjects as
boundary issues, infectious diseases, alternate therapies, emotional release management as
well as adequate emergency care. As reflected in the sealing requirements designed by the NCE
Committee, only programs of at least 100 hours will be worth points of credit; After 1995
five of these l^ur programs will be necessary to make up an individuars minimum searing
requiremem. This is undoubtedly to ensure some thoroughness in the content and scope of the
program. These changes are signs of our times, and at some point we will need to feel assured
that the schools and programs are adequately administering practical exams as they go along so
that we need no longer have to use practicals to weed out people who really do not know what’
they are doing. Practicals are hard to administer fairly, difficult to evaluate, and probably no
longer necessary in flght of our current educationai models.
To summarize, if we give up ackninistering the MEE, we give up administering an exam tor
which there exist no seating requiremenls. We also give up a practical exam of dubious value
since it is so difficult to fairly evaluate hands-on skills. We may be somewhat more assured '
that any individual sitting for an exam which has^ seating requirements must have done X hours
of hands-on work, supervised, or ai least taken practicals in school, since there are so many
more long-term recognized massage therapy programs available now than ever before. For
those who may be reluctant to let the praaical portion go aitogether. the only response i can
have to that is perhaps a training program for adrninistrators of practical exams, to be offered
through the AMTA, could be arranged. The financial study for this would have to be done, and i
would guess we would find it very expensive and ii^ipractical to implement. Personally. 1 see a
practical as more appropriate at a state exam level or any level at which a person is being
testing to enter a field of actual employmeni.
As a newly appointed subcommrttee chair, i will say that on first introduction to the MEE
question. I held a completely different opinion thaivf do now. My education into the many
complex facets of this issue have caused me to bro'^n my view, understand the issue, and see it
differently. Oix choice on the National Board of the AMTA is whether or not to decide’this issue
for the membership as a whole without allowing them the same process I have gone through or
educating and surveying them as to their views. Since )l appears to be a volatile issue and
that requires financial impact study either way we go with it. this Subcommittee recommends
further study to be completed by the Annual Convention in Chicago. Some of our options
requiring differing degrees of further study are as follows:
May 1993
Page 3
I.C.
2 beginning in 1994; a financial impact studv wouln
au. .0 th, iarsa aumber (t/3 of new rnernba,, laa, year) still Lting .^to °a,
Diaadvantage: Time and money required to condua financial impact study and might have to
endure significant loss of staie/naiional incomes if this option is adopted
Advantage: It is a swift move that would be a clean policy decision
2) To eontinut ta usa the MEE as a maana ol gaining AMTA mtmbefsnip whilr
ann «>• “EE (exampla: minmurn documantabla
200 professional education hours)
b) seeking to make the MEE psychometrleally valid
1) a financial impact study would need to be undertaken
c) developing a training program for administering the MEE
1.) a financial impact study woufd need to be undertaken
Disadvantage. We would be re-inventing the wheel since we afready have the MCE
Advantage; We would retain/upgrade an AMTA tradition
of any AMTA-approved
3} To begin a gradual phasing out of the MEE
a) make It unavailable within a 150 mile radius
curriculum school by
Jan 1. 1^94
b) limit offerings through chapters to 2x In 1994
eliminated by Jan.1, 1996
Disadvantage: We create confusion by a partial endorsement of the exam, and we still endure the
inherent problems in the standards discrepancies
Advantage: We give more people of attentive backgrounds a "Iasi chance" to test in
and lx in 1995, before being
4) To educate our membership about the issue of the MEE, and conduct
appropriate research;
a) through a full membership survey in Hands-On to be taBled and completely
considered by the time of the National Convention in Chicago in October 1993.*
b) through a study of several other similar professional associations such as
those for professions of Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy, to
1. ) see if they offer/ever offered an equivalent means of association membership to our MEE
2. ) see if they offer/ever offered a practical exam to potential association members
D^vantage: We could find our membership resisting this ultimately timely change of
eliminating the MEE and it would pospone our action along these lines until October 1993
Advantage: Our membership would be educated, feel involved in the coirse of our organization
and respect the decision to let the MEE go.
* A pilot survey went out to the AMTA members in N.H. in May 1993, and the results will be
offered to the Board at the Conference in Hawaii
'Option 4 could include an option along with the survey to contact the Chair of the Membership
Qualifications Committee with their questiuons/concerns
See attached survey.
If we find that there is blatant misunderstanding or confusion
about the issue, another option would need to be developed.
The sub-committee recommends Option A.
Agenda Item:
May 1993
Page 4
NH Chao.er AMTA He„,b.„Aip En.,,n« E,.m Oubs.ionnalre
Memtosto “j”'" “ T inlormaign regaraing the
' »" asKing yj M tfiTand^Tu^I’e* “‘’"""’"'P Cktaliticaaons
C«taica,on Exam la m place, ana does ohar a way tor pacpia o,^„ ir^ilioM
demonstrate their competence to serve in the fi*>w J backgrounds to
queatlon haa arSen aa7o ^^harT^ ti^A^I^A IZ '"p
soma .III laal ,ha> ^“8 h» “"“""P «»■
Exam (NCE) to replace if the AMTA would accenr memh ^ Nalional Ceniricaiion
Sarjr"
rr-ar.r A^rEfErEfi - ~
l^eoTna'lalZaTo tve'Zw^eelSia
paraona pa«,^ tha MK^itlTC^oToS^SO^^uT^^ °L*
protasslonal paining. By conen^'to oB« tni Ln f JI hT'® 500 5outa ot
.“xTw^rir rirrA&s^ ** ““^® —rrrrcrr
rat^r.* rnSira'"p?aj;fi'rhic“To,lSTn*a'°,“’* ® '°"® ""’“® *“' “
MEe''JSuX rJ;STav^°.^1rth,^r« .he
Of new members joining through the MEE te anticipated to dSilirJ^^evWy ve^Il
pTOQrsiDs bdco/Ti6 more avaiiahiA ^ ^ ^ AMTA-approv6cl
Agenda Item: 111.C.3
May 1993
Name: Date; Page 5
1) How long have you been a member of the AMTA?
2) How d/d you meet AMTA eligibility requirements? Check one;
a) school_b) exam_c) license_
3) Had you ever taken a practical exam before the practical given with the MEE? For example:
a) in school_ b) during an equivalency exam_
4) Do you agree/disagree that the AMTA eliminate the MEE?
5) If you disagree, why do you think it important to retain the MEE?
6) If the AMTA decided to retain the MEE, woukJ you suggest we;
a) reform the written exam? in what ways?
b) reform the practical exam? in what ways?
c) research making the MEE compatible with psychometric standards?
d) train people on examination administration?
e) establish eligibilty requirements to sit for the MEE?
7) If you favor creating eligibility requirements to take the MEE, what would they be?
8) If you agree that the AMTA eliminate the MEE, why?
9) If the AMTA decided to eliminate the MEE, when and how would you suggest this be done?
10) Did the cover l^er to this survey give an effecth/e view of the MEE issue?
11) Did the cover letter to this survey confuse the MEE issue in your mind?
12) How would you suggest we change this survey were it to be administered on a larger scale?
Thank you for your time and energy; please feel free to elaborate in the remaining space.
30,
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