Attending the RMTAO’s 2017 Educator Day at the Education Conference, I watched with interest the response to moderator Pam Fitch’s question, “who in the room has obtained a master’s degree or PhD?” A small number of hands in a room full of educators went up. With so few attaining this level of education, I wondered about the opportunities and challenges for RMTs who advance their education.
A visit with Donelda Gowan – a doctorally-prepared massage therapist and recipient of the RMTAO’s research award – confirmed concerns that highly educated RMTs face barriers in sharing knowledge. Donelda is adamant highly-educated RMTs must be supported in injecting knowledge and perspective gained back into the field – assisting its growth and professional culture. In her RMTAO research award acceptance speech, Gowan emphasized, “Massage therapy research must be informed by Massage Therapists.”
Highly educated RMTs may feel pressure to leave massage therapy in pursuit of research and academic positions in related fields. Such a “brain-drain” and limited opportunities for research and knowledge transfer should concern us all in limiting the growth and potential of our field.
I invited a group of six RMTs with high academic standing – some educators, others researcher or practitioner status – to address the following questions:
1. What opportunities exist for RMTs that pursue higher education?
2. What barriers remain to advancement in the MT field, particularly in education, research or influencing community health and social policy?
3. How can stakeholders in the profession support opportunities for practitioners attaining higher education?
4. How can your talents, experiences and education be most effectively used for the advancement of the profession?
At the table we had Beth Barberree, Trish Dryden, Cathy Fournier, Donelda Gowan, Ania Kania-Richmond, and Martha Brown Menard