registered massage therapists

I digged a very well written article by Cyclo

http://www.lyla.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=142492

Explains exactly why an RMT cannot do stuff against their deontology even if in their off work time.

After working 26 as an RMT, I can't believe people still don't get the difference. When I started, I remember how cautious we had to be how we had to fight for the difference in terms (masseuse vs massage therapist). Massage was really poorly understood. We worked so hard to bring to the collective understanding what we were doing as a legitimate profession, on the same terms as Chiros, Osteos, Orthos, etc.

I consider myself lucky that in my 26 years, I have had only 4 incidents, two phone call inappropriate requests and one on the table (when working on the beach in Venezuela in front of everybody (doh?!) to which I offered the gentlemen asking if he was gonna get extras, to stop there without charging since there seemed to have been a misunderstanding. He sheeplishly apologized admitting not knowing more than what he'd seen on TV (Venezuela) and asked if I could resume. He was absolutely calm and docile for the remainder and quite content at the end. The last incident can't be really counted. Still working on the beach (in a real kiosk with all my pro material). As the massage was almost finished without incident, while I was working on his ARM, his breathing suddenly changed and he O'ed right there! I step back taken by surprise, trying to figure out how to deal with the situation. He was as much terrified and confused as me. Thank God for bermudas... Turned out he was an American sailor, who had set foot on land earlier that afternoon for the first time in 6 months. LMAO

But back to the issue here. In 2016? Really. People should know better.

It surprises me that people ask me why I did not renew my licence. They do not understand that like doctors, attorneys, etc. we are held to probity in our personal lives. The deontology code does not stop at the end of the shift. I could not do RMT during the week and MA during the week-ends. I would be banned for life. We are strictly forbidden to even have a romantic relationship with our clients. A full year buffer is required from the termination of the professional relationship before a relationship with a former client is deemed acceptable.

By not renewing my licence, I am not bound by these rules anymore nor do I have the benefits that come with it (receipts, professional recognition, etc.) I am free to do what I want with my professional skill as long as I do not advertise myself as an RMT. After 26 years, I wanted to explore other aspects of touch.

I made that clean cut by respect for the profession I loved and fought for for 26 years. Licenced RMT (or professionals designated as "Massage therapists" on the Quebec side) should NEVER be asked or expected to do anything else than THERAPEUTIC massage.