Blog

Keeping Up with Membership Requirements As a member of CMMOTA, it’s crucial to stay on top of the membership requirements. These requirements include keeping your Standard (Intermediate) First Aid and Level “C” CPR certification up to date, keeping your Vulnerable Sector Check (VSC) information current, and to provide new VSC information to the association prior to the 3-year anniversary of your previous check (or more frequently if practicing in Nova Scotia). Additionally, it also includes making sure that you pay your membership and insurance renewal fees before the deadline, as well as ensuring you meet the Credit and AGM attendance [...]

Initial Intake Form The purpose of the Intake form is to provide Massage Therapist and Manual Osteopathic Therapist members with health history information needed from their client to mindfully create a treatment plan. We know that when members take an initial client intake that often it includes both a medical history and written consent for treatment. Examples of these forms can be found in Appendix 31 of the Membership Policy and Procedure Handbook. Remember that it is important to keep both items current. The generally accepted practice is that written consent for general treatment would be provided on an annual [...]

Becoming a new member of any Association can be overwhelming with all the information to become familiar with. It is ultimately your responsibility as a professional to read all communications sent out by your Association. We pride ourselves on our transparency and want to set our members up for success, so we have developed a reference guide to help members navigate some the questions they may have. Here is all the information that we provide our new members. *NOTE: Some of this information varies depending on membership type.* As always, if you have further questions, please call, or email the [...]

We have noticed over the last few years that more and more massage therapists and manual osteopathic therapists are opening their own small businesses. This is not surprising as RMTs and MOTs are often quite entrepreneurial. While running a business is not easy, there comes a satisfaction from working for yourself and making the business decisions rather than working for others and having little control of the direction of the business. For those who do open their own business, keep in mind that your CMMOTA liability insurance is an individual liability policy that is designed to cover you as an [...]

We are sharing another amazing special guest blogger, Melissa Pierson, with you! Check it out below! 6 Direct Billing Myths     Last summer I took my three kids for a walk, when my 3-year-old shouted, “Hurry! Before dat dog eat us!” I looked over and expected to see a giant ferocious looking dog but to my surprise it was the world’s tiniest wiener dog. You see, my kids don't have a lot of experience with dogs. They're scared of anything that's unfamiliar to them. The same is true with us. Some RMTs are nervous about direct billing, but I [...]

We are excited to share information from our special guest blogger, Jordan Pierson. Check it out below. Can RMTs write off their Lululemons?     Season 2, Episode 6 of Schitt’s Creek is my all-time favourite. You may remember the scene where David learns what a tax write off is. If you haven’t seen it yet, then stop reading this and check it out on Netflix (it’ll be worth the subscription, I promise); or if you’d rather, here’s a low-resolution copy of it on YouTube. Enjoy! I’m sure it won’t be long before it’s taken down due to copyright. https://youtu.be/aCP27_vquxQ [...]

We are sharing another amazing special guest blogger, Amanda Bach, with you! Check it out below! But did you do your notes? A common phrase heard by student massage therapists as they grind through their clinical practicums. Your supervisor gives you a quick mark and sends you on your way to clean your table and get set for the next. So many things to think of, which muscle attaches where, normal ranges of motion and what was it that I did in that last massage because my patient has asked for that exact same treatment but it’s been over 6 [...]

According to Webster's dictionary, burnout is the exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration. You may face burnout if you become overwhelmed with too many responsibilities or feel unable to meet demands. As your stress increases, your motivation and interest decreases. You may start feeling that nothing you do is ever enough or that you're simply spinning your wheels while no one notices or appreciates your efforts. Sound familiar? Until now, burnout has been called a stress syndrome, however, the World Health Organization (WHO) recently updated their definition. It now refers [...]

In our April edition of our monthly blog "May The Force Be With You", we talked about how to stay digitally protected. This included tips on how to protect yourself online as well as how to protect your digital files.   This sparked some discussion amongst a few of our own members and staff on the topic of how to protect yourself as a therapist. This conversation brought up some tips and situations that therapists may not be be aware of, or know to think of, especially when just starting out in the industry. Here are a couple of our amazing [...]

A Chinese Proverb says "If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people." Here at CMMOTA, we recognize that great education is the key to building successful massage and manual osteopathic therapy industries that will serve the Canadian people for generations to come. Thank you for the part you are playing in educating the therapists of the future! We value your commitment and dedication in  furthering these two professional industries! Are you an Educator? Did you know that at CMMOTA, we provide 6 credits [...]

Every day, we log on to our computers and tablets, browse the internet on our mobile devices, click on links, read/send and forward emails, transfer and download files, part with personal information, and publish sensitive content. Rarely do we give much thought or question to the safety of what we are doing. Rarely do we think about the potential dangers or risks. In fact, we often neglect our digital wellbeing and proceed without adequate protection. It is important to remember the potential scale of the problems we face and where we are as a digital society. We rely on more and [...]

Many members ask us if they are covered for mobile massage services under the CMMOTA liability insurance plan.  The answer is yes, many members work between multiple locations. Whether it be employees or subcontractors working between different clinic locations for their employer; between their home based business and visiting clients’ homes or businesses to offer services; or even strictly mobile and only working and the homes or business of clients.  All these scenarios are automatically covered by your liability insurance at no extra charge. Keep in mind that coverage only applies within Canada and it should also be reported when you [...]

We have just entered a new CEC Cycle and with that, some new changes to our CEC's and how you can obtain your credits. We'd like to help you set yourself up for success when it comes to achieving the CEC's you need! We know that some courses can be very expensive, so we've come up with a number of different ways for you to obtain your credit requirements for little to no money out of pocket! Here are a few ways to consider: Attending an AGM now earns you 4 CEC's for each meeting you attend. Did you know that [...]

Did you have any idea that there are SO MANY different types of first aid courses, let alone providers for first aid courses?? We sure didn't until we did some digging!   We were seeing an increase in fraudulent certificates being submitted. This can be very detrimental to you as a therapist, having potentially spent your hard-earned money and time for something that either may not be valid, or doesn't meet the requirements for Standard First Aid and Level C CPR Certification. We want to give you a quick tutorial on how to tell if your course provider can actually provide [...]

Not all professional liability insurance is created equally. Reading the following information may be the most important thing that you read this year - what kind of insurance do you have if you're not with CMMOTA? We often receive enquiries about CMMOTA’s Professional Liability Insurance, so we wanted to provide you as members with some immensely helpful information, to keep you informed, so that in turn you can inform others if they ask.   The current CMMOTA insurance program gives its members both OCCURRENCE BASED Commercial General Liability (CGL) and OCCURRENCE BASED Malpractice liability coverage. Commercial General Liability covers property damage [...]

Massage is one of the most demanding health care professions and will require commitment and dedication if you are to succeed: commitment to your clients and dedication to your own self-care. Let’s start with self-care. The more you are able to take care of yourself the more you will be able to give to your clients. Here are some things to consider as you start building your clientele. First consider your ideal case load. The majority of massage therapists who suffer from work place injuries and are unable to continue working are injured in their first 2 years of practice and [...]