Massage therapy has been a regulated health care profession in B.C. since 1946. British Columbians can be sure that they are receiving the highest quality of care available. This is because the RMT designation means that the therapist adheres to strict practice and ethical standards. It also guarantees that a therapist trained in B.C.has met the most challenging and comprehensive educational standards in North America.
Since 1994, the standards of the profession have been enforced by the College of Massage Therapists of British Columbia (CMTBC), which came into being in accordance with the provisions of the Health Professions Act. The CMTBC’s primary role as defined by the legislation is to serve and protect the public.
As the regulatory body for the profession,the CMTBC is responsible for many important functions including:
• superintending the practice of the profession
• governing registrants in accordance with the Health Professions Act and all other related legislation
• establishing, monitoring, and enforcing standards of education, qualification and the quality of practice*
Occupational Competency Profile
In 2004, the CMTBC developed an Occupational Competency Profile (OCP), an essentialtool used by the College to carry out its legal duties, which are at all times to serve and protect the public.By law, this includes “establishing standards of academic or technical achievement and the qualifications required for registration as a member of the College”.
The OCP was developed for two reasons:
• to transfer information from the CMTBC Core
• Curriculum Standard (1997) into a competency-based format, and
• to review the relevancy bf the information to be included in the entry-to-practice standard.
In practice, the OCP serves 3 functions:
• It defines competencies that new applicants for registration are required to possess.
• It establishes the learning outcomes that are required of accredited schools of Massage Therapy in B.C.
• It sets out the competency requirements for the transfer into B.C. of registrants from other regulated provinces,as required by the Agreement on Internal Trade.
*to seee the full list of CMTBC activities and for other inforamtion, please visit the CMTBC website