AMTA announced a website on 2/9/09 to promote efforts to create and gain acceptance for a Body of Knowledge. The BOK goals are to set levels of competence within the massage therapy core or within massage therapy specialties, set specific standards and credentials for each stage of development and to ascertain the makeup of a “total quality management system."

Before this article, entry to site was only available through AMTA's member site. We feel all therapists should know about this BOK body, the website and voice your opinion as true stakeholders in this procedure. You will not be able to correspond directly with the task force as the Stewards will act as go-betweens.

You can see this site at http://www.mtbok.org/

The site does not carry agendas, meeting minutes or individual names or titles of those acting on these issues, purportedly on your behalf. Nor does it acknowledge when the next meeting will be or where. (*See note below) And they tell you it may be a week to get your email answered. They promise transparency and inclusion on this site as seen on page three of their Business Case Summary .

Only six, of the 30 plus initial stakeholders (now, as of 02/06/09, termed “The Stewards”), are still involved. Three were created with AMTA support. They are the AMTA Council of Schools, NCBTMB and Massage Therapy Foundation. The other two are the ABMP and FSMTB. Those that say they will come back later to do specific task aspects are deemed part of the consortium, not Stewards.

AMTA is the sole entity supplying information to the public concerning this issue. AMTA’s motto is, as is the BOK's, “to advance the profession.”

This is all we have at this time. We have been told, BOK has already existed the “planning” phase and are going into the “action” phase. We did not know this until today. And now they are seating their eight picks by July and the Project Manager by May. So if you are interested you better let them know, as few will be chosen.

We will continue to try and get details for you.

Transparency and inclusion, to this point, is honestly lacking. As this effort will only be successful if embraced by the profession, we hope, "The Stewards" will start anew on these efforts.

(* Site uplinked pdf file tonight that gives final dates for task force completition to announce the following:)

1. Definition of massage therapy
2. Scope of practice
3. Terminology
4. Description of Field
5. Best practices
6. Competencies of levels

knowledge
skill and
ability levels

Eight people will be picked by a hand picked committee picked by the Stewards.
An overall "Project Manager" will be paid to guide these eight and report to Stewards.

All has to be accomplished for a presentation to profession in Seattle, Washington on May 10, 2010.