Scope of Practice for Massage therapist
Scope of Practice - The massage therapist has an ethical responsibility to the public and to individual clients. Education and technical training is only a portion of this understanding law, rules, regulations, limitations and obligations concerning massage is also a strong influence on the scope of practice.
According to law only doctors can diagnose illness and prescribe medications. A massage therapist can only assess for treatment purposes what is needed to administer a massage to the patient. Scope of practice by definition defines the rights and activities legally acceptable to the licenses of a particular occupation or profession. In the state of Florida this definition can be found on the www.myflorida.com website.
In the United States, laws and regulations for massage fall under the auspices of the state, county, and city you live or work in. The therapist must obtain a license to practice massage by fulfilling the requirements to obtain the license. The requirements vary based on state, county, and city that you work in. You can obtain the requirements from your local government offices. Most towns, city, county, and states adopt these laws to curb illegal activities, unethical practices, misleading advertising. You must remember that prostitution is a part of the unethical past of massage those boundaries are the reason for most of the regulations.
Massage has become a more recognized as a reputable and respected health care practice as of late. These laws have been replaced by licensing requirements that contain educational, technical, ethical, and sanitation requirements on the therapist behalf to curb any such activities. Once you have achieved a license in one particular state it is not recognized in another you must as a therapist obtain a license to practice in the state you work in. Each state has it’s own rules and regulations in which you much abide by to practice massage.
