Continuing my discussion of International Journal of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork's article A Qualitative Investigation into Why the Motivation of Massage Therapy Students Changes over the Course of Their Professional Education from part 1 and part 2...
The Evolving Self Image As a Health Care Professional
Again, Dr. Finch broke this theme down into parts:
- Rigor/Intensity of the Educational Program
- Developing Perspective of Massage Therapy As a Career
- Interaction with Faculty
Let's discuss these themes individually (summarized from the article).
Rigor/Intensity of the Educational Program
Dr. Finch describes this theme as the students expectation of commitment to the program. Most students "were largely unaware of the commitment it would take to successfully complete the program". This had the effect of increasing extrinsic expectations because of acceptance of implied level of expertise. It kind of makes me wonder if some of the problems we face in our field comes from the fact that many people aren't aware of just how much we massage therapists know! As the student becomes more aware of the level of knowledge required, they also place more value on their skill and with it the expectation of more rewards. It fits well with the risk/reward paradigm, in that the more you risk, the more you typically expect to receive in return. When the student makes those sacrifices, they look for "a return on all that investment".
As much as I try, it is nearly impossible for my incoming students to fully comprehend what they are signing on to. It is invariably more involved, more work, more homework, more reading, more massage, more, more, more, than the students expect. This leads to Dr. Finch's last point on the theme, that the amount of focus on the details of the work can draw focus from the why behind it - that students quickly run out of time for even thinking about the intrinsic rewards to what they do.
Developing Perspective of Massage Therapy As a Career
As a student progresses through the massage program, they increasingly identify with being part of health care. They realize that they can and often are expected to assist with clients' health problems and that accompanies a level of responsibility.
In addition, students learn about what it means to be a professional and the thought processes, behaviors, and "things" that go along with it. Often there is an association between being successful as a professional and the freedom that goes along with having more money. Personally, I include it as part of my program the entire thought process behind making massage therapy work as a career. The students must think about how they are going to support themselves and their business, pay the bills and enjoy life too. I see it as part of my job to help them figure out how to get there.
Interaction with Faculty
Of course, faculty have been through massage school already. They have experience working as a massage therapist. They have been through the struggles and triumphs of being a practicing massage therapist. They've had their naivete stripped away already. While of course many things must really be experienced before they are truly learned, the instructors begin the process of creating more realistic expectations for the students. It's a part of the process. Altruism is taught as well, but from the tempered perspective of the seasoned professional, and as the students look up to their instructors as role models, the attitudes begin to have an impact.
I've met some very jaded massage therapists in my time - the kind that won't lift a finger for anybody else (figuratively!) unless they're paid for it (can you believe I've had MTs ask to be paid for their time when students asked them for a 10-minute interview?! Talk about a learning experience for the students!). Who'd want a person like that as a teacher? So a good teacher will still maintain some of the altruistic, idealistic spirit to impart to their students - albeit with a realistic and experienced frame of reference.
I love the term that Dr. Finch uses for this - "Realistic Altruism". Boy am I going to start using that!
So what does this all mean? On to part 4...
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