I am wishing all our Members and their loved ones a joyful and prosperous New Year. New beginnings are always exciting and promising and this one is no different.
Before I begin the ARM News, I would like to thank all the many, many Members who sent cards, letters and emails, and made phone calls of concern, compassion and well wishes for my recovery. It is amazing how supportive and nourishing the milk of human kindness can be. I know many Members are struggling with a similar problem, or have a loved one who is. I am well aware I am not alone in my suffering. I only had to sit up and look around me in the hospital ward to see people who were in a worse situation. It’s a very humbling process.
On 13th November I had as much of the tumour removed from the right parietal lobe of my brain as possible. It was a Glioblastoma (grade 4), for those who were keen to know. I’ve had 7 weeks of palliative treatment with daily, small doses of chemo and radiation. This was completed 2 weeks ago, and even the Specialist in charge of the Radiation Oncology Department, at the Sydney Cancer Centre, was very surprised at my stamina throughout the treatment, and my recovery from the treatment. Let’s put it down to an organic, vegan diet, lots of filtered water, and a lifetime of vigorous exercise, which I maintained throughout this recent treatment, although I was advised to sleep it off instead. I can probably add a very determined spirit to the list.
I have always put together the entire Journal on my own, as no one offered any help or have input, other than a few articles; but it was impossible to produce the February Journal under the recent circumstances. I was not able to complete a full Journal for November by myself, with everything that happened, and as the only person who offered assistance will not be able to contribute until the May Journal, this Letter, and our Emails, will be the extent of our News publications until May 2010.
I would like to apologise to everyone for the substandard Journal that was printed and sent out in November 2009. Most of what was to go into the Journal was missing from the final product; and what was there, was in such a mess it didn’t make any sense. I was in hospital having my surgery when most of that Journal was completed by someone else and printed. The preparations I made, and the directions I gave were not followed, with disastrous results.
We have a new printer: Satellite Digital, run by Robert Maarseveen, who has offered some great ideas. Their office is quite close to ours and Robert has been very helpful with the changeover.
My sincere apologies to Ian Hannam, whose wonderful research article on “Massage and Cerebral Palsy: Long Term Treatment, Observations and Results” was given a totally irrelevant heading. Thankfully, Ian has forgiven us, due to the circumstances, and he has contributed another interesting research article, which will appear in our May 2010 edition.
The General Meeting on 22nd November 2009 was well attended and enthusiastically participated in. The energy was high after Gavan Fernandes kept everyone intrigued, informed and entertained. His workshop review will also appear in our May issue.
Ireen Allanson and I attended the Associations Meeting, to discuss and formulate a policy for alternative therapies, regarding their regulation – whether it be self/co/or government regulated. There was no general consensus, and it seems to be making little headway at the moment. However, I came away with the clear notion Massage Associations need to be united and regulated by one uniting registering body; separate, but not segregating us from the main group; much like the Homeopaths registration. This would enable Massage Associations to speak with a united voice, and stand firm on issues affecting us as opposed to other modalities, with different issues to contend with, that don’t concern us.
It is clear the ingestive modalities, along with the more invasive modalities like acupuncture, have very different responsibilities, educational requirements and professional issues. At the meeting comments were made about Massage Associations needing to raise the educational standard of its members to come up to the science degree standard of the other modalities. While a science degree is an admirable qualification, it is not necessary for the delivery of a competent massage treatment. We need to determine our own standards where we can. It’s frustrating enough with some of the Health Funds being dictatorial, without other Associations telling us what we should do.
If all the body working Associations came under the one umbrella regulatory body, the Associations were part of, it would create uniformity in standards of education, CPE, and disciplinary policy. It also means if a therapist isn’t registered, they are not ‘legitimate’. It is hoped this would prevent much of the ‘back yard’ industry. This concept was given full support at the ARM General Meeting in November2009, and talks have begun with another Association, which feels much the same way. The next Associations Meeting is on 5th March 2010 and will be attended by Ireen Allanson and, if all continues to go well, myself.
Bridging Courses for ARM Members, to upgrade older qualifications to the current HLT 50307 have long been on our agenda, and course structures are now being discussed. It is hoped our Members will have more than one option to choose from, although some colleges are slow in responding after the long holiday break. One college put together a proposal for all members to upgrade to a full HLT diploma for $2500 ($3,000 non-members) inclusive of all books, with a minimum of 50 students. This offer sounds like a great opportunity to upgrade to the very latest HLT Diploma from whatever current qualification you have.
The great benefit of this course is the individual assessment of each student, to decide what level of training they enter the course at. Some will be at a Certificate 4 level with minimal CPE and experience; some will be Diploma level, lots of CPE, added courses and many years of clinical experience. So some students will need minimal extra training at less cost, some will need more training at the full cost. It will be tailored to your specific requirement.
We need is a minimum of 50 participants able to travel to one location and the course can begin. The course can be conducted in 2 ways. It can be done as an intensive, all-day, in 7 consecutive days; or for one day a week, over 7 weeks. Choices of options will have to be made. Suggested locations would be Strathfield, Sydney NSW; North Coast NSW (Lismore); Country NSW (Wagga Wagga); WA Perth.
Please contact Ireen in the ARM Head Office to register you interest in the Bridging Course, giving your chosen location, or a suggestion of a different one.
Upgrading to the latest HLT Diploma is an absolute necessity if you intend to continue working as a Massage Therapist. The requirements of the Health Care Industry are continually changing, and it is necessary to keep up with its demands, or get left behind in its wake. These Bridging Courses should be fully booked, because they are essential to all members with older qualifications.
Also discussed at the November General Meeting was the former WA Chapter/Sub Committee. Due to the declining numbers in membership it was decided that a WA Chapter/Sub Committee could no longer be sustained. The issue was discussed and the following motion was put forward: “That the West Australian Chapter/Sub-Committee is now dismissed and no longer officially represents the West Australian Members of the Association of Remedial Masseurs Inc.” The motion was proposed and unanimously carried.
All A.R.M. Members in Australia are served by the National Association; supported, directed and represented by the Management Committee through Head Office.
The Management Committee are planning a minimum of 4 workshops a year in WA. The February Workshop had previously been organised, however the May workshop has been co-ordinated form Head Office and Vilma Telek will be our WA contact Liaison Officer and co-ordinator for workshops.
For the past 6 months the National Committee has been conscious of the long term viability of ARM as it now stands. It has been an agenda item that no one has really wanted to discuss, for months. When I became President, ARM had a dysfunctional internet, membership had been consistently declining for years, and there was no functional database, no functional filing system, and an Office full of clutter.
ARM was running out of funds. Membership Fees were not enough to run the Association with, and we had been drawing on our Term Deposit to meet our financial needs. Our previous Office Receptionist knew our financial status and knew her employment with ARM couldn’t last for even 2 more years. At the end of her envisaged employment with ARM we would have been financially ruined; bank account and term deposit would be both empty, probably half the number of members we have now, and no future what so ever – finished, with nothing.
Instead, 3 years later, thanks to the commitment and loyalty of the Committee and Members, ARM has a healthy bank balance, our Term Deposit is intact, we have a highly functional, world class data base, that reports to the Health Funds better than our competitors (from what they tell me) and Membership has stabilised.
This is mainly due to the Volunteer hours put in by Ireen Allanson and myself, not to mention other Committee members Lima Eid, Lawrence Dwyer, Ed Franklin, Abe Pollak, and Connie McNamee. Now that the financial situation has stabilised, we no longer have to focus on survival; we can look seriously to the future. Without the 40 plus hours a week put in by both Ireen and me, ARM would grind to a halt. It will take 2 employees to run the Office, deal with the Health Fund issues that arise by the minute on a daily basis, handle the database, co-ordinate the workshops, and produce the Journal.
ARM does not have a big enough Membership to finance that necessity, and Ireen and I cannot volunteer indefinitely. An obvious solution discussed at the Committee Meetings, and also suggested by members in WA, was to join forces with another Association. This increases our size, our influence, our capability and prosperity. This means Members will get better service because the Office will be manned 9 to 5, and still keep our ARM culture and our very functional, very expensive database.
This possibility was put forward at the November 2009 General Meeting, and meet with interest. When discussed and put to the vote, it was decided the Committee should inquire about the possibility of a merge with AMT because it is an Association that is exclusively for Massage Therapists, like ARM. This should be done without commitment, and reported back to the Membership; then we need to gather the general consensus on the issue.
Lima Eid and I met with 2 Members of the Board of Directors of AMT on Thursday 21st January 2010. Our proposal was met with a very positive response. Like us, they have to report back to their Board and Membership, and we all have to move forward from there if everyone is in agreement.
So, I am informing all Members of ARM’s current position and hope you give it serious consideration. We welcome your views and encourage you to send emails or letters regarding this matter, so the Committee has a clear idea of the opinions of all our Members.
The matter will be discussed further at the General Meeting on 21st February 2010, and come to a vote along with the changes in the constitution. Thank you again for all your kindness and well wishes. All the very best.
Gai Herne