Licencia: Massage Therapists

MS Board of Massage Therapy sitio externo

353 South Fourth Street

PO Box 20

Morton, MS 39117

(601) 732-6038

General Information terms and Definitions: Rule 4.1 General Requirements A. No person shall practice massage for compensation in the State of Mississippi except as provided by state statute and these regulations. 20 B. An applicant must be eighteen (18) years of age, or older, on the date the application is submitted. C. An applicant must provide proof of high school graduate equivalency. D. An applicant must be of legal status not only to receive a license, but also to work in the State of Mississippi with such license. E. All required fees for initial licensure must be submitted by the applicant with a cashier’s check or money order. Corporate checks are accepted from Mississippi licensed massage therapy schools in good standing. F. Any and all requirements regarding good moral character and competency, as provided for in accepted codes of ethics shall be met. The burden of demonstrating that the applicant possesses the good moral character required for licensure shall rest with the applicant. Effective July 1, 2013, an applicant must have successfully been cleared for licensure through an investigation that shall consist of a determination as to good moral character and verification that the prospective licensee is not guilty of or in violation of any statutory ground for denial of licensure as set forth in Section 73-67-27. (Please see section for additional requirements rules.) G. The Board must receive a complete application packet, fees and official transcript(s) by the established application deadline for the application to be considered for licensure at the next regularly scheduled Board Meeting. H. An applicant must supply proof of current certification in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid of at least eight (8) hours of training, including practical testing, and supply documentation of familiarity with the American with Disabilities Act. I. An applicant must have completed an approved course on communicable diseases, including HIV/AIDS information and prevention. Board approved schools shall include these courses and those listed in ‘H’ above in the curriculum. 1. To assist the board in conducting its licensure investigation, all applicants shall undergo a fingerprint-based criminal history records check of the Mississippi central criminal database and the Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history database. Each applicant shall submit a full set of the applicant's fingerprints in a form and manner prescribed by the board, which shall be forwarded to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety (department) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Identification Division for this purpose. 2. Any and all state or national criminal history records information obtained by the board that is not already a matter of public record shall be deemed nonpublic and confidential information restricted to the exclusive use of the board, its members, officers, investigators, agents and attorneys in evaluating the applicant's eligibility or disqualification for licensure, and shall be exempt from the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983. Except when introduced into evidence in a hearing before the board to determine licensure, no such information or records related thereto shall, except with the written consent of the applicant or by order of a court of competent jurisdiction, be released or otherwise disclosed by the board to any other person or agency. 3. The board shall provide to the department the fingerprints of the applicant, any additional information that may be required by the department, and a form signed by the applicant consenting to the check of the criminal records and to the use of the fingerprints and other identifying information required by the state or national repositories. 4. The board shall charge and collect from the applicant, in addition to all other applicable fees and costs, such amount as may be incurred by the board in requesting and obtaining state and national criminal history records information on the applicant. 5. "Good Moral Character" is a pattern of behavior conforming to the profession's ethical standards and behavior that indicates honesty and truthfulness, integrity, respect among the community for lawful behavior, respect for the rights of others, and obedience to the lawful directives of public offices or officials or persons charged with the enforcement of the law and showing an absence of 21 moral turpitude. Persons with a conviction (misdemeanor or felony) related to prostitution, public indecency or sexual imposition have demonstrated an absence of good moral character and will not be granted a license to practice massage therapy. The Board must receive a complete application packet, fees and official transcript(s) by the established application deadline for the application to be considered for licensure at the next regularly scheduled Board Meeting. H. An applicant must supply proof of current certification in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid of at least eight (8) hours of training, including practical testing, and supply documentation of familiarity with the American with Disabilities Act. I. An applicant must have completed an approved course on communicable diseases, including HIV/AIDS information and prevention. Board approved schools shall include these courses and those listed in ‘H’ above in the curriculum. Source: Miss Code Ann. § 73-67-15 (1) (e) (Rev. 2008); § 73-67-15 (1) (m) (ii) (Rev. 2008); §73-67-21 (Rev. 2008); § 73-67-35 (1) (Rev. 2008) Rule 4.2 Educational Requirements The following is a list of education requirements, which all applicants must meet in order to be licensed. A. To obtain a massage therapy license, an applicant must submit to the Board the applicant’s official and certified transcript(s) from the applicant’s massage therapy school. Official transcripts must be submitted to the Board directly from the approved massage therapy school. If a transcript is submitted directly from other than an approved massage therapy school for an applicant who does not qualify under the reciprocity provisions of Rule 4.5, then the applicant’s massage therapy school must be accredited and must meet the educational and curriculum requirements of Rule 4.2.B and Rule 4.3. 23 For a massage therapy school that has ceased operation, the transcript must be provided by a third party that is acceptable to the Board, such as the custodian of the school’s records, or that state’s massage regulatory body, or the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork, or the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards. B. The transcript must verify that the applicant has completed a board-approved training program of not less than six hundred (600) hours of directly supervised in-class massage therapy instruction, and at least one hundred (100) hours of student clinic, with a minimum grade requirement of “C” or better in every course of instruction, in the following subjects: 1. Two hundred (200) hours in massage theory and practicum, which must include a minimum of the following classroom hours in the specified subject areas: a. Ten (10) hours in legalities including Mississippi massage law and ethics. Students must be furnished complete copies of the most current MS Law 73-67-1 et seq., and the Rules and Regulations for this class; b. Twenty (20) hours in history, benefits, indications and contraindications; c. One hundred (100) hours in massage demonstration and supervised practice, which must include, but is not limited to, client evaluation, stroking, kneading, stretching, friction, percussion, vibration, range of motion, hand held tools and devices designated as t-bars or knobbies, and draping and turning; and d. The remaining seventy (70) hours may expand on any or all of the previous three (3) subject areas including electric hand held massagers, and/or be related to practical massage. 2. Two hundred (200) hours in science of the human body and must include a minimum of the following classroom hours in the specified subject areas: a. Twenty (20) hours in anatomy, including all body systems; b. Twenty (20) hours in physiology, including all body systems; c. Twenty (20) hours in myology/kinesiology; d. Twenty (20) hours in neurology; e. Twenty (20) hours in pathology, including medical terminology; and f. The remaining one hundred (100) hours may expand on any or all of the previous six (6) subject areas and/or be related to the science of the human body. 3. Two hundred (200) hours in allied modalities and must include, but are not limited to, a minimum of the following classroom hours in the specified subject areas: a. Seven (7) hours in Eastern, European and Western theory/methods; b. Eight (8) hours in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid; c. Ten (10) hours in charting and documentation; d. Twenty-five (25) hours in hydrotherapy and infrared heat; e. Twenty (20) hours in referral methods within the health care system; and 24 f. The remaining one hundred thirty (130) hours may expand on any or all of the previous five (5) subject areas, including The Americans with Disabilities Act, and/or be devoted to any approach to massage therapy and wellness, such as trigger points, management, communication, safety, oriental or Eastern massage techniques and specialized populations. 4. One hundred (100) hours in supervised student clinic and must include at least fifty (50) practical hands-on one-hour massage therapy sessions. Each session is to be documented on a student clinic log, signed and dated by both the instructor and the student. Supporting session documents shall include; a. A client intake form with the client’s name and address, as well as reasons for the session, medical history and possible indications and contraindications, and a medical release, signed and dated by the client, instructor and the student therapist; b. Session notes documented in SOAP format, signed and dated by the instructor and the student therapist, c. An evaluation of the session by the client, including the client’s name, the date of the session, and the signatures and date of the client, instructor and the student therapist. All session documents shall be kept on file at the school for a minimum period of two (2) years. Each completed session shall constitute two (2) hours of student clinic, to include the one hour of actual session and one hour of class time for instruction and evaluation of the session. All 100 hours shall be acquired in the school student clinic. All hands-on sessions must be supervised by an instructor, board licensed in the area being supervised. While students are prevented from accepting any form of compensation for these sessions, and a notice to this effect shall be clearly posted in the clinic reception area, the school may maintain a tip jar for those clients desiring to tip. Any such proceeds shall be used for the benefit of the class as a whole or may be donated to a charitable organization. Source: Miss Code Ann. § 73-67-15 (1) (g) (h) (Rev. 2008); § 73-67-25; (Rev. 2008); § 73-67- 35 (1) (Rev. 2008)