Clinical Massage Technical Standards

• Collect data, prioritize needs, and anticipate reactions.
• Identify cause-effect relationships in clinical situations.
• Sequence information.
• Make decisions independently within a role.
• Transfer knowledge from one situation to another.
• Process information from multiple sources.
• Analyze and interpret abstract and concrete data.
• Evaluate outcomes.
• Use long-term and short-term memory.
• Prioritize tasks.
• Receive, interpret, and correctly complete assignments (e.g.: reading, research, writing, and presentations).

• Establish rapport with clients, teammates, instructors, staff, colleagues, and others participating in projects.
• Respect and care for citizens whose appearance, condition, beliefs, and values may conflict with your own.
• Deliver massage care regardless of clients’ race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or diagnosis.
• Establish and maintain therapeutic boundaries.
• Exhibit ethical behavior and exercise good judgment.
• Manage interpersonal conflict.
• Establish professional relationships.

• Document and interpret actions and client responses in a clear, professional, and timely manner.
• Speak and write English clearly and distinctly in preparing documents. Listen and comprehend spoken and written words.
• Provide and follow directions from other members of the class or instructors.
• Convey information to clients and others as necessary to teach and direct in an accurate, effective, and timely manner as directed by the supervisor.
• Recognize and report critical client information to other appropriate authorities if needed for the client’s safety or the safety of others.
• Demonstrate active listening skills.

• Solves personal and interpersonal problems.
• Minimizes stress and conflict.
• Balances internal needs and external demands.

Physical abilities are sufficient to move in one’s environment with ease and without restriction.

Gross and fine motor abilities are sufficient to provide safe and effective Clinical Massage skills.

• Move around, and work in confined spaces and treatment areas.
• Maintain balance in multiple positions.
• Reach below the waist (e.g. plug an electrical appliance into a wall outlet).
• Reach above shoulders (e.g. move cubicle curtains).
• Reach out in front.
• Administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
• Sustain repetitive movement (e.g. CPR, Massage).
• Be able to sustain the physical ability to be standing and/or walking for the majority of a 6-8 hour with only short breaks.
• Pick up objects with hands.
• Use equipment (Stones, Therapy Bars).
• Grasp small objects with hands, and fingers (e.g. pencil).
• Write with a pen or pencil.
• Key/type (e.g. use a computer).
• Pinch/ pick or otherwise work with fingers (e.g. skin rolling).
• Squeeze with fingers (e.g. petrissage, deep tissue).
• Reposition immobile clients.
• Push/pull 50 pounds or greater.
• Lift/move heavy objects up to 50 pounds.
• Twist, bend, stoop/squat, climb stairs, and move quickly (e.g. responding to an emergency).

• Hear normal speaking-level sounds (e.g. person-to-person report).
• Hear auditory alarms (monitors, fire alarms, call bells).
• Hear faint voices or body sounds (e.g. prone client in face cradle, sounds of distress).
• Hear cries for help.
• Discern the instructor’s direction in a classroom, online, and lab environment.
• Review videos in the classroom, online, and lab environment.

• Observe client responses, see a change in skin color, and read thermometers for hydro therapies.
• See objects up to 20 feet away.
• Read electronic medical records and/or associated paper medical records.
• Use depth perception and peripheral vision.
• Review course text.

• Feel vibrations (e.g. muscle twitching/movements).
• Detect temperature changes (e.g. skin, fluids).
• Feel differences in surface characteristics (e.g. rashes).
• Feel differences in sizes, and shapes (e.g. identify body landmarks).
• Detect environmental temperature.
• Detect odors (e.g. foul smelling drainage, smoke).

• Practice common safety precautions.
• Safely work with potentially harmful chemicals used in health care settings.
• Work in areas that are close, crowded, and/or noisy.
• Anticipate exposure to communicable diseases, body fluids, and toxic substances.
• Tolerate exposure to allergens (e.g. latex gloves).
• Tolerate strong soaps and strong odors.

• Adapt rapidly to changing environments and/or stress.
• Calmly receive feedback.
• Demonstrate honesty and integrity beyond reproach.
• Provide the client with appropriate emotional support when needed using critical thinking skills.
• Deal with the unexpected (e.g. client condition).
• Focus attention on the task.
• Cope with your own emotions.
• Perform multiple responsibilities concurrently (e.g. ensuring appropriate tension and pressure of stroke while assessing physical and verbal responses while using body mechanics and safety measures observed).
• Cope with strong emotions in others (e.g. grief).
• Demonstrate sufficient emotional health to perform under stress, exercise good judgment, and promptly complete all academic and work-based learning responsibilities.