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What's Happening at the RMTAO
Renew Your RMTAO Membership Today
Your membership, and insurance if purchased, expires October 1, 2021. Renew today and renew your commitment to the massage therapy profession!
After a difficult year in the massage therapy profession and around the world, the RMTAO will continue to help RMTs move towards a brighter future. We can work together to move forward and continue to build upon our strong professional foundations.
As we continue to gradually recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the government and other stakeholders begin to focus on other priorities, it’s more important than ever that the RMTAO is your voice in healthcare.
In addition to having an advocate on your behalf, there are a lot of benefits to being an RMTAO member.
RMTAO members have access to helpful resources to help you grow your practice, discounts on valuable products and services including insurance products, work wear, massage therapy software and phone plans, and evidence-based continuing education opportunities.
Advocacy Update - Vaccination Requirements
 The evolving COVID-19 situation has resulted in some recent changes from the province and the Ministry of Health. These changes do not directly affect most RMTs. However, the RMTAO continues to work closely with the Ministry of Health and the CMTO to monitor the situation so that we can make members aware of changes as they happen.
The new Directive (Directive 6) mandates hospitals and home and community care service providers to have a COVID-19 vaccination policy for employees, staff, contractors, students and volunteers, and for ambulance services to have a COVID-19 vaccination policy for paramedics. These policies include mandatory vaccination of employees. This does not affect RMTs unless you work in one of these environments.
I want members to be aware that all employers are able to mandate their own vaccination policies as long as they are aligned with the government guidelines outlined in Directive 6.
I would appreciate hearing from members by email if your employer has established a mandatory vaccination policy at your workplace outside of those specific settings named in Directive 6. If this happens, contact me at michael@rmtao.com.
The Association supports RMTs being vaccinated and following the safety guidelines set out by the Ministry and the CMTO. The Delta variant is extremely transmissible especially for the unvaccinated.
For those wishing to know more about Directive 6 the following link will be helpful.
Your RMTFind.com Listing
RMTAO members have access to one FREE listing on RMTFind.com, which is a great tool to market your practice.
Thousands of members of the public search RMTFind.com every week by postal code, city or name to find the best RMT for them in their area.
If you’d like to have more than one business address listed on RMTFind.com, you can purchase additional listings for $12 per listing, per year.
You are responsible for adding your RMTFind listing and keeping it up to date, as some members do not want to appear on RMTFind.com for a variety of reasons.
To add or update your listing, log on to RMTAO.com and click on My RMTFind.com listing on the left side of your screen.
This benefit is only available to RMTAO members, so be sure to renew your membership online today!
Program Spotlight - Home and Auto Insurance
Do you practice out of your home? If so, many home insurance plans won’t cover you.
Robertson Hall offers members 20% off home insurance and specializes in covering people who have a home-based business.
Robertson Hall also offers members 25% off auto insurance as well as discounts on tenants insurance and discounts on pet insurance.
To access this discount, you are required to be a current member of the RMTAO and pay a one-time $24 enrolment fee.
You can pay the enrolment fee when you renew your membership online.
You can contact Robertson Hall for a no-obligation quote at 1-800-640-0933.
Read more about Robertson Hall
Two New Webinars in October
The RMTAO is pleased to offer a two new webinars this October!
Effective Networking: Communicate to Influence the TED way will be presented by Emilie McKay on October 13 at 11:30 a.m.
In this webinar, gain insight about how to effectively communicate with World Class Speaking and TEDx Coach, Teri Kingston. Learn speaking-skills through TED-style storytelling and increase your level of influence. Then, learn creative ways to channel this communication into networking opportunities.
Attendees wil learn about the importance of networking, as well as networking skills that can be applied both inside and outside the clinic.
A Person-Centered Approach to Evidence-Based Practice will be presented on October 27 at 10 a.m. by Monica Noy.
This webinar will provide an overview of the differences between Person-Centred and Evidence-Based Practice and how to meld the two in an evidence-informed massage therapy setting. Participants will be introduced to the CauseHealth Project, which offers a unique view of understanding causal narratives in healthcare and provides some clinically relevant tools that can be adapted for RMT use. The webinar will use case study examples to explore causal narratives for both the patient and the RMT, and explore though examples the relevance of guideline recommendations in those situations.
Space is limited in both these webinars, and all our webinars throughout the next two months, so register online now.
Member Question of the Week
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Do the new vaccine mandates impact me as an RMT?
Currently vaccines are being mandated for staff and volunteers in hospitals and home and community care settings. This will not apply to most RMTs, as most RMTs do not work in these settings. However, there are some RMTs who do work in these settings.
For RMTs who are not vaccinated and are working in these settings, the options will be:
- Provide a medical reason for not being vaccinated against COVID-19; or
- Completion of a COVID-19 vaccination educational session.
If you are a clinic owner or an employer, you can mandate your own vaccine policy as long as it’s aligned with the government directives in Directive #6. You can find the details of Directive #6 here.
The RMTAO is continuing to monitor the government’s COVID-19 guidance and will provide updates to you as we receive them. The CMTO expects that a resource from the Ministry of Health to support implementation of these new requirements will be released soon. Please continue to visit the CMTO COVID 19 page for any updates.
Do you have a question? Email info@rmtao.com
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Business Tip of the Week
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Give Your Self-Confidence a Boost
Do you have a hard time voicing your thoughts at work, even — especially — when you want to? You’re not alone. The important thing to remember is that your lack of confidence isn’t an inherent flaw. Confidence can be learned and practiced. Here are a couple of steps to help you get started.
Step 1: Connect with yourself. Take the time to understand who you are, where your motivations lie, and what makes you unique, because there’s literally no one else who will share your particular point of view. You have something important to share, no matter how obvious or uninspiring it may seem to you.
Step 2: Focus on building confident behaviors (such as speaking up in a meeting or asserting yourself when someone interrupts you). Don’t worry if that doesn’t happen overnight; any mindset shift is going to take time. So, start small and be deliberate about each effort. Don’t expect change to happen overnight. Confidence is a muscle!
Adapted from “How to Build Confidence at Work,” by Ann Howell
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Research Article of the Week
The effect of long-term poor sleep quality on risk of back-related disability and the modifying role of physical activity
Sleep problems and regular leisure time physical activity (LTPA) are interrelated and have contrasting effects on risk of back pain. However, no studies have investigated the influence of long-term poor sleep quality on risk of back-related disability, or if LTPA modifies this association. The study comprised data on 8601 people who participated in three consecutive surveys over ~ 22 years, and who reported no chronic back pain at the two first surveys. Adjusted risk ratios (RRs) for back-related disability were calculated at the last survey, associated with the joint effect of changes in sleep quality between the two first surveys and meeting physical activity guidelines at the second survey. Compared to people with long-term good sleep, people with long-term poor sleep had nearly twice the risk of back-related disability (RR 1.92, 95% CI 1.48-2.49). There was no statistical interaction between sleep and LTPA but people who reported long-term poor sleep and meeting the physical activity guidelines had 35% lower risk of back-related disability compared to people with same level of sleep problems, but who not met the guidelines. These findings suggest that long-term poor sleep quality contributes to a substantially increased risk of chronic and disabling back pain irrespective of LTPA.
Skarpsno ES, Nilsen TIL, Mork PJ. The effect of long-term poor sleep quality on risk of back-related disability and the modifying role of physical activity. Sci Rep. 2021 Jul 28;11(1):15386.
Read the full article...
The Learning Curve - The RMTAO Education Series
Upcoming Community Networks and Related Activities
The RMTAO has created a feature on RMTAO.com for Community Networks. Members and non-members can access information about the latest upcoming network activities on our list of upcoming events! Don't see a Community Based Network near you? You can contact Angela Paton at angela@rmtao.com to learn more about starting one.
Simcoe County CBN Meeting
Date: August 23, 2021
Time: 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Location: St. Louis Bar & Grill (494 Veterans Dr)
Topic: Let's meet on the St. Louis Bar & Grill (494 Veterans Dr) patio to catch up!
RSVP: Jenn Hewitt, jenniferhewittrmt@gmail.com or RSVP in the Facebook Event
London CBN Meeting
Date: September 5, 2021
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Topic: Monthly chat for RMTs, grads and students, you don't have to be a RMTAO member. Feel free to add topics or ask questions in the comments ahead of time. You don't have to be from the London area. You are welcome to lurk, no-one is put on the spot, video optional.
We'll catch up on RMTAO and CMTO news, upcoming & past courses, brains-trust for anyone who needs support/ideas/guidance, plus anything anyone wants to raise.
This month we will be discussing RMTAO membership renewal and
RSVP: Dani Faucher, danifaucher.rmt@gmail.com
Upcoming meetings: October 3, November 7, December 5
Toronto West CBN Meeting
Date: September 20, 2021
Time: 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Topic: Check in. New standards of practice, STRiVe Expectations, RMTAO membership benefits
RSVP: Contact Susan Bessonette at susan.bessonette@rogers.com, or Andrew Clapperton at a.clapperton@sympatico.ca to RSVP and for virtual meeting information
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