Under the CMTO’s new Quality Assurance Program (STRiVE), courses are no longer granted approval by the CMTO. It is up to the learner to demonstrate that a course is relevant to their learning goals and the STRiVE competencies. We have provided the description below to help the learner link the course to the STRiVE competencies. A course is often related to more STRiVE competencies than those listed.
The competencies below are established in the CMTO continuing education guidelines. This course addresses the competencies in many ways, including those described below.
Function in a client-centred manner. This course reinforces the importance of the pre-treatment assessment in a headache acupressure treatment, particularly because headaches may be indicative of more serious underlying conditions. Various headache types and causes are covered in depth to enable the RMT to select the appropriate treatment, make treatment modifications as necessary, and provide education to the patient.
Work within areas of personal knowledge and skills. This course provides the RMT with the opportunity to learn and become competent in a complementary modality that can be integrated into a massage therapy treatment. This knowledge involves recognizing where use of this modality is appropriate, and how to use this within the parameters of the RMTs scope of practice. Additionally, the course highlights high risk conditions where the limits of the RMTs scope of practice are reached, indicating the need to refer a patient to a medical doctor and/or collaborate with other medical professionals.
Practice in a self-reflective manner. This course enables the RMT to add the advanced complementary modality of acupressure for the treatment of headaches to their reservoir of techniques. The RMT that takes this course has reflected upon their practice and their decisions, and recognizes where knowledge should be enhanced. Through taking this course, the RMT draws on external information to achieve continuous learning and quality improvement.
Use an evidence-informed approach in your work. This course was developed based on current evidence and research by an RMT experienced in manual therapy and acupressure. The Dexterity PD promise is to evaluate every course on a biannual basis to ensure any developments or changes in the profession are reflected in course content. Thus, RMTs who take this course and adopt its recommendations can be assured that they are practicing in a manner consistent with current developments. A resource list is included in the downloadable guide to every course so that RMTs can conduct further research and/or confirm course findings. Any treatment recommendations are based on this research and the opinion and experience of the RMT who developed the course. All course content and recommendations have been evaluated by two additional RMTs to affirm the accuracy of the content. For more details, please see the Our Quality Control Process.
