by Dar Mikula
The onslaught of continuing education offers has made me consider the benefits of in-class vs. online instruction, especially when it comes to the requirement for ethics and laws and rules. The Florida Board of Massage Therapy will accept either live or online credit (as long as the courses have been approved!) so it becomes up to the individual therapist how one might want to approach compliance.
I’ve observed that most online options are cheap, quick, basic, and you don’t even have to leave the house to earn credit! Whereas, when you sit in on a class at the Florida School of Massage, you have the opportunity to discuss real life situations, be guided by seasoned instructors who have longtime practices, and interact with your peers. And you even get a chance to get out of the house!
Instructor Jackie Ferber said, “With the feedback I’ve gotten, people are really glad they took the live ethics and laws classes,” she said. 
“Therapists get immediate feedback on challenges, there’s camaraderie and professional discussions that you don’t get with the online format. People learn from one another and it’s an opportunity to be in a room with a variety of levels of experience.”
Ferber also pointed out that in our profession we often work by ourselves. “Unless you work in a group clinic, there is very little opportunity to have discussions about ethics,” she said.
Instructor Karen Ball joins Ferber in her thumb’s up on the live experience of this continuing education core requirement, particularly when it comes to the laws and rules portion. “I think a lot more can be gotten from the law classes when live as well,” Ball said. “Mostly because participants can bring up individual situations and we can help people figure out what to do within the law. Because of the format that FSM offers – with Laws and Rules and Ethics together – we also can get attendees to determine whether their personal laws (their ethics) match Florida Law.”
Ball said that when it comes to ethics, there are a few good online choices with a different slant on the topic. “It depends on the nature of the online course as to whether it is more useful or beneficial than live,” she said. “For example, I have an online ethics course called Conscious Ethics that does not lend itself well to a classroom. It’s a totally introspective exercise that is not designed to be influenced by outside opinions and information.”
Upcoming core classes at FSM include “Ethical and Legal Considerations in the Practice of Massage Therapy” with Karen Ball on Saturday, May 9 from 11:30AM-3:30PM, or with Jackie Ferber on Sunday, July 26 from 9:00AM-1:00PM. Suggestion: take care of all the core requirements in one day! Come from 9:00-11:00AM Saturday, May 9 and join instructor Kristen Toth for “Medical Errors Prevention” before the ethics class, or stay later on Sunday, July 26, from 1:30-3:30PM and knock it out while you are on campus.
Dar Mikula is the Assistant Director of the Florida School of Massage and Editor of the Connective Issue. Her other favorite way to get credit for ethics and law (not mentioned above) is by attending meetings of the Florida Board of Massage Therapy. The board meeting schedule can be found here. For the Board guidelines on this option, see “Other Methods of Obtaining Continuing Education” on this page.
