By Frank Merillat
Mary Reis and I were sitting in the staff room at FSM last week and we found ourselves discussing continuing education classes. We both are Florida CEU providers and instructors, and both of us also sponsor classes offered by instructors from other parts of the country. We were talking about how folks are not signing up for CEU classes in the numbers that we have seen in the past. We are seeing more classes canceled due to not enough participants. This has become a topic of interest to all of us who offer professional development classes.
We both noted that there are now many more opportunities being offered. I know that I receive daily advertisements for CEU classes both via email and regular mail. Many of these offer package deals, get your 12 live hours and 12 other required hours on line for one price, usually pretty low. I also note that most of these do not say who will be teaching the class, just the subject, location
I know that the CEU classes offered at FSM all are relatively small, offer the opportunity to have individual attention from the instructors, as well as contact at the tables to have clarity about the work that is being presented. I know that for myself I need the
These days I am looking for quality instructors. I take professional development seriously. As massage therapists, we represent the profession. We want to be seen as professionals, thus we need to invest in our skills. Those who do this become better able to meet their client’s needs. Thus we build our credibility.
One of the benefits of taking courses at FSM is knowing the quality of the instructors and how they teach. Do they work in a way that I learn? Also if they are sponsoring a class and instructor, there is a sense of what to expect. Mary and myself, as well as other FSM teachers, sponsor instructors with national and international reputations. This is an advantage of our school. Outside instructors enjoy coming to FSM because they get a class of well-prepared and interested participants. They get to share their work in greater depth. Participants get access to instructors such as Tracy Walton and her work with cancer and massage, Sharon Wheeler and Nancy Keeny Smith who work with scar tissue, Giorgia Milne and her approach to cranial sacral work, Ben Benjamin and Benny Vaughn working with orthopedic assessment and treatment and Deane Juhan and his exploration of Resistance/Release Work just to name a few. All of these are recognized therapists in their field of expertise and they come to FSM. We have these great instructors visit, which makes the classes more affordable. Do check out the FSM webpage to see who might be visiting as well as what is offered by our local folks.
I have been studying with Deane Juhan for many years now and do appreciate when he visits. I sponsor him so I can be in class with him. His ability to bring anatomy, physiology
I have also studied with most of the instructors mentioned above and would gladly attend again for the same reasons I bring in Deane. All are exceptionally qualified and able to share the work in an accessible way. They all have helped me grow as a therapist.
If you are interested in attending the class with Deane, please contact me directly at fmerillat@mac.com or call 352 371-0743. If an opportunity to work with another of these teachers interests you, check out the upcoming workshops on the FSM website and follow through. Whatever your CEU plans, be intentional; don’t just take a class to meet the requirements. Where are you looking to grow, what interests you and who can best offer you the opportunity to grow professionally?
