The Therapeutic Massage curriculum prepares graduates to work in direct client care settings to provide manipulation, methodical pressure, friction and kneading of the body for maintaining wellness or treating alterations in wellness throughout the lifespan.
Courses will include content in normal human anatomy and physiology, therapeutic massage, ethical/legal issues, business practices, nutrition and psychology. Students should consult with their advisors to help plan a program of study to complete program coursework and fulfill the minimum general education competency requirements that must be met prior to graduation.
Employment opportunities in North Carolina may be found in hospitals, rehabilitation centers, health departments, home health, medical offices, nursing homes, spas, health and sports clubs, and private practice. Graduates may be eligible to take the National Certification for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork.
Students are encouraged to begin the admissions process early so that there will be time for them to complete pre-admission courses before the Therapeutic Massage application due date, which is available in Counseling/Admissions. Two or more semesters may be required to complete these pre-admission courses.
SCC Requirements
- Completion and return of the SCC Application for Admission.
- Submission of a copy of high school diploma or GED certificate.
- Completion of reading, writing, and math placement assessment. Reassessment may be done only once, but no earlier than three months after the first assessment.
- Meeting with an SCC counselor.
Therapeutic Massage Program Entrance Requirements
- Completion of ENG 090, Composition Strategies, with a grade of C or better or test out of the course through the placement assessment.
- Completion of ENG 090A, Composition Strategies Lab, with a grade of C or better or test out of the course through the placement assessment.
- Completion of MAT 070, Introduction to Algebra, with a grade of C or better or test out of the course through the placement assessment.
- Completion of RED 090, Improved College Reading, with a grade of C or better or test out of the course through the placement assessment.
- Completion of, or enrollment in, ACA 115, Success and Study Skills.
- Completion of, with a grade of C or better, or enrollment in BIO 163, Basic Anatomy and Physiology.
Once the above program requirements are met, meet with the Dean of Students to complete an Application for the Therapeutic Massage Program. Applicants for the Therapeutic Massage Program must complete application procedures by the application due date in order to be considered in the initial selection of students. After the application due date, qualified applicants are selected for admission to the Therapeutic Massage Program in order of qualifications using the following criteria: placement assessment scores, grades in specified college courses, and proof of certification for selected previous health professional training. (A list of specified college courses and selected health professional training programs is located in Counseling/Admissions.) Individuals selected that are currently enrolled in pre-requisite courses will be accepted provisionally until said courses are satisfactorily completed at which time they will be granted full admission. If the currently enrolled courses are not satisfactorily completed then the admission will be revoked and the spot offered to an alternate.
If the list of qualified applicants who applied by the application due date is exhausted, like-qualified students who apply after the application due date will be accepted until the beginning of the semester classes. The total number of students enrolled in the Therapeutic Massage Program shall not exceed the maximum number approved by the North Carolina Board of Massage and Bodywork Therapy.
Submission of Required Documentation
Enrollment and continuation in the Therapeutic Massage Program is contingent upon the submission of the required documentation on or before the specified date communicated by the college. SCC follows the recommendations of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Department of Health and Human Services regarding the recommended adult immunization schedule. Admission requirements include but are not limited to:
- Completed health form
- TB test within last three months
- Immunizations (required)
- Three tetanus vaccines (one within last 10 years, may substitute Td/Tdap)
- Two MMRs or two rubeola, one rubella and one mumps or positive titers
- Immunizations (strongly recommended and waiver required)
- Hepatitis A & B series
- Varicella or positive titer
- Certification of ability to perform essential functions
- Malpractice insurance
- OSHA training
- Certification from students that provides evidence that they meet the conditions of physical health and/or physical capability at a level that is acceptable to and in keeping with safe nursing care to the public
- Certification from students that provides evidence that they meet the conditions of emotional health at a level that is acceptable to and in keeping with safe nursing care to the public
A copy of the SCC Allied Health Division Medical Records and Health Certification Form with detailed admission requirements, along with a description of the essential functions of the program which students must be able to perform is available in the office of the Dean of Nursing and Allied Health.
Students accepted into the Therapeutic Massage Program with previous physical, emotional, or behavioral problems which conflict with the safety essential to therapeutic massage practice must provide professional certification that appropriate treatment and/or counseling has taken place adequately addressing and developing strategies for accommodating the problem.
The therapeutic massage faculty reserves the right to deny admission to students who have demonstrated past behaviors which conflict with the safety essential to therapeutic massage practice.
Course Work
Students in the Therapeutic Massage Program must take major courses in the sequence of the curriculum master plan. In addition, all courses in the curriculum master plan must be completed satisfactorily, and a grade of C or better is required in all science and massage therapy courses used in the program. Basic Anatomy and Physiology must have been completed not more than five years before starting classes in the therapeutic massage program, or the course(s) must be retaken.
Relationship with Clinical Agency
The contract between Southeastern Community College and a clinical agency requires that the College abide by the existing rules and regulations of the agency. The College follows agency protocol regarding drug screening and criminal background checks. Accordingly, the College agrees to not assign, or to withdraw, any student from the clinical agency when the student is unacceptable to the agency for reasons of health, performance, positive criminal background check or other reasonable causes. Without access to the clinical facilities, students will be unable to satisfactorily complete the Medical Laboratory Technology or Phlebotomy courses. For further information, students should see the "Drug and Alcohol Policy" and "Drug, Alcohol and Their Health Risks" in the SCC Student Handbook.
At the discretion of participating clinical agencies students may be required (at their own expense) to be tested for the suspected consumption of alcohol/drugs. Students may be required to submit to testing after demonstrating behaviors or attitudes that may indicate the consumption of illegal substances or alcohol that interfere with the student's ability to provide safe and effective care. Clinical agencies retain the ability to refuse to allow individuals to work in their facility who may be using/abusing drugs/alcohol. Criminal background check and/or drug screening requirements are communicated to the students through the Dean of Allied Health programs or assigned designee
Dismissal of Students
Therapeutic massage faculty follow published college and Allied Health Department policies and practices that provide for identification and dismissal of students who do the following:
- Demonstrate physical or emotional problems which conflict with the safety essential to therapeutic massage practice and do not respond to appropriate treatment and/or counseling within a reasonable period of time.
- Demonstrate a pattern of unsafe clinical/cooperative practices or behavior which conflicts with safety essential to therapeutic massage practice.
Students who demonstrate behavior that conflicts with safety essential to therapeutic massage practice can be dismissed from the Therapeutic Massage Program regardless of whether treatment or counseling has occurred.
Students desiring to transfer into the Therapeutic Massage Program at SCC must meet the following criteria:
- Meet with the Dean of Students to verify that all current program admission criteria have been met.
- Have been enrolled in a state approved therapeutic massage program at a former institution within the past twelve months.
- Have written verification of good academic standing and clinical/cooperative performance from the former institution's therapeutic massage program director.
All transfer therapeutic massage courses will be evaluated by SCC's therapeutic massage program director and the dean of allied health. To be eligible to transfer, courses must be equivalent to courses offered at SCC in both theory and clinical/cooperative elements. The Dean of Arts & Sciences will determine the transferability of general education courses (Credits for Courses Not Completed at SCC, p. 65).
Readmission students must meet current admission requirements.
Time Guidelines
In a five-year period, a student may only have two entry-level (1st semester) admissions into the Therapeutic Massage program.
Students enrolled in the program who experience a crisis or illness of self or family that results in the necessity to withdraw from the program who have a passing grade in theory and are safe in the clinical/lab area may be allowed readmission into the same program/course as long as space is available and readmission occurs the next time the course if offered. SCC may not exceed the enrollment levels set by the state board.
Students who withdraw, drop, fail, or are dismissed from a therapeutic massage program with unresolved safety issues are not eligible for readmission to any Allied Health course at Southeastern Community College. Unsafe clinical practice is defined as any clinical practice or act that threatens the safety or well-being of the public (See Dismissal of Students).
Criteria
Criteria for readmission selection are based on best-qualified status. Best qualified is determined by grades in specified college courses and selected previous health professional training. (A list of specified college courses and selected health professional training programs is located in Counseling/Admissions.)
Readmission of students who were dismissed from the program for physical, emotional, or behavioral problems which conflicted with the safety essential to therapeutic massage practice is contingent on professional documentation that appropriate treatment and/or counseling has taken place and that the problem has been adequately accommodated.
When a student is allowed to repeat an allied health course for which they had previously earned a grade of C or greater, the grade earned for the repeated allied health course will be the only grade used in program progression consideration or program grade point average computations. The most recent grade earned is most reflective of the student’s current knowledge and its application to safe healthcare practice.
- BIO 271 Pathophysiology
- BUS 230 Small Business Management
- MTH 110 Fundamentals of Massage
- MTH 120 Ther Massage Applications
- MTH 125 Ethics of Massage
Lead Instructor: Susan Hughes