Tuesday, August 1, 2017

FYE: Motivation: Why I wrote this book in this way


We have to imagine the world we want.
—Cheryl Rofer

Who are we, as massage therapists in the United States? And are we professionally, as a group, where we want to be by now? If not, then how are we going to fix that problem?

While we, as a group, are making that decision, and planning how to accomplish our goals, we will continually be shaping our identity along the way. This situation means that Vonnegut's counsel on being careful (which we will discuss next) is especially important to us, and to all of those whom we interact with and relate to.

This book is written from the point of view of an American MT who aspires to be a healthcare professional in reality, as well as in name. Literacy in its many forms is a key aspect of attaining that goal. Above all, literacy is about close reading and deep understanding. So we will read together a great deal in this book, to cultivate those skills, and to get us closer to where we want to be.

We have a real problem in MT, in that very few people take us seriously as a reality-based healthcare profession. Once, I went to consult with an anatomy professor, because she had a deep knowledge of human anatomy that I wanted to draw upon.

The conversation went like this:

ME: "Hiya, Doc—mind if I ask you a couple of questions?"
ANATOMY PROFESSOR: "Sure, go ahead—what do you want to know?"
ME: "Well, I'm designing an anatomy information system for massage therapists, and…"



I trailed off as I watched her grab her sides, and shake with uncontrollable laughter. She leaned against the wall, and tried to catch her breath. Seeing me glare at her, she tried to compose herself, and apologized: "Sorry, I didn't realize you were serious!", before dissolving once again into peals of laughter and ending by snort-laughing at the idea.

I never did finish my question to her; instead, I went and asked someone else, who managed to keep a straight face at the idea of valid scientific information for MTs.

If that had been the only time that such a thing happened, I would have just written her off as a crank with an ax to grind against massage for some unknown reason. But it was far from the only time.

One of the reasons that I wrote this book is that I don't want people laughing at the very idea of massage as a real healthcare profession, nor do I want them continually telling me that I am surprisingly professional and knowledgeable, "for a massage therapist".

I want them to start from the assumption that, of course, massage merits serious consideration, and then to go from there. However, in order to get to that point, we have a great deal of work to do, so let's get started.

By the way, Cheryl Rofer is a scientist. So she knows that imagining the work we want is not enough. It's only the first step, and it's on us to take action to realize it.

I want to realize a world in which massage is a valued mainstream healthcare profession that is taken seriously, and where those who practice it are regarded as full-fledged members of the patient-centered healthcare team. That's why I wrote this book in this way, and it will be up to you to let me know whether I succeeded at the task.

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