I had the new ISRM brochure drop through my letterbox yesterday and would welcome any informed comments or thoughts about the likely merits of that versusthe SMA.
It (the ISRM) is seemingly being pushed hard by the LSSM, who, I think,make validpoints about the relevance of remedial techniques within sports massage (and state in the brochure that the SMA are resisting the inclusion of such techniques in their core curriculum). With SMA membership up for renewal later this month, I'm unsure what to do - whether to stick with itor switch to the ISRM. Do you think the ISRM is likely tobuild as strong a position as the SMA seems to have, or will it be just another oganisation out there for people to join?
Living Lightly
RE: ISRM (Inst. of Sport & Remedial Massage)/SMA
Hi there, ive never heard of ISRM, so presume its a new organisation?? Do you have any contact details for them?
thanks
Richard
RE: ISRM (Inst. of Sport & Remedial Massage)/SMA
Hi - yes, it's newly established. The websiteis at [link= http://www.theisrm.com ]www.theisrm.com[/link].
RE: ISRM (Inst. of Sport & Remedial Massage)/SMA
Thanks for that. It looks like its been set up by LSSM as it has all the same board etc, so with everything happening in the industry, its probably been done to compete with the SMA.
The main problems I can see with this organisation will be 'exclusivity'. If they decide to 'accredit' only certain courses, then they run the risk of being accused of everything the SMA have been accused of.
The ISRM have already stated on their website that they do not support intensive massage courses, so im not sure where that would leave an organisation such as ours, as we run various course schedules, such as intensive 4 weeks, intensive 10 weekend and also a 10 month course, the graduates of which are all as competent as each other. So I would totally disagree with their statement, that massage needs to be done over a long period of time.
Another problem I can forsee is, the application for the regulation of sports therapy has gone to the HPC, which encompasses sports massage. The SMA are also planning on putting in an application, so im not sure where it will leave this organisation.
I think the only thing that can come out of this organisation is that maybe students and graduates of LSSM and its licensed course providers will join them, leading to either a weakend SMA, or even its collapse.
RE: ISRM (Inst. of Sport & Remedial Massage)/SMA
This is potentially a controversial thread, as was the thread in 2004 which sought to compare SMA and LCSP.
But (trying to be as impartial as possible), the ISRM is cheaper than SMA. ISRM full membership (including insurance) is £107. SMA is £155.
One of the main criticisms which has been made of SMA is that it only has six accredited schools. But ISRM is even more restrictive: at present it only has four (LSSM, its two franchisees, and one Scottish school). One of Mel Cash’s major criticisms of the SMA (in the run-up to the 2005 SMA elections) was his statement
“We know of several schools which run courses similar to LSSM that have been trying to get SMA recognition for a long time. But they have been continually blocked by ‘rules’ set by the SMA board. ... You have to wonder why after three years not a single new school has been recognised by the association, especially when the entry level is so basic.”
I am therefore very surprised that the ISRM has also only granted recognition to one of these “several” schools.
At the start of the very long thread dealing with the SMA, ‘sportstherapy’ asked what the advantages of SMA membership were. There appeared to be four:
1) many sporting organisations are only accepting SMA members
2) the SMA produce some very professional-looking ‘flyers’ to help its members advertise their services
3) the SMA has a ‘therapist directory’ on its website, which is advertised at some training venues
4) SMA members are included in the BOA voucher scheme
The ISRM does not (at present) have a ‘therapist directory’: there is a space on its website for one, but it is currently blank. And it might be worth noting that the LSSM therapist directory (through which I have gained some clients in the past) has been out of action for some time.
I have the impression that the ISRM will not be competing against the SMA in the world of ‘elite’ athletes. Mel Cash states in his opening editorial that
“Very few of us make our living treating elite athletes and/or working as part of a larger medical team. The majority of us mostly work alone in private practice treating ordinary people who need the remedial massage skills we offer to alleviate their minor soft tissue conditions.”
My initial reaction is that therapists who want to work at an elite level would probably be better advised to stay in the SMA. And therapists who want to build up a client base might also be better advised to stay in the SMA and take advantage of their ‘flyers’ and ‘therapist directory’. By contrast, sole practitioners who already have an established practice and aren’t bothered about working at elite level might feel inclined to save money by switching from SMA to ISRM.
Alan
RE: ISRM (Inst. of Sport & Remedial Massage)/SMA
Many thanks to you both, sportstherapy and Alan D, for your thoughts on the situation. The reduced cost and number of CPD hours for the ISRM is appealing, but it's a good point about the widepread recognition of the SMA andthe great fliers it produces. WhileI don't currently work with elite athletes,I do want to keep my options open, so I think I'llstay with the SMAfor the time beingandsee what happens to the two organisations between now and the next renewal.
By the way, Alan D, the LSSM register *is* active - at least, it worked for me on Friday when I tried it.:-)
Thanks again!
RE: ISRM (Inst. of Sport & Remedial Massage)/SMA
I was interested to see that the SMA has now renamed its ‘full members’ and ‘affiliate members’ as ‘members level 4’ and ‘members level 3’ respectively. They have advised their members:
“ Graduates from an SMA-accredited course or passed SMA professional entry examination = SMA Member Level 4
Graduates from non-SMA-accredited sports massage courses = SMA Member Level 3
Why make the changes?
One of the key reasons for making this change is that there is confusion regarding the SMA’s membership levels in the marketplace (both the general public and other related professions). We have found that customers of sports massage are confused by the differences between Affiliate and Full members and we also have numerous reported examples of Affiliate members ‘passing off’ as Full members in their marketing material by simply stating ‘member of the SMA’ ...
Why call them level 3 and level 4?
Anyone graduating from a non-accredited course can join as an Affiliate member – these are primarily courses run in local FE colleges at ‘level 3’ in the National Qualifications Frameworks. SMA-accredited courses are aligned to ‘level 4’ standards on the National Qualifications Frameworks.
Using this terminology makes it easy to match the qualifications and education standards to our membership levels.
Will Level 3 members be on the National Register on the website?
Yes and we feel this is an important step to take ... We will make changes to the Register so that all memberships can be checked and customers can not only see if a person is a member, but also what membership level they are at. The differences between member levels will be explicit on the Register ...”
To avoid any misunderstanding, I would stress that the above is a direct quote and doesn’t necessarily represent my own views. ‘sportstherapy’ has already questioned whether the SPS syllabus should be graded as ‘level 4’. But I think that the significant development is that people who were formerly ‘affiliate members’ can now be included on the therapist directory on the SMA website.
Alan
RE: ISRM (Inst. of Sport & Remedial Massage)/SMA
Hi Alan D,
Again I raise my previous point about level 3 and 4 training and wonder why courses are "at " level 3 but only "aligned to" level 4.
Why call them level 3 and level 4?
Anyone graduating from a non-accredited course can join as an Affiliate member – these are primarily courses run in local FE colleges at ‘level 3’ in the National Qualifications Frameworks. SMA-accredited courses are aligned to ‘level 4’ standards on the National Qualifications Frameworks.
Using this terminology makes it easy to match the qualifications and education standards to our membership levels.
i notice all VTCT, ITEC, PREMIER and YMCA are all level 3 and QCA makes no reference to level 4 courses in sports massage.
As far as I am aware the only training providers who may offer courses at level 4 sports massage have to self certificate as no framework for level 4 exists.
I have also searched the SMA website and find no mention of level4 courses, they may be listed in members area thou', to which I do not have access.I therefore beieve that the mention of level 4 is in some way being used to form an elitest register by SMA to further their own interests after the recent comments made on these forums about incompetencies at board level, and the recent application by The SST for state regulation, which may have consequences regarding the future of either Sports Therapy or Sports Massage.
Would any SMA members care to provide details of thier "aligned level 4 training" so that those level 3 healthypages readers may benefit from and bow to your superior training.
I do expect to be challenged about my opinions and will of course be corrected by the more knowledgable of the contributors to these forums, I do think that there should be more discussions on this issue.
Regards
Gaz
RE: ISRM (Inst. of Sport & Remedial Massage)/SMA
Hi Gaz
The LSSM course is certified by BTEC (which apparently requires a minimum of 120 hours in the classroom). I realise that some 'level 3' courses (eg Premier Training) also provide more than 120 hours in the classroom! The LSSM's view is given on its website, as follows:
ITEC V’s BTEC
(This is the opinion of the LSSM based on our experience over the last 15 years)BTEC (Business & Technology Education Council) are the national awarding body for vocational education and training in the UK. They are an independent body who verify the levels of training in State Education as well as Higher Education.
They are the external validators of the London School of Sports Massage and we have to meet their stringent requirements in all matters relating to the level of training we offer (all matters of quality control including formal marking & assessment procedures).
ITEC (International Therapy Examination Council) is a self-validating training organisation running its own courses in over 500 centres in the UK alone. They have no outside body to check on their level of training or whether it really meets the demands of the job (treating patients). From our experience, dealing with hundreds of ITEC trained masseurs in the past, we find that there is very little consistency in the quality of their training and much seems to depend on where you do the course and who teaches it.
According to the information shown on their website (and our experience) their massage course teach general relaxation massage which is perfectly acceptable in the Beauty Therapy and relaxation type of situation. Their course programme does not appear to cover any diagnosis/assessment, treatment or rehabilitation which are the key elements in any clinical massage practice.
The ITEC Sports Massage course programme does not cover any sports injury assessment, treatment, referral, training or rehabilitation. Although this may be acceptable for giving a general sports massage it is inadequate in the clinical sports environment*.
The ITEC Anatomy, Physiology and Massage course has been assessed as equivalent to 'A' level school standard; the LSSM course is rated at an NVQ level 4 which is equivalent to 'HND' level.
*Professional Indemnity insurance cover is based on the qualification you have. So if your training does not cover the assessment and treatment of injury and advice on training, then nor will your insurance.
Having done both an ITEC course and a LSSM course, I firmly believe that the LSSM course should be classified as a higher level than the ITEC course. But I have not studied with Premier Training (25 days intensive) or Active Health Group and don’t have first-hand knowledge of how those courses compare with LSSM.
Regards
Alan
RE: ISRM (Inst. of Sport & Remedial Massage)/SMA
Hi Alan,
Thaks for your reply, much appreciated. There seems to be a growing need for some kind of regulation in regards to training durations etc. We will have to see what the future holds.
regards,
Gaz