Gladys’ Story, An Inspiring Student’s Story from Oregon School of Massage
Gladys’ Story – Part III
Written by Gina King
You may have read about our Oregon School of Massa[...]
This article is about the transition from being a student to being a licensed massage therapist (LMT); it focuses on Oregon massage licensing which is one of the necessary steps. It is the second installment from Wendy McKee who graduated from Oregon School of Massage and became licensed in 2010. To read her first piece go to the April 8 blog.
By Wendy McKee
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…to quote Charles Dickens. Summer of 2010—I was approaching the end of my last term, graduation from OSM, and an end to the set of challenges I had adapted to since starting school in summer 2009. This meant no more homework, or trying to schedule practice massages outside of class, or memorizing weird names like gluteus maximus, glomerulus, nephron…and another hundred like them—for every one I memorized, another 3 popped up to take its place!
But it also meant no more hanging out with friends and associates in classes, or exploring together with people who had gone from strangers, to friends on a similar road; no more playing with Charlie, and maybe the scariest, another big change due to the loss of the structure that had become my new life for the last 15 months.
I was excited to reach the landmark of graduation, but also nervous about what lay beyond. In the immediate future were some looming dragons challenging my further progress. Passing my finals was my first concern. No point in worrying about the licensing tests if I didn’t successfully complete my classes! Then there was graduation, potent with the unknown emotions of my transition from school to…whatever. Right beyond that was the written test, and then the practical, to become licensed to do massage in Oregon. Very scary dragons to me. At first, I hardly even thought beyond that, about actually figuring out where to work!
I was fortunate in that 2 of my fellow grads were diving into the licensing tests at the same pace I was. We prepared, were scared, and celebrated our way together through the whole licensing process—studying, having a firm test date rapidly approaching, nerves, but ultimately tremendous satisfaction. I was—still am—greatly appreciative of the help and of the richness added to that phase by preparing with fellow grads/friends. I’ve never been a study group person, but studying kines with fellow students gave me qualified feedback on what I was doing and saying, and we doubled up on our learning: I practiced while I was demo-ing the muscles, and I reviewed while I was on the table receiving practice with notes in front of me, hearing and feeling my fellow grad working through the muscle list for the day.
Looking back at that time now, it was terribly scary up until the tests actually started. Once actually into both the written and the practical, I realized and appreciated how well my school had prepared me not only to pass these tests, but, with appropriate review for tests of this magnitude, to do well at them.
One element of the licensing exams set the stage for the next phase—actually going to work as an LMT: During the tests there was no teacher or fellow student to ask questions of. I had to go down inside myself, especially in the practical, search for all that I could recall about each question, then rely on myself, taking full responsibility for decisions about how to work. This for me would be a large part of the next phase, the transition from student mode to LMT mode…and with paying clients!
