Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/943527
Massage in hospice care is a practice of returning respect and dignity to the dying. These intentions cannot be cultivated within an unsafe foundation. As a school owner, it's time to provide the education practitioners need to enter into this groundbreaking field with confidence. For hospice organizations, it's time to educate your coordinators in order to create a strong, healthy, and safe massage program for practitioners, as well as patients. And practitioners, it's time to access the education you need to cultivate a nurturing and long- lasting practice. Own the depth of your value in this field. The one-on-one tenderness, communication, and respect you model educates those around the patient to the more human aspects of care for the dying. With everyone working together, hospice massage can continue to model that touch is the missing link in health care. Irene Smith, certified in massage since 1974, is a member of NAMT, CAMTC, and the Hospice Volunteer Association. She is an NCBTMB provider, a member of the advisory council for the Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Foundation, and an internationally respected author and educator. For her work introducing massage into hospice care on the West Coast in 1982, Smith received the World Massage Festival Lifetime Achievement award. As the founder of Everflowing, an educational outreach project dedicated to teaching touch awareness and massage as invaluable skills in caring for those in later life stages, Smith continues to teach live and online courses, create resource materials, and consult in the development of massage programs in hospice care. For information on training programs and resource materials, visit www.everflowing.org. • In-service trainings serve as support, in addition to serving the intention of education. Practitioners have the opportunity to meet each other and share contact information, as well as learn and review skills. These may be scheduled two or three times a year. • I find that as a private contractor, my reports serve as a portion of the support I need. I report my comforts and discomforts. This is also the place I advocate for adding or changing care strategies for my clients. Aside from structured support measures provided by the referral organization, spending time with and getting to know the staff and families during massage sessions can be comforting and informative. This type of networking is vital to a private contractor's support. PRACTITIONERS NEED TO OWN IT As a hospice massage practitioner, education and training are the primary foundation for a healthy practice. Seek out articles, consultations, and live training in adapting your current massage skills to those who are in end-of-life care. Educate yourself about hospice care and what symptoms are prevalent to the stages of the dying process. The online resources are vast in the field of death and dying. Develop interview questions for the organization you target. You need to ask questions: Does this organization provide a hospice orientation and overview? Do they provide in-house hospice massage training, and if so, what does it include? Would they support reimbursement for your clinical skill development? What type of referral system do they have? Is there a support contact? When you ask questions, you become an educator. You let the organization know what you need. Many organizations don't know what you need until you ask. Choose your contracting agency wisely. Choose one that asks you if you have skills adaptive to hospice patients, has a clearly stated referral process, assigns no more than 40 referrals, and that will support you and what you do. YOUR CHALLENGE I am profoundly aware of the value of massage in hospice care. Our service is much greater than the physical body we are touching. Our service teaches families strategies for staying connected and ways of reestablishing intimate contact when despair and hopelessness may have them standing at a distance. Our service brings hope to the health-care team that has no cure but sees relief, comfort, a relaxed face, less anxiety, or easier breath with their patients. This, in itself, connects and nourishes everyone surrounding the patient. RESOURCES Information on hospice care: www.hospicenet.org Stages of dying and patient behaviors and symptoms: Gone From My Sight by Barbara Karnes; www.bkbooks.com Massage in hospice care training and resources: www.everflowing.org h o s p i c e m a s s a g e 3