Nurses As Massage Therapist

Recently I taught a Skills Lab for the nursing program at Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts. This week’s learning objectives include massage. You may be thinking, “I didn’t know massage was part of the LVN or LPN schools training?” Usually massage is performed by the nurse or nurse’s assistant after bath care or at bedtime. Unfortunately nurses typically do not have the time to massage their patients. The good news is that if the student nurse takes the time to massage their patient’s hands during their clinical rotations, massage will more likely be incorporated into their LVN or LPN jobs. For the nurse who want additional training in bodywork there are massage programs with 500 hours of therapeutic massage and bodywork to earn the title Nurse Massage Therapist. According to the article Nurse Massage Therapy posted on MassageTherapy101.com, “[massage] is used to help patients recover more quickly from injury and illness, while also providing relief from any pain or discomfort they may be experiencing during the healing period.”

This article also states that Nurse Massage Therapists are now employed in various positions from private practice, nursing homes, hospitals, community health, and rehabilitation centers to Hospice. Massage is not only needed by the patient. Nurses also need modalities to support their well-being. One association that promotes this holistic practice is the National Association of Nurse Massage Therapy (NANMT). To become an active NANMT member requires a nursing license and certification by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork, or a state license to practice therapeutic massage/bodywork, or has completed a minimum of 500 hours verifiable instruction in massage and/or bodyworks. For those who are becoming a LPN or LVN, and want to know more about this specialty, you can contact the NANMT at www.nanmt.org.