Professional Practice D. Flashcards
A new patient cancels their appointment five minutes prior because they state that they did not know the treatment would be so expensive when they booked the appointment online as there was no price listing on the website. How should the therapist handle this situation?
Apologize for the missing information and, as soon as possible add a price list to the online booking platform
After 25 years in practice a therapist has decided to retire. What must they do with their certificate of registration?
send it back to licensing body
In a region where massage therapy is regulated, an unregulated/unlicensed individual wishes to provide general relaxation massages in a spa setting. How could they be permitted to advertise and bill for this service?
Relaxation bodywork by a spa employee
During a treatment, where all appropriate consent has been signed or given, where can a massage therapist place their hands or fingers in regard to the patient?
Beyond the opening of the mouth
A patient has listed ‘three-month-old knee pain’ as their primary concern on the health history form. Which of the following would be the best way for a therapist to gain more information about the patient’s primary concern?
ask patient to describe how the pain started
A therapist wants to know if they are permitted to provide discount coupons to patients as an end-of-the-year ‘thank you’. Where should they first look for this information?
Their regulatory body
In the middle of treatment, the patient requests that the therapist include a sensitive area. How should the therapist respond?
Tell them they can incorporate the area of concern into the next treatment after the patient has signed a sensitive areas consent form
A patient requests a specific type of massage treatment for burning fat. The therapist has never come across any clinical evidence that massage can reduce adipose tissue. What should the therapist do?
They should ask the patient if they would not mind providing their sources for this type of massage so they can do some further research before providing the treatment
What would be the best way for a therapist to treat a patient who develops an erection during treatment?
As an erection can be an involuntary physiological response to non-sexual touch, the therapist should continue the treatment unless the patient makes an inappropriate comment or gesture
Which of the following is an example of a therapeutic relationship?
A relationship between a patient and a therapist that exists for the sole and expressed purpose of serving the health and well-being of the patien
A therapist is retiring. They have been running a home practice for 30 years and have always used paper charts. What should they do with the patient files?
They must keep them in a secure area for the mandated number of years
A 14-year-old patient does a walk-in for a massage appointment. They state they are in such extreme pain from a recent injury that it is hard to concentrate on what the therapist is telling them about the treatment. They have taken some over-the-counter extra-strength Tylenol, but it is not helping. In this situation, what would make the therapist consider this patient incapable of providing informed consent?
Patient is surfing from extreme pain
A therapist is told by their patient during treatment that a healthcare practitioner who practices a different healthcare modality touched them inappropriately. They recount that this practitioner stated that it would be ‘their little secret’ and that they would ‘not charge extra for the off-menu service’. The patient states that it made them feel very uncomfortable and confused and they will not be booking with that practitioner again. What should the therapist do?
Encourage the patient to report the incident to the practitioner’s regulatory body or gain consent to report on their behalf
A therapist finds themselves developing romantic feelings and becoming very attracted to one of their patients. They maintain professional boundaries during the treatments. On the patient’s third treatment, the patient states that they find the therapist very attractive. What would be an appropriate course of action for the therapist?
They should be honest with the patient and inform them that they cannot have a relationship with a patient and feel it would be best if they referred them to a different therapist
A patient file is accidentally left out on the clinic reception desk. The therapist for the patient sees it lying open and notices that another individual who is not the patient nor an employee of the clinic is just finishing taking a photo on their phone of the open file. What would be the best course of action for this therapist to take after they ensure the individual has deleted the photos?
Notify the patient of what occurred with their file
A patient’s insurance benefits for massage run out six treatments too soon. They are still in pain and explain that nothing has been helping as much as the massage treatments have been. They ask if the treatments could be billed under their partner’s name so that they could use their partner’s benefits, as they do not use them at all. The therapist is in agreement that the patient still requires more treatment, and stopping now could cause a regression of their condition. What should the therapist do?
The treatments cannot be billed under the partner’s name but the therapist could suggest the patient ask to be added to their partner’s insurance plan
A therapist has been seeing an elderly patient for a set treatment plan. The treatments have been greatly helping the patient get back to their daily activities, and the patient feels that without the treatments, they would have a very low quality of life. The patient informs the therapist that they have recently lost their pension benefits and will have to survive off of their disability benefits alone, so they will not be able to afford the regular treatments. The therapist decides to create a disability discount for the patient, which they record in the patient’s chart. What did the therapist follow by making this decision?
Values
A patient hands their therapist a copy of their most recent lumbar CT scan report and asks the therapist’s opinion on it. How should the therapist respond?
They should translate the listed findings to layperson’s terms and explain how it will affect the massage treatment plan
In which of the following circumstances might a registrant be required to take a general refresher course?
A registrant with less than 2 years of practice after graduation who has not practiced for the last 5 years
A massage therapy student has graduated and is waiting on the results of their licensing exams. While they are waiting, a clinic offers to hire them as a ‘student massage therapist’. The fee will be less than for a licensed massage therapist treatment. The patients will be informed that they are not receiving treatment from a licensed massage therapist, and they will be required to sign a waiver that they understand this. What should the student do?
They should not take this opportunity because they cannot practice in any capacity until they are fully licensed
A patient has been going to a massage therapist for the past two years, seeing them regularly for treatment of various issues such as low back pain. The patient has been very appreciative of the treatment, constantly praising the therapist for how much they have helped the patient. In the last two months, the patient has not been so complimentary or has been canceling their appointments. The therapist is hurt and feels abandoned when this happens. What is this an example of?
Countertransference
What is the primary duty or purpose of massage therapists as Regulated Health Professionals?
To be legally and ethically accountable to society
What should a therapist do if they are working with a patient whose value system is different from their own or who they just simply don’t like?
Continue to treat the patient and utilize this as an opportunity to learn and grow
When Health Care Professionals enter into a social contract with society, what do they agree to do?
Serve the well-being and best interests of their patients first
Which of the following is a therapeutic relationship?
A relationship that exists between two people, one being a therapist and the other being a patient, for the sole and express purpose of serving the health and well-being of the patient
Which of the following is not required for informed consent?
They must be 18 years old
A new RMT is providing a massage therapy treatment to Mark. Mark is a new patient who is seeking a full-body relaxation massage to help relieve stress from their busy job in the financial industry. While the therapist is providing some soothing effleurage to Mark’s quadriceps, they notice that Mark has an erection. Which of the following options would be the best way for the therapist to respond?
The therapist can ignore it and work on a neutral area of the body
Which of the following may occur when a therapist is found incompetent or incapacitated?
The revocation, suspension, or application of limitations on that therapist’s certificate of registration
While the therapist is verbally going through consent, a new patient begins removing their clothing. How should the therapist handle this situation?
The therapist can ask the patient to wait until the therapist has finished speaking and has left the room before disrobing
What is NOT an example of a dual relationship?
The patient is a referral from an existing patient
What is the definition of “Countertransference” when discussing breaches of professional boundaries?
When the therapist projects onto the patient old feelings or attitudes that they had about significant people in their past
What is the purpose of obtaining consent to treat sensitive areas?
These areas may be regarded as potential targets for misunderstanding of intent
Which one of the following is a role of a Registered Massage Therapy Association?
Represents massage therapists’ interests to the government and gives a voice to their opinions and concerns
What should a massage therapist communicate to their patients concerning record retention when they terminate employment at a clinic?
The therapist is required to ask the patient who they prefer to have custody of their file
The primary goal of health care professionals is:
To serve to benefit the well-being of the patient
A massage therapist has been doing mobile massage visits for clients in their home for several months, giving massages to both the husband and the wife. Unfortunately, the husband has been making sexually suggestive remarks, and although the therapist has asked him to stop, it seems to be getting worse. His behavior is making the therapist so uncomfortable that they don’t want him as a patient anymore. What is the therapist’s best course of action?
Tell him that they are no longer going to see him as a patient; if his wife asks why, tell her that as a therapist, they are bound by the rules of confidentiality with all patients and cannot talk to her about any other patient.
Concerning charting, patient files must be completed within:
24 hours of the treatment
During treatment, the patient states that he has left his infant daughter at home without supervision. What must be done legally?
Report this to the Children’s Aid Society
A patient requests a copy of their file. On review of the file they decide that some of the content is incorrect. The therapist disagrees with the patient because the information was their professional opinion. As a first step, what can this patient do?
Write a disagreement statement and request that the therapist add it to the file
How do therapists demonstrate professionalism in their practice?
Maintaining appropriate boundaries and working within their scope of practice
Encouraging and being responsive to a patient’s choice to accept, augment, modify, refuse, or terminate treatment is an example of what?
Client-centered care
Why is it important to establish proper draping boundaries?
It provides privacy, security, comfort, and establishes boundaries for treatment.
If a therapist retires or leaves a practice location, what is their obligation concerning client files?
Assist patients with a transfer of care, and advise patients how they can access their files
In what situation would a therapist be guilty of abandoning their patient?
The therapist does not provide a referral when they terminate treatment
What is a Standard of Practice?
A minimum level of performance one is required to demonstrate in the achievement of a task
What is a massage therapist required to do before sharing information about a patient with another healthcare provider?
Obtain written consent from the patient to release information
In a therapeutic relationship, therapists demonstrate professionalism by:
Keeping safe boundaries and a focus on the patient
A patient comes to see a massage therapist with a complaint of constipation, which they attribute to the pain-reducing medication they take for osteoarthritis. The massage therapist;
Must advise the patient on what that treatment will include, explain the options, and obtain consent to the treatment, including all areas of the body to be treated
