Learners' Perceptions of a Community Service Programme within the Therapeutic Massage Therapy Qualification

Abstract

Preparing learners for a health profession in a multicultural society and for a heavily burdened primary health care system requires more than merely transferring propositional knowledge and teaching techniques and procedures. Equally important in negotiating the unpredictable practical and ethical issues in the clinical encounter, is the health worker's personal and professional effectiveness. In an effort to move beyond a vocationalist approach to training for a health service, the Massage Therapy Institute in Fish Hoek employs a curricular framework that combines practicum and a community service programme (CSP) to guide future therapeutic massage therapists (TMTs) into the profession. The aim is to integrate theory and practice while simultaneously providing a service to the community and exposing learners to situations that resemble authentic clinical encounters in the health-care context. This article focuses on a research project aimed at investigating learners' perceptions of the CSP within the TMT qualification.

Keywords:

• Therapeutic massage therapy (TMT)
• Community service
• Professional training