CMTBC - New Evidence-Based Practice Standard of Practice and Scope of Practice Standard of Practice now in effect

Development of the Standards of Practice
In 2022, CMTBC began development of a new Scope of Practice Standard of Practice and Evidence-Based Practice Standard of Practice. These two standards were developed concurrently, in response to an identified need to define the minimum level of expected performance for RMTs in relation to scope of practice and evidence-based practice. RMTs and public representatives on the CMTBC Quality Assurance Committee, and members of the College’s Standards of Practice working group, assisted by staff, contributed to development of both standards.

Scope of Practice
The Scope of Practice Standard of Practice sets clear expectations for RMTs on the activities that they are educated and authorized to perform, as established through the legislated definition of “massage therapy” in section 1 of the Massage Therapists Regulation and Notices to the Profession issued by CMTBC in relation to scope of practice.

The standard includes:
A definition of scope of practice;
Eight minimum requirements for RMTs to follow in working within their scope of practice;
An appendix with definitions of terms used in the Scope of Practice standard;
An “Application to Practice” section that provides links to resources that RMTs should review.

Evidence-Based Practice
The Evidence-Based Practice Standard of Practice sets clear expectations for how RMTs incorporate an evidence-based practice approach into their practice.

The standard includes:
A definition of evidence-based practice;
Four minimum requirements for RMTs to follow when incorporating an evidence-based approach in their practice;
An appendix with definitions of terms used in the Evidence-Based Practice standard;
Additional resources to help RMTs understand and apply the Evidence-Based Standard of Practice to their practice will be provided to RMTs by the end of January.

Consent Standard of Practice
The Consent Standard of Practice, which came into force on January 15, 2019, sets clear expectations for RMTs on how to obtain consent from patients for delivery of massage therapy.

A review of best practices and relevant research underscored the importance of communicating in an evidence-based manner in practice, specifically when obtaining informed consent from a patient. For that reason, section 4(c) of the Consent Standard of Practice was revised at the CMTBC Board’s November 2023 meeting to incorporate a requirement to communicate with a patient in a manner that incorporates an evidence-based approach:

4.c. communicating in a way that:
i. is appropriate to the patient’s level of understanding, considering factors such as the patient’s age, language and cultural background. (See the guidance in the “Application to Practice” section of this standard.)
ii. incorporates an evidence-based practice approach.

Strategic Plan
Development of the Scope of Practice Standard of Practice and Evidence-Based Practice Standard of Practice reflect the CMTBC Strategic Plan, set in 2020, to continue the development and modernization of standards of practice for massage therapy in BC.

The Indigenous Cultural Safety, Humility, and Anti-Racism (ICSHAR) Standard of Practice, announced in September 2023, went into effect January 1, 2024. The ICSHAR standard sets clear expectations for how RMTs are to provide culturally safe and anti-racist care for Indigenous patients.