RE-REGISTRATION EAS PASS

INTRODUCTION 

Consumers who seek the services of a sport masseur attach great importance to the quality of the professional service. The public function of a sport masseur means that quality enhancement and performance monitoring are necessary. In this respect, expertise plays a major role. The quality of expertise enhancement is monitored through a system of re-registration. The guidelines for re-registration demand that sport masseurs take part in an adequate amount of creditable expertise promotion activities. The EAS  should ensure that the level of expertise of sport masseurs answers that considered to be appropriate according to scientific views.
A registration committee is responsible for this system and the EAS  Board plays an advisory role.

The registration committee must be granted the opportunity to inspect the procedures that are valid for re-registration.

 The examination requirements guarantee the quality of the service at qualification. The EAS  has decided to develop a policy aimed at further improving the quality of the service after qualification. At this stage, the EAS  considers the main instrument for this purpose to be expertise enhancement.

 The EAS Board is of the opinion that in order to provide good-quality service, refresher courses and further education are an absolute necessity.

Refresher courses and further education are forms of expertise enhancement. The quality of the refresher courses and further education are a test of the quality of the professional organisation (EAS).

 The EAS views re-registration and an important quality-control instrument.

Registration and re-registration

Candidates who pass the whole examination can be registered as sport masseur. The diploma serves as proof of quality at qualification.

Masseurs who wish to demonstrate to clients or employers that they are taking part in quality enhancement and expertise enhancement should be able to show some form of proof. The passport can serve this function.

 Expertise enhancement demands are made on sport masseurs who wish to be re-registered as recognised sport masseurs.

 These demands refer to:

• participation in recognised forms of expertise enhancement, including EAS accredited refresher courses and further education;
  

• other forms of expertise enhancement that are considered to be necessary by the EAS from the point of view of quality enhancement. These can include participation in congresses and technical workshops;
  

• the nature and magnitude of the activities as sport masseur; if the sport masseur is self-employed, then his/her massage room should comply with the demands of the NGS.
  Inspection and approval can be recorded in the passport. If the sport masseur is working for an employer, then the same applies. A sport masseur must fulfill the criteria of a sufficient workload: a minimum number of hours and clients.

Criteria for accredited further education/refresher courses

The term refresher course (or further education) implies: the enhancement of competence and performance, i.e. a combination of knowledge, expertise and attitude necessary to be able to perform adequately in practice. The criteria can be grouped under various headings: contents, educational set-up and execution.

 Criteria for the contents

• The subjects form part of the basic training of the sport masseur.

• Subjects and educational targets aim to promote the execution of basic training.

• The contents of the program link up with actual views on the performance of sport masseurs.

Criteria for the educational set-up

• The educational targets are formulated in such a way that candidates and others understand which outcomes are expected after completion of each module.

• The work plan is described per module.

Criteria for execution

• The organisers follow the code of the EAS.

• A standard evaluation form is used to monitor the progress of the candidates.

Criteria for accrediting refresher courses/further education

Further education is defined as: extending the basic training of the sport masseur. For example, further education courses accredited by the EAS  include.

• Injury prevention

• Manual lymph drainage

• Mental factors in sport

• Movement analysis

Further education courses will only be accredited if sport masseurs take part in these courses and they comply with the following demands:

• The course is given only by qualified instructors, or by persons who are permitted to give a certain course by the EAS.

• A monitoring system is used to record participation in the whole course.

Notes on the demands

A qualified sport masseur remains in the register of recognised sport masseurs for a maximum of 5 years.

To remain registered, a sport masseur must be employed regularly in this capacity. The definition of 'regular' will need to be worked out in a future implementing order.

Connecting demands in the field of expertise promotion to re-registration has an educative aim.

Thus, this does not imply selective testing in the form of an examination in which the result obtained is decisive for continued registration, but instead testing with a more educative character. The departing point is a quality-control policy to improve the quality of sport masseurs and not primarily the selection of sport masseurs who perhaps do not comply with the norms.

APPENDIX

Both within the Foundation and particularly outside, attention must be drawn to the fact that a client receives guarantees about the expertise of the sport masseur by asking to view the passport as proof of the compulsory periodical re-registration on the basis of testable criteria.

It should be brought to the attention of consumer organisations (sport clubs/sport associations, etc.) that the passport serves as quality guarantee for sport massage.

The diploma is a quality guarantee for having completed training; the passport serves as quality guarantee for the quality of experience.

It has been proposed that members can participate voluntarily in further education for the first few years. Afterwards, it will be decided whether participation should be made compulsory. Initially, the monitoring system must be introduced in an accommodating and careful manner. Each member must be able to score points at a number of technical evenings and one or more congresses. This so as not to deter participation. At first, members can be encouraged to participate.

On the basis of the reactions and acceptance, also by the consumer (clients), the monitoring system can be further refined.

A point rating system has been proposed that is accommodating and does not act as a deterrent. Per half-day (at a technical evening, congress, course) 2 points can be given. Per 5 years, a total of 40 points must be scored. For a person's own congress, a great many points can be awarded (to stimulate departmental activities).

The technical evenings, congresses and courses must be recognised by the re-registration committee.

Only members of the re-registration committee are permitted to stamp passports as proof of participation.

It must also be possible to award points for participation in activities abroad.

The byelaws must state that the re-registration committee is authorised. The general regulations must contain an article about periodical re-registration. Each passport must have a registration number with photograph and stamp and an insert sheet for recording participation in further activities (see the above).

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Last updated on 8.6.2001