Article from The Chiropractic Journal

[waverunner]

I took a copy of this to one of the MD's I work with.  His reply.  "Lets order his system and take a look at!"  I was floored!!!!  He then told me "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer!"  "If we get his info we can either retro fit it, so that it works for the Massage Therapist and the Dr. or you can use it to write an article showing just what an A@# he really is."  "The only downside is we would have to pay for his info."It took me awhile to calm down, but then I realized he was right, either we take the info and learn or we allow him to keep right on using us.  I think I will talk to the Dr again about ordering this 'course'.  I will keep you all up to date about the situation--If we 'learn' anything besides this THIS GUY IS AN A@@!

 

[John B]

Anybody know which state this guy works out of?  I would like to forward this info to the nearest Dept Of Labor office and the state medical board he falls under.  Advocating discrimination is definately a problem that needs to be dealt with.

 

[drip]

Article from The Chiropractic Journal

Hi, everyone:I forwarded the link to this article to ABMP and got a response saying that Dr. Ricchio had received a lot of "feedback" on the piece, that he "stands corrected", and that they (ABMP) consider it to be "water under the bridge". **Edit: I thought it was resolved -- I got some clarification saying that "resolved" is not the right word, but that there was a lot of discussion.**However, I think Gator raises a good point. Telling other Dr.s not to hire male therapists is pretty blatant.I hope the guy has learned something, though I'm skeptical based on the tone of his writing. What a jerk.Andrea

 

[artofwar1234]

I forwarded the link to the body_work Yahoo Group I subscribe to.  There was much discussion on the issue.Some predictable, some n o t.The majority were sufficiently as miffed as I was.I know of about twenty people who sent along an email and or tried the 800 number.I never got a reply.  My emails were being answered automatically perhaps suggesting he was being bombarded with opinions....Some points raised got me thinking so that is always good.  You can't hire MT's at rotten wages if there aren't any who will accept rotten wages.The guy's a dirtbag, his practices are horrendous.  I just hope that any MT who had to succumb to anyone using his system got their life experience and was able to grow from it...and get out.Robyn

 

[Gerph]

Hot Topic!I have mixed feelings about this article.  I can easily see why other MT's are getting upset about this.  Since I love to play Devil's Advocate, here I go...#1)  This may be hard for some of us to accept, but we can be difficult to deal with.  I've read post on here about not wearing shoes while giving a massage...how would you feel if your gynocologist walked into the exam room without shoes on?  "That's different" I bet you are saying.  Not really.  Most of our clients are unclothed before they get onto our table just as we are in a doc's office.I know MT's that wear PJ bottoms, refuse to wear bras, and have tie die sheets.When was the last time a massage class, seminar or meeting started on time...as a whole we tend to disregard strict schedules, which is why I believe a lot of us get into this business...it's flexability.While we may not see any problem with this behavior, docs tend to see it as difficult.#2) Oh, this will tick some of you off, but here I go.  Most of us have spent anywhere from 500-1500 hours in school.  Most of us spent $1500 - $5000 to go to school.  Not a bad investment.  Chiros spend 6-8 years in college and somewhere around $80,000 (texas gal, help me out here).  Same thing with PT's.  THey have every right to have a chip on their shoulder about how much $ we make for an hour of our time.  As MT's we should feel very lucky to be in the position we are in and make as much as we do.  I can promise you when I got out of school I was not worth $60 an hour.  I am very realistic this way.#3) I am so surprised he put that in print.  Foolish on his part!  I will say in my experience I have had 5 male therapists work on me, 2 made me feel uncomfortable, 3 were the best massages I have ever had.  The odds are still in your favor, guys.#6)  He does not specify he has only 1 therapist working 7 days a week until 10 at night.  If he had 3 therapists and gave them all shifts, and they agreed to work them, yeaaah him.I am so sorry if I offended any of you by this post, but we need to look at ourselves honestly.  Some of the same reasons we are attracted to this proffession is our opportunity (and right!) to be quirky, independent, and unique.   I know that is one of the reasons for me.  And if that is the case, people are going to see us that way.My father has a saying "Sometimes you have to play a crooked card game if it is the only one in town."  If you are fresh out of school and are looking for steady money and a fabulous learning experience, this is the way to go.  Stay there for a couple of months, use them just as much as they use you, and then take your experience somewhere else.That's my story and I'm sticking to it...at least until I change my mind!