Ontario College Advanced Diploma in Massage Therapy Curriculum
Accepting Applications for September 2019
Courses and Descriptions
Semester 1
Anatomy & Physiology I
This course is designed to provide the student with an understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the human body. It will begin with an introduction to the organization and the cellular/tissue basis of the human body. The systems that will be focused on in this course are: integumentary, skeletal, muscular, nervous and special senses.
Communications I
Communications I is an introductory course that provides a foundation in college-level communications by teaching students to read critically, write appropriately for a variety of audiences, conduct and cite research, and revise for clarity and correctness. In seminars and labs, students will engage in both independent and collaborative activities, including the development of a digital portfolio designed to help them become more effective communicators in academic and professional environments.
Concepts in Health Care
This functional course will provide an overview of the Ontario Healthcare System. Students will examine the interdisciplinary role of healthcare professionals. Based on examination, students will dialogue about current issues and trends that impact the Ontario healthcare system, within the context of sustainability.
Healthcare Concepts for Massage Therapy
This course is designed to introduce the students to the role of the registered massage therapist as a regulated healthcare professional. Content will facilitate student understanding of: the professional role, commitment to practice, ethical concepts (e.g. client-centred care, confidentiality, boundaries), and critical thinking and decision-making.
Introduction to Massage
This introductory, foundational course provides students with the fundamental principles, theory and practice of massage therapy needed to practice as a professional massage therapist. Opportunity is provided to develop beginning skills in the practice of massage in a laboratory setting.
Co-Requisites
Introduction to Massage Clinic
This course introduces students to our on-site massage clinic and the operational aspects of running a clinic. Students will have scheduled hours in the clinic and perform clinic duties as assigned.
Co-Requisites
Orientation to Massage Therapy Program
This course is designed to provide students with some of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to have successful college and professional careers. It explores the program structure, code of conduct, learning support services, study habits, test taking, presentation skills, time management, and medical terminology.
Palpation 1
This course will teach the importance of palpation as both an art and a skill in assessing body tissue. On completion, students will understand the concept of Intelligent Touch and be able to palpate a variety of tissues including skin, fascia, bone, muscle, tendon ligaments, artery, veins, retinaculum & aponeurosis. HTLH 309 prepares students for Palpation 2 HLTH 313.
Regional Anatomy I
This course introduces the student to the study of the human body and the terminology used to describe it scientifically. It will examine its regions, positioning, movement patterns, and the basic structures that comprise the musculoskeletal system. This course examines the anatomy of the axial skeleton (head, vertebral column, thorax, abdomen and pelvis). The study of the structures of the musculoskeletal system (bones, ligaments, joints and muscles) and the peripheral nervous system are emphasized. The description of each region is completed with an outline of its vascular supply (arteries and veins) and lymph drainage.
Semester 2
Anatomy & Physiology II
This course is designed to provide the student with an understanding of human anatomy and physiology as they pertain to the following systems: Cardiovascular, Lymphatic, Endocrine, Immune, Respiratory, Urinary, Fluids & Electrolytes/Acid-Base and Reproductive.
Pre-Requisites
Clinic 2
This Clinical Experience provides the student with a clinical placement to apply the knowledge, skills, and professional attitudes learned in semesters 1 and 2. Students will be guided and evaluated by a clinical instructor.
Pre-Requisites
Co-Requisites
Communications II
Communications II, building on the foundation of Communications I, is a blended course that teaches students to write and communicate for a variety of professional situations. In seminars, labs and online modules, students will develop a professional portfolio that demonstrates their abilities to meet the challenges of a changing workplace.
Pre-Requisites
Hydrotherapy
This course will provide the massage therapy student with the principles, techniques, and application of hydrotherapy as it applies to the practice of massage therapy.
Pre-Requisites
Introduction to Assessment
This course provides an overview of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to evaluate clients in a massage therapy practice, prior to their treatment. On completion students will be able to justify and describe the assessment process and its characteristic sequence and methods. HTLH 312 precedes later courses that focus on how to perform and interpret manual tests in greater detail.
Massage Practicum
Under the supervision of a technologist, the students will give and receive massage. This course will allow the students to continue to develop the massage therapy techniques they acquired in Introduction to Massage and Ethics.
Pre-Requisites
Palpation 2
This course will provide students with the knowledge, skills, and professional attitudes needed to palpate the upper limb, head, neck and face. Superficial and deep structures of the human body palpated include: skin, fascia, bone, muscle, tendons, ligaments and blood vessels.
Regional Anatomy 2
This course examines the anatomy of the appendicular skeleton (shoulder girdle, upper limb, pelvic girdle, lower limb). The study of the structures of the musculoskeletal system (bones, ligaments, joints and muscles) and the peripheral nervous system are emphasized. The description of each region is completed with an outline of its vascular supply (arteries and veins) and lymph drainage
Pre-Requisites
Standards and Legalities for MST
Standards and Legalities for Massage Therapists is designed to provide the student with the opportunity to understand ethics and law as they currently apply to a Massage Therapy practice in Ontario.
Therapeutic Exercise
In this course the student will be experience standard and more advanced forms of exercise, and learn how to instruct clients and prescribe exercises in the context of a clinical practice. Students will use a variety of exercise equipment and cultivate an awareness of their physical bodies.
Across the Lifespan
Human development across the lifespan will be studied by exploring the interrelationship between biological, psychological and sociocultural influences from conception to end of life. Upon completion of the course, learners will have an understanding of individual development, in addition to the impact of lifespan development on families and communities. Learners will have the opportunity to follow an individual's development throughout the lifespan, using a variety of biopsychosocial factors.
Semester 3
Advanced Physiology
This course builds upon the knowledge of the human body acquired from the first year anatomy and physiology courses. It explores the concept of the homeostatic regulation of the nervous, respiratory, circulatory and muscle systems as well as nutrition. It extents this concept into studying the homeostatic imbalances involved in psychoneuroimmunology, hemostasis, inflammation and pain. The concepts of cellular adaptation, tissue injury and wound healing; neoplasia; and genetic disorders will also be explored.
Pre-Requisites
Clinic 3
This Clinical Experience provides the student with a clinical placement to apply the knowledge, skills, and professional attitudes learned in semesters 1 through 3. Students will be guided and evaluated by a clinical instructor.
Pre-Requisites
Co-Requisites
Joint Play
In this course students will acquire the knowledge, skills, and professional attitudes needed to use joint play as a treatment modality.
Orthopedic Assessment
This course will provide the massage therapy student with the knowledge, skills, and professional attitude needed to complete a detailed musculoskeletal assessment of a client using gross observation, postural scan, ROM testing, orthopedic tests, muscle strength/length testing, reflexes, dermatomal testing, myotomal testing, joint accessory movement testing, and palpation.
Pre-Requisites
Pharmacology for MST
Provides the basis for the massage student to formulate, implement, document and evaluate the effectiveness of a comprehensive plan/program of care (treatment plan); to present appropriate strategies to achieve outcomes related to common impairments (and related functional outcomes) for clients who have a variety of medical histories.
Treatment I
This course provides the basis for the student to create, apply, and evaluate the effectiveness of a plan of care. It examines the clinical decision making process, strategies for treating common impairments, and how to select and achieve goals related to impairments and activities for a variety of clients.
Pre-Requisites
- Anatomy & Physiology I (SCIE 157)
- Regional Anatomy 2 (SCIE 160)
- Introduction to Massage (HLTH 192)
- Therapeutic Exercise (HLTH 310)
Co-Requisites
Semester 4
Clinic 4
This Clinical Experience provides the student with a clinical placement to apply the knowledge, skills, and professional attitudes learned in semesters 1 through 4. Students will be guided and evaluated by a clinical instructor.
Pre-Requisites
Clinical Pathology I
This is a systemic pathology course that examines the major diseases affecting the musculoskeletal, integumentary, cardiovascular, and nervous systems. The etiology, pathogenesis, and clinical features of the various disorders are emphasized, as well as their relevance in massage therapy.
Pre-Requisites
Differential Assessment
This course provides students with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to interpret results of all assessment tests and methods, identify orthopedic conditions, and form an clinical impression for clients with orthopedic and systemic conditions, prior to the client?s treatment.
Pre-Requisites
Evidence Based Practice
This course provides students with the knowledge, skills, and professional attitudes needed to find and evaluate research evidence, and to apply it to a clinical practice.
Management Strategies for Small Business
This course presents a fundamental approach to managing a small firm in the Canadian business environment. It is designed to develop an understanding of planning the start-up of a business, its ongoing management and strategies for growth. Students develop an understanding of the legal forms of business ownership, the importance of financial analysis as a success indicator for the business and appropriate marketing tactics for promoting small business.
Palpation 3
This course will provide students with the knowledge, skills, and professional attitudes needed to palpate the spine, thorax, pelvis and lower limb. Superficial and deep structures of the human body palpated include: skin, fascia, bone, muscle, tendons, ligaments and blood vessels.
Psychology of Manual Therapy
This course introduces concepts of psychology that are relevant for the practice of massage therapy, including: muscular, fascial, and autonomic responses to trauma and abuse, altered body image, armouring and body structure, emotional release, psychology of degenerative disease and the dying process, and issues relating to clients with psychopathological conditions, including when to refer.
Treatment II
This course continues the aims of Clinical Treatment I by expanding on the knowledge, skills, and professional attitudes needed to create, apply, and evaluate a plan of care. It describes the clinical thinking process and applies it to clients with orthopaedic and systemic conditions. Conditions and clinical cases will be examined with respect to: signs and symptoms, structures involved, impairments and activity limitations, contraindications and/or precautions, evidence for treatment options, related home-care, progression of treatment, and prognosis.
Pre-Requisites
General Education Elective
All graduates of diploma programs require general education credits. These courses allow you to explore issues of societal concern by looking at the history, theory and contemporary applications of those issues.
Your program has designated some required general education courses. In addition, you have the opportunity to choose from a list of electives each semester.
Many of these courses and some other general education courses are also available through evening classes, by distance education, or on-line. See our Part-Time Studies Calendar for these opportunities.
You may already possess general education equivalencies from other colleges or universities. Please see the General Education Co-ordinators at the Peterborough and Lindsay locations for possible exemptions.
Semester 5
Case Studies
In this case-study course students will explore medium-to-high complexity clinical cases drawn from the field. Each case studied will present multiple challenges related to business, ethics, inter-professional communication, and treatment. Students will be required to integrate and apply all previous course material in a format which requires thorough preparation, group study and participation.
Clinic 5
This Clinical Experience provides the student with a clinical placement to apply the knowledge, skills, and professional attitudes learned in semesters 1 through 5. Students will be guided and evaluated by a clinical instructor.
Pre-Requisites
Clinical Pathology II
This is a systemic pathology course that examines the major diseases affecting respiratory, digestive, urinary, reproductive, and endocrine systems. The etiology, pathogenesis, and clinical features of the various disorders are emphasized, as well as their relevance in massage therapy.
Pre-Requisites
Co-Requisites
Law and Ethics Review
This Law and Ethics Review course is designed to provide the student with the opportunity to review ethics and law as they currently apply to a Massage Therapy practice in Ontario.
Pre-Requisites
Modalities
This course introduces students to modalities that are commonly studied by RMTs for continuing education credits.
Pre-Requisites
Preparation and Comprehensive Exam
This course prepares students to take the comprehensive Multiple Choice Questionnaire (MCQ) and Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). Students must pass each in order to graduate from the Massage Therapy Program. These examinations mirror the College of Massage Therapists of Ontario's registration exams. These examinations contain detailed material from all two years of the program.
Pre-Requisites
General Education Elective
All graduates of diploma programs require general education credits. These courses allow you to explore issues of societal concern by looking at the history, theory and contemporary applications of those issues.
Your program has designated some required general education courses. In addition, you have the opportunity to choose from a list of electives each semester.
Many of these courses and some other general education courses are also available through evening classes, by distance education, or on-line. See our Part-Time Studies Calendar for these opportunities.
You may already possess general education equivalencies from other colleges or universities. Please see the General Education Co-ordinators at the Peterborough and Lindsay locations for possible exemptions.