Purpose of professional registration: public protection and competency

The mandate of the College of Massage Therapists of Newfoundland and Labrador(CMTNL) is to set and enforce standards respecting massage therapy in the public interest. The CMTNL establishes standards for massage therapy practice and administers examinations in order to ensure that entry-level competency standards are met. In order to be registered with the CMTNL, massage therapists must pass registration examination.

IMPORTANT

You must of completed your registration examination no more than 2 years before you submit your application for registration with CMTNL.  If it has been more than 2 years since you completed your examinations, you will be required to either redo the examinations or complete a refresher course approved by CMTNL.  

About registration or certification examinations in general

The purpose of a registration examination is to identify candidates possessing an established level of minimal competency. In order to measure this, a link is established between competent day-to-day practice and the examination through a job analysis. A qualified, diverse group of Subject Matter Experts establishes an exhaustive list of tasks associated with minimally competent, entry-level practice. This list is sent as a survey to currently registered professionals who rate the tasks according to criticality and importance. Psychometric analysis then establishes a detailed, weighted outline of the knowledge, skills and abilities required of the competent practitioner.

This data is then used to outline the test “blueprint”, or specifications, that describes the content areas to be tested on the examination. The test blueprint gives teaching institutions and candidates clear information on the examination content, and provides a legally defensible link between competent performance, candidate opportunity to learn what is required, and the examination and the professional certification. All test questions and tasks must fall within the test specifications.