A Burnaby massage therapist has been disciplined for using her cell phone to check the time and read texts while massaging a client.
The College of Massage Therapists of B.C. launched an investigation into registered massage therapist Najia Xu after a complaint from a patient in November 2021, according to a notice posted on the regulator body’s website.
An undercover college investigator posed as a client in February 2022, according to the notice, and the investigator’s camera captured Xu using her phone three times for between 30 seconds and five minutes during the massage.
In a consent agreement, Xu admitted she had violated the college’s bylaws, code of ethics and standards of practice.
She admitted she had used her phone during sessions with a client between June and October 2021, checking the time, reading a text and massaging the patient with one hand while holding her phone with the other for a period of time.
She also admitted to massaging the investigator with one hand for a period of time while holding her phone with the other and to sending a text to the front desk during that session to say there was no music in the treatment room.
“The Inquiry Committee considered Ms. Xu’s admitted conduct to be serious, involving numerous breaches of professional requirements, and noted that by using her cellular phone during patient treatments she did not treat those patients with respect or act in their best interests,” stated the notice.
As part of the consent agreement, Xu has agreed to a five-day suspension, a formal reprimand, a $1,000 fine, partial payment of the college’s investigation costs, remedial education and a permanent condition not to have a cell phone in any treatment room where she is providing massage therapy.
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