A Burnaby massage therapist has agreed to a short suspension and financial penalty after admitting to B.C.’s regulatory body that she has at times used her phone while providing a client with treatment.
In a Jan. 3 post to its website, the College of Massage Therapists of B.C. revealed Najia Xu checked her phone numerous times with a patient in November 2021, and again with an undercover investigator in February 2022.
In the first instance, which resulted in a complaint to the college, Xu admitted she checked her phone three times while conducting a massage, thrice to check the time and once to read a text message. Each time, Xu continued to massage her client, but with only one hand.
When the college’s investigator arrived in February 2022, Xu used her phone three times for between 30 seconds and five minutes each. One time was to notify the front desk that there wasn’t any music playing.
The college’s inquiry committee found Xu had failed to treat her patients with respect or act in their best interests.
She has agreed to a five-day suspension, to never bring a cell phone into her treatment room, to pay a $1,000 fine and to pay $1,500 of the investigation costs. Xu is also required to undergo remedial education on professional ethics and standards of practice, as well as a one-on-one session with a College Practice Advisor.
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