Colleagues:
On April 19, 2010, the Committee on Accreditation of Recreational Therapy Education (CARTE) became a Committee on Accreditation (CoA) of the Commission on Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). The American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA) was accepted as the Sponsoring Organization at the same meeting.
CARTE is requesting nominations for membership on the Board of CARTE. Attached is a call for nominations for interested individuals.
The CARTE looks forward to serving as the first independent academic accreditation program for recreational therapy education and is implementing steps to seek nation-wide representation. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Thom
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Thomas K. Skalko, Ph.D., LRT/CTRS
Professor
East Carolina University
College of Health and Human Performance
Belk 1409
Greenville, NC 27858-4353
252-328-0018
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Committee on Accreditation of Recreational Therapy Education
(CARTE)
Call for Board Member Nominations
Nomination to CAAHEP CARTE Board of Directors
The Committee on Accreditation of Recreational Therapy Education is soliciting applicants for the following positions:
1 - Practitioner Position (3 year term)
1 - Practitioner Position (1 year term)
1 - Student Member (1 year term)
1 - Public Member (3 year term)
Qualifications are delineated in the By-Laws below.
For consideration to serve on the CARTE Board of Directors, please submit by June 15, 2010:
A statement of your interest in serving on the CARTE Board and
A summary of your qualifications as indicated in the By-Laws
Submit your supporting materials electronically to: skalkot@ecu.edu
Dr. Thomas K. Skalko
East Carolina University
College of Health and Human Performance
Belk 1409
Greenville, NC 27858-4353
252-328-0018
Background
On April 19, 2010, the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) accepted ATRA as a sponsoring member and accepted CARTE as the accreditation mechanism (CAAHEP Council on Accreditation or CoA) for educational programs that prepare individuals for recreational therapy practice.
In the fall of 2007, a group of educators and practitioners requested that the North Carolina Recreational Therapy Association (NCRTA) support a committee effort to determine the feasibility of establishing an academic accreditation program for educational programs that prepare students for recreational therapy practice in health care and human service settings. This group of educators and practitioners were concerned about the variability in the academic preparation of recreational therapists and the impact that variable competency development had on recreational therapy practice designed to achieve, on a consistent and predictable basis, patient/consumer outcomes that are valued by stakeholders in health care and human service settings. In 2008, the Board of Directors of NCRTA approved an ad hoc committee to begin this effort. This ad hoc committee became the NCRTA Committee on Accreditation of Recreational Therapy Education (CARTE). The NCRTA CARTE was instrumental in the establishment of the standards, guidelines and supporting materials for accreditation of recreational therapy education as well as developing CAAHEP CARTE By-Laws and initial operating policies and procedures.
As the result of over two years of planning and development, the NCRTA CARTE generated the document (unpublished), Accreditation of Education for Recreational Therapy Practice based upon an adaptation of the ATRA Guidelines for Competency Assessment and Curriculum Planning for Recreational Therapy Practice for use in accreditation of academic programs. The standards and guidelines for recreational therapy education included in Accreditation of Education for Recreational Therapy Practice are based upon a review of professional literature in health care, recreational therapy and allied health and standards of regulatory and accreditation agencies. The ATRA Guidelines for Competency Assessment and Curriculum Planning for Recreational Therapy Practice were designed around a set of competencies that were developed and refined over twenty-three years of application in practice and focus group work by RT educators and practitioners. These competencies represent the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary for safe and effective practice as a recreational therapist in health care and human service agencies. The standards and guidelines, forms, and site visitation process incorporated into Accreditation of Education for Recreational Therapy Practice have been field-tested and revised to improve both evaluation of compliance and the efficiency and effectiveness of the accreditation review process.
The CAAHEP CARTE By-Laws define the members of the CARTE Board of Directors and their qualifications:
Article III: CARTE Board of Directors
3.1 Board of Directors:
The Board of Directors of CARTE shall consist of three (3) educators from programs preparing students for recreational therapy practice, three (3) recreational therapists, one (1) student currently enrolled in an educational program preparing for recreational therapy practice, one (1) employer of recreational therapists and one (1) public member who is familiar with recreational therapy practice.
3.3 Qualifications and Criteria for Service on the CARTE Board of Directors:
The following criteria must be met to serve on the CARTE Board of Directors:
(1) Individuals must express a commitment to serve and fully participate in the Committee on Accreditation of Recreational Therapy Education;
(2) Professional Educators must be certified by the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification and state credentialed as applicable, possess at least three (3) years experience as full time faculty at an institution providing recreational therapy education and one (1) year of experience practicing recreational therapy;
(3) Recreational Therapists must be certified by the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification and state credentialed as applicable, possess at least four (4) years of experience as a recreational therapist including three (3) years experience in clinical education and have experience with the supervision of student interns.
(4) The Student Member must have been completed at least one year of recreational therapy education.
(5) The Recreational Therapy Employer shall have been involved in the employment of recreational therapists for at least 4 years.
(6) The Public Member must be familiar with the recreational therapy profession.
Several members of the NCRTA CARTE Committee have transferred to the CAAHEP CARTE Board of Directors to ensure a smooth transition as well as efficient and effective implementation of the CAAHEP CARTE accreditation of educational programs that prepare students for recreational therapy practice. Those NCRTA CARTE Committee members who transitioned to the CAAHEP CARTE Board of Directors are
Peg Connolly, Ph.D., LRT/CTRS (educator, two-year term,) Terry Kinney, Ph.D., LRT/CTRS (educator, one-year term), Thomas Skalko, Ph.D. LRT/CTRS (educator, three year term, elected initial chair CAAHEP CARTE Board of Directors), Pam Wilson, MS, LRT/CTRS (employer representative, three-year term) and Ray E. West, MS, LRT/CTRS (practitioner representative, two-year term).
CTRS Specialty Certification from NCTRC
Purpose of Specialty Certification
(5-15-10) As healthcare evolves, both the technical knowledge and the skills required to successfully practice in a complex service environment significantly increase. Although in practice there remains a need to possess a broad range of professional skills, there is an increasing expectation to develop focused and specialized knowledge and skills that are distinctive to a specific population and service sector. Health and human service professionals who acquire a higher level of knowledge and more advanced skill provide the consumer with a greater depth of service compared to individuals who practice at a less advanced level. Specialization is well recognized within professional practice and has become the norm within the health and human service delivery system today.
Establishing a method to distinguish professionals who practice at an advanced level is essential to ensure quality of care and risk management. The attainment of advanced knowledge and skill is acquired via several methods including education programs, conferences focused upon specific skills or diagnostic populations, and the successful acquisition of expert skills that have been mastered over a substantial period of practice. The primary purpose of NCTRC specialty certification is to acknowledge the CTRS whose practice has reached an advanced professional level, and to provide formal recognition of competence beyond the CTRS credential. NCTRC specialty certification provides an additional level of assurance to patients, consumers, and employers regarding the delivery of quality recreation therapy and therapeutic recreation services.
NCTRC Specialty Certification Professional Areas of Recognition
• Physical Medicine/Rehabilitation
• Geriatrics
• Developmental Disabilities
• Behavioral Health
• Community Inclusion Services
NCTRC Specialty Certification Summary of Requirements
Specialty Certification Standards
- CTRS active status;
- Completion of five (5) years of full-time professional therapeutic recreation experience within a designated specialty area;
- Completion of 75 continuing education hours that include a minimum of three (3) professional certificate trainings within the designated specialty area. Each professional certificate training must be a minimum of six (6) CE hours. The CE hours must be completed during the five year period prior to application; and
- Submission of two professional references: one from a peer professional and one from a recent employment supervisor.
- CTRS active status;
- Graduate Degree in TR/RT;
- Completion of nine (9) graduate-level credit hours within the designated specialty area;
- Completion of one (1) year of full-time professional therapeutic recreation experience within the designated specialty area; and
- Submission of two professional references: one from a peer professional and one from a recent employment supervisor.
The specialty certification designation is valid for a period of up to five years if awarded at the beginning of the five-year Recertification cycle. If the specialty certification designation is awarded at a point after Recertification, then the specialty certification validation period will be for the remainder of the certification cycle. Recertification of both the CTRS credential and the specialty certification designation would then occur at the same time at the next scheduled due date. All documented Continuing Education (CE) hours used during the specialty certification application process can be utilized for CTRS recertification as long as the documented CE hours were earned within the five-year recertification period.
