Certification in Canada

Kristen, an RT student at Douglas College in Canada, is doing a paper on certification and, specifically certification in Canada. She asked me my opinion on the value of certification and if I saw it coming to Canada in the near future.

Certainly I am a strong advocate for certification. Having a certification program is a marker that: (a) displays the consumer is being served by professionals with at least minimum credentials; and (b) indicates a level of professionalization since the profession demands standards be met by those who practice in it.

Is certification coming to Canada? I wish I could answer that question. I would suggest that Kristen do an informal survey of some of the national leaders in RT in Canada to seek their opinions -- perhaps a quick email survey could be done. My guess, as an outsider, is that certification will come to Canada as I have seen a growing level of professionalization by Canadian RTs over the past 10 years or so.

Bob Riley, Director of the National Council on Therapeutic Recreation Certification (NCTRC), is an excellent source of information on certification, as is Dr. Margaret "Peg" Connolly who was Dr. Riley's predecessor at NCTRC. Dr. Connolly is now on the RT faculty at Western Carolina University.

As you read this, if you have other resources for Kristen, please do leave a comment on this post.