Any Interest in an RT Curriculum Conference?

In the 1980s Indiana University sponsored a series of "Post-Doctoral Institutes" for RT faculty who held doctorates. The institutes were partly supported by a BEH grant.

The institutes were held at IU's outdoor education center, Bradford Woods. There were no costs for the participants who stayed at Bradford Woods. Meals were served free of cost. Transportation to and from the Indianapolis airport was provided. So the only cost to participants was for travel.

It would seem that the Post-Doctoral Institutes could serve as a model for a national conference on RT education. A set number of participants, perhaps 30, could meet to gain consensus on RT curriculum.

Participants could be selected from applicants from university RT faculities, as well as RT practitioners. Consultants might be invited to serve as discussion leaders. Some names of possible discussion learders include Ray West, Norma Stumbo, Bryan McCormick, Marieke Van Puymbroeck, Thom Skalko, Frank Brasile, and Terry Kinney. Perhaps you can think of others who might do a good job of leading the participants in discussion.

There are any number of universities that have facilites to host such a meeting -- Indiana University, Clemson University, and Southern Illinois University come to mind -- but I'm sure there are others.

I would hope that some university will come forward to grasp the leadership to sponsor such a national curriculum conference. Perhaps the American Therapeutic Recreation Foundation and NCTRC could serve as co-sponsors.

It seems to me that the RT profession is long overdue in conducting a consensus conference to strengthen RT curricula. Now is the time to take action. I hope my ideas will provide an impetus for this action.