RT Blog

Name:
Location: Indiana, United States

I became a Professor Emeritus after serving 29 years as a recreational therapy faculty member at Indiana University. I'm a long-time Hoosier, having grown up in Hanover, Indiana. My RT practitioner work was in psych/mental health. After completing my Ph.D. at the University of Illinois, my first faculty position was at the University of North Texas. RT has been a wonderful profession for me as I have had the opportunity to serve as an author and national leader.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Call for ATRA Webinars

From Jean Folkerthvia the ATRAnet: Hope you had a good weekend and are planning on a good week. It is that time again when we begin searching for webinars for the next year. Yes, its that time again! Time to think about presenting a webinar. This year we are going to use the ATRA/NCTRC pre-approval process so we will need more information. I will attach the application that is used for this process. This past year we had many excellent sessions. I hope that 2014 will surpass that in quality. I am looking for sessions on geriatrics, psych, rehabilitation, traumatic brain injury, pediatrics, programs for returning service members, interventions, group techniques, evidence based practice, professional issues and any other topics that you think would garner interest and provide new or updated information to the field. If you have an idea and would like to discuss it with me, feel free to call or email me. My phone number is 734-635-9184 and email is jfolkerth@hotmail.com. If you have an idea but don't think you are the one to present on the topic let me know also and if you think you know someone who is qualified, feel free to send them the application. Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you. Deadline is August 28, 2013 Jean Folkerth, Re.D., CTRS ATRA Webinar Coordinator

Sunday, August 25, 2013

NCRTA Conference Keynote

I'm very much looking forward to delivering the keynote address for the North Carolina Recreational Therapy Association Conference to be held in Greensboro next month. I sure look forward to seeing all my NC RT friends.

Saturday, August 24, 2013

ATRA Early Bird Registration Deadline Extended

From ATRA: We have now posted a CEU session guide with session descriptions, objectives, speaker names, day and time, and number of CEUs! Since session information is being distributed after the earlybird registration deadline, we have also extended this deadline to next Wednesday, August 28th, the same day that our specially negotiated lodging rate expires

Thursday, August 22, 2013

ATRA Conference

Remember the ATRA Annual Conference is coming up September 29 -- October 2 in Pittsburgh.

Thursday, August 08, 2013

Free Instructional Resources from IU Library

This is a reminder to instructors getting ready for the fall term. ***** All 23 Recreation Therapy Videos are available as a free service from the Indiana University Library. Among the RTV titles are: “Clinical Supervision,” “Documentation and Behavioral Observation,” “Effective Listening,” “History of Therapeutic Recreation, Parts I, II, II,” “Models of Practice: Health Protection/Health Promotion Model,” “Models of Practice: Leisure Ability Model,” “Nonverbal Communication,” “Portraits of Pioneers in Therapeutic Recreation,” “Professional Ethics,” and “Professionalism in Therapeutic Recreation,” as well an introductory video on RT titled “To Serve a Purpose.” ***** Also available at no cost from the IU Library is the Glossary of Recreation Therapy and Occupational Therapy. This glossary is often used in intro to RT/TR courses and students find it helpful when reviewing for the NCTRC exam. ***** The 23 RTV videos are available via streaming at https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/handle/2022/3378 or by simply typing in Recreation Therapy Videos in the Google or Bing search box and then clicking on Recreation Therapy Videos-IUScholarWorks ***** The Glossary URI is http://hdl.handle.net/2022/6474 or it can be found by typing the full name of the Glossary in the Google or Bing search box.

RTs Should Serve Seniors Cocoa

I just read on MedPage Today about research that has shown older people with impaired neurovascular coupling who drank 2 cups of cocoa a day for a month had significant improvements in cognitive function and blood flow in the brain. Interesting implicaitons for RTs? I guess RTs should serve seniors cups of cocoa when providing refreshments.

Wednesday, August 07, 2013

Position Opening

From Kelly.Ramella@ASU.EDU via ATRAnet: Virginia G. Piper Sports & Fitness Center for Persons with Disabilities (SpoFit) Job Description Position: Recreation Therapy Coordinator Salary: $34,000 - $38,000 Benefits: Health/Dental benefits, 403(b) retirement plan and paid time off included. Reports to: SpoFit Manager Applications: Applications accepted through August 19, 2013. Tentative start date for the position is September 9, 2013. To Apply: Email cover letter and resumé to spofitjobs@abil.org. Please reference “Recreation Therapy Coordinator” in the subject line of your email. Job Description: The Recreation Therapy Coordinator is a full-time, salaried, exempt position. This position is responsible for planning, implementing, and supervising recreation therapy programs for SpoFit members. Duties and Responsibilities: • Plan, implement, and evaluate various therapeutic recreation, adaptive aquatic and adaptive sports programs. This position serves as the lead staff member for all recreation therapy programs, events and activities. • Hire, supervise, schedule and evaluate RT staff, interns and volunteers. • Maintain ongoing communication with University Therapeutic Recreation programs around the nation to develop and maintain intern program. • Collaborate with community organizations to offer a variety of recreation therapy programs. • Provide member assessments, ongoing progress notes, and evaluations. • Assist in facility and equipment maintenance. • Assist with registration of participants; maintain related records. • Maintain communication with members, members’ parents and/or guardians. • Assist with grant research and writing as needed. • Perform other job-related duties as assigned. Hours: Work schedule requires a great deal of flexibility and is dependent upon program needs and will include some evenings and weekends. Please only apply if you can fulfill the time requirements. Supervisory Responsibility: Supervision is exercised over RT staff, interns and volunteers. Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: Considerable knowledge of Recreation Therapy principles, theories and techniques. Advanced knowledge of adaptive equipment in fitness, sports and recreation programs. Knowledge of recreation program risk management. Excellent public relations and customer service skills; verbal and written communication skills; planning, organizational, supervision, and problem solving skills. Ability to use independent judgment and initiative. Basic computer skills, including word processing. Exceptional ability to work cooperatively with others and create a positive, constructive relationship with staff and SpoFit members. Qualifications: Bachelor’s Degree in Therapeutic Recreation and one year of progressive work experience in program leadership and supervision of therapeutic recreation programs, including working with individuals that have a wide variety of abilities; or any satisfactory combination of experience and training which demonstrates the knowledge, skills and ability to perform the above-described duties. At least one year of CTRS certification required and adaptive aquatic experience a plus. Applicant must have at least one year of experience working with people with disabilities. Must have current First Aid and CPR certification. Clean criminal background required. Working Conditions: Pressures and stress of the position include dealing with crisis situations, meeting deadlines and supporting a wide variety of participant and staff needs. High level of responsibility, including supervision of RT staff, volunteers and interns. ABIL is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to increasing the diversity of its workforce and sustaining a work environment that is inclusive. Women, minorities, veterans and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Tuesday, August 06, 2013

BYU Among WORST Party Schools

BYU made the Top 10 list of the WORST party schools. The only school on the list with an RT curriculum.

Univerisity of Iowa is Number 1 (Party School)

The University of Iowa has been named the Number 1 party school by the Princeton Review. Fortunately, or unfortunately, this was the only school in the top 20 party schools with an RT curriculum.

Monday, August 05, 2013

Instructional Resources for TR Processes and Techniques

Sagamore Publishing should soon have the Instructor’s Guide available for the 7th edition of Therapeutic Recreation Processes and Techniques. The Guide itself (with over 100 pages) is the most extensive and complete version that has ever been developed for the book. It contains a great number of suggested learning activities, possible student assignments, and test items for every chapter. Sagamore Publishing asked me to develop PowerPoint slides that, along with the Instructor’s Guide, they can make available to those adopting the book. So in addition to PowerPoint slides of all tables and figures that appear in the book, instructors will have access to over 300 PowerPoint slides that can be used in classroom presentations. I am very proud of the 7th edition of Therapeutic Recreation Processes and Techniques and hope you will check it out. I am also appreciative that Sagamore Publishing is making a number of teaching resources available to instructors who adopt the book.