NCTRC recertification

I attended the NCTRC recertification meeting with Robin McNeal and Noelle Molly at the ATRA annual conference in Pittsburgh, PA.

Bob Riley, executive director of NCTRC was present from time to time.

They reminded people in attendance about the pre-approval application that a person can use to determine if their hours will be accepted. Currently, this form is available at this link: http://www.nctrc.org/documents/CEUPreapplicationreviewform.pdf

 

They also talked about the specialty certification areas.

Based on my understanding, I think it would be great that students coming out of accredited RT college degree programs can take the NCTRC exam and be awarded a license to practice in their state or territory. The specialty certifications will demonstrate additional training in these areas.

 

I [Danny Pettry] think the field of counseling is a good example:

A person takes the National Counselor Exam (NCE) and is awarded the National Certified Counselor (NCC) credential much like a person takes the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification (NCTRC) exam to be awarded the Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) credential.

Most U.S. states use the NCE as their exam for state licensure. A few states have their own exam.

A licensed counselor may want to obtain specialty certifications such as:

Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor, National Certified School Counselor, Master Addictions Counselor. All of these specialty certifications are provided by NBCC.

A licensed recreational therapist may want to obtain specialty certifications such as those offered by NCTRC, including:

Physical medicine/ rehabilitation

Geriatrics

Developmental disabilities

Behavioral health

Community inclusion services

Please consider getting a specialty certification in your area.

Please note that I would do this, however, a person must be working full-time in the field to have a specialty certification. For example, a college professor who is not working full-time as a practitioner would not be eligible. I don’t want to sound like a hypocrite for asking other RTs to do this when I do not have the current credential.

My work in the field now consists of: volunteer work, PRN RT services, advocating for the profession, blogging about the profession, presenting at conferences, and consulting.

Your friend,

Danny Pettry, M.Ed., CTRS, NCC