kateBy Tina Watson, CTRS
When the new year arrives many of us reevaluate our lives and our careers. We make goals or New Year’s Resolutions. For me this included finding a way to make my work and home life more streamlined and organized. So, I bought a new planner that has daily, monthly and weekly goals for home and work included in it with a place to mark if I achieve the goal. It also includes a daily inspirational quote to keep me motivated and focused. This is a great start for me personally, but I wanted to share with other Recreation Therapists two very important services that are available to assist you in 2019.
The first online service that will help you grow as a Recreational Therapist and make recertification easier is SMARTCEUSHUB.COM. This online continuing education site offers affordable and convenient CEU’s that are pre-approved by NCTRC. The courses are written by qualified individuals with immense experiences to share. The course catalog offers a variety of topics. This month two new courses; Intro to Pediatrics in Recreational Therapy and Animal Assisted Therapy As A Recreational Therapy Intervention have been added, for a total of 22 available courses. Signing up for courses is easy and your CEU’s come to you amazingly quickly which makes gaining those CEUS before your recertification runs out a whole lot easier if time is an issue.
The rates for annual membership are surprisingly low, considering the alternative route of attending conferences that include travel expenses, hotel and conference registration. The annual membership is currently $99 per year for unlimited access to the entire course catalog. This rate is set to increase on March 1st, 2019 to $149 as the organization brings on more instructors and grows in scale. But the good news is that any current members and those that sign up before March 1st who keep their membership active for the next five years, can lock in the $99 per year price. This is truly a New Year’s gift of smart education; helping YOUR FUTURE as a Recreational Therapist and YOUR WALLET, all at once. SMART CEUS Hub even offers corporate memberships for organizations that have multiple Recreational Therapists, so they too, can take advantage of the cost benefits of online learning.
In addition to providing this great educational resource, SMART CEU’s Hub will also pay you to be an instructor. Giving you money in your pocket monthly for sharing your expertise. You can build on your past to brighten your future and the future of the profession. To sign up as an instructor go to https://smartceushub.com/become-a-smart-instructor/
The second online service that Recreational Therapists should check out this year is RecTherapyJobs.com. This newer jobsite is specifically geared for Recreational Therapists and companies seeking qualified individuals to fill positions. The website is FREE and features user friendly tools to add or upload your resume in minutes after creating an account. It also features a way to add your valid NCTRC Certification so employers can verify your credentials. Posting a job is just as easy. Employers can have confidence that they are reaching out to a large pool of qualified candidates.
The website is up and ready for use, but business owners and Recreational Therapists are needed to post job listings and/or apply for a job via the site. I encourage you to check it out for yourself.
1. Register an Account. As an employer you must first register for an account on the site. It is FREE and easy!
2. Specify Your job. Describe exactly what you are looking for in a Recreational Therapist.
3. Review Candidates.
¨ Receive applications and resumes via email.
¨ Manage jobs and candidates from your indeed dashboard.
¨ Review applications, schedule interviews and view recommended candidates, all from one place.
As you continue with diving into 2019, remember why you got into this field. For me it was to make others happy and help them achieve their goals in life in the healthiest way possible. I continue as a Recreational Therapist because the field is always growing and moving forward. I want to grow and move forward as a person and see the people I work with do the same. SMART CEU’s Hub has helped me directly in this area. It has been an encouragement to me and a huge learning opportunity. Challenge yourself this year to dig deeper, learn more and be the best you can be. Happy New Year!
Way to go Tina and Kate! Thank you for getting this information out! 🙂 You totally rock!