This Recreation Therapy Month we must Unite!

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February is Recreation Therapy Month

This whole month we have been celebrating Recreation Therapy month!!! Wooooo! Thanks to ATRA and CTRA, we even had a daily shout out calendar on social media.  Activities like this where we promote Recreation Therapy have never been more important because we are at a point where we can drastically reach out to the world and put the Rec. Therapy name on the map.  With about 19,200 RTs and growing at 7%, Recreation Therapist across the US, we have no excuse not to support each other.  Moreover, supporting each other can come in many forms such as following each other on social media, volunteering time with non-profits, speaking about Rec Therapy, starting a blog or even being a speaker at a conference.  Your involvement in the field is determined by you which means you can decide to have active or passive involvement.  I will add that the more active you are, the more beneficial opportunities arise such as learning from others.  I have connected with many RTs from around the country(U.S) by attending conferences not only in California but throughout the country.  With each new interaction, I grow more as a professional and as a person.  I take each opportunity as a moment to soak in fresh ideas that I implement into my practice.

RTs have the opportunity to further excel

Now more than at other times we are at a pivotal point in the RT field because we, as a profession, have the opportunity to become Licensed RT in several states and H.R. 626 is currently proposed in the U.S Congress.  This means that states pursuing licensure will be bound by state regulation and further protect the field and patients.  Even though some states have registration or Title protection, being licensed is the ultimate goal to ensure our clients are protected with adequate Recreation Therapy Services.  On the other hand, if passed, HR 626 will require Medicare and Medicaid to include recreation therapy services to be part of an intensive rehabilitation therapy program.

With HR 626 in Congress and states making a push for licensure we must come together and work with each other.  Generally, I make the assumption that we as a profession have already been helping each other out as much as possible.  However, I encourage everyone to continue doing what they have been doing and take it one step further.  Activities such as liking social media links show support, but the real support comes from all acts that cast a positive light to Rec Therapy and in addition when we are called to action through legislative letter writing campaigns to lobby for our profession.  We must also continue to perform the simple acts like signing up for membership associations not because we have to, but because we want to support all organizations.  Finally, we should support our coworker professions and all other professions.

Continue to head in the right direction

In order to keep moving in a positive direction, we must continue to gain more exposure and educate others about RT.  As a profession, we should seek to have steady growth not only in quantity but also in quality.  To accomplish this we must strive every day to be the best RT.  We must strive to educate everyone about the RT field.  We must employ evidence-based practice in our practice.  Most importantly we must not only teach RT, but we must live RT in our lives.

As I close I want to bring to light that this month is particularly sentimental for us here at Rec, Play, Live because it marks our 1 year anniversary!!!!!! Thank you to everyone who has been around for the ride.  In this first year, we have gotten to speak to you about issues we think will add value to you personally and professionally.  However, we are not mindreaders (unfortunately), so please let us know how else we can improve your personal or professional lives by commenting below or personally messaging us.

In an effort to further connect our profession I have searched and looked for Rec Therapy related websites.  Below you will find names with hyperlinks of as many RT organizations/websites as I found.  (Including student organization)  Let us know if we missed one.