National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification
Protecting and Promoting Since 1981
Sources of Continuing Education
NCTRC Response to Coronavirus (COVID-19)—UpdateNCTRC appreciates your patience during these challenging times. Our team has been directly impacted by COVID-19 and because of this our response time to your emails, messages, and phone calls may be delayed. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your understanding. April, May and June Renewal—If you submit your renewal fee of $80 past your expiration date, the reinstatement fee will be waived. June Recertification—You may submit the recertification application and $105 until
June 30 online. If you are late in submission, please email the Recertification Application with the $105 fee until August 31 as the late fee has been waived. If you have questions about the online recertification application process, please listen to the latest Recertification Tutorial here. May Exam—NCTRC has extended the May testing window so candidates can make an appointment from May 4, 2020–June 27, 2020. If candidates register for the May 2020 exam
and the appointment is cancelled, they will be rescheduled for a future NCTRC exam window at no additional charge. Internship Interruptions due to COVID-19—If your internship has been interrupted due to COVID-19, a letter from the agency supervisor and/or the academic supervisor will suffice. The letter should include the following: - Student’s name and a statement indicating that the internship was interrupted due to COVID-19.
- Name of where the internship experience took place. If there were multiple agencies, please include each site and the dates and hours of the internship completed at that site.
- Agency supervisor’s name, and certification number if available. If there were multiple supervisors, please include name of each supervisor.
- If the academic credit is posted at a different time compared to when the internship was completed, a statement that the reason for this is because of COVID-19 and was originally an “Incomplete” until the internship was completed.
Hardship Fee Waiver Program—While everyone is dealing with the impact of COVID-19, some individuals are experiencing a greater impact than others. If this or another unanticipated life event has caused a substantial financial burden, you might qualify for the Hardship Fee Waiver Program. Please call us and speak with a
Credentialing Specialist about the process.
Did you know that you can obtain continuing education from a variety of sources?HOSPITAL/AGENCY EDUCATIONMany work-related educational sessions or in-services may be appropriate for recertification. (Please note: topics such as infection control, CPR, First Aid and Life Saving are not accepted.) ACADEMIC COURSESCoursework can be audited (8 hours
per academic credit) or taken for credit (15 hours per academic credit). Academic courses may be taken online or through correspondence. TELECONFERENCES/AUDIO SEMINARSA growing number of continuing education providers sponsor teleconferences. HOME STUDY PROGRAMSSeveral organizations provide continuing education via professional journal review and home study courses. Like many online programs, educational material can be purchased for completion over an extended time period. INTERNETA simple search for “continuing education” will provide many opportunities for consideration. Many of the internet/ online-based continuing education programs can be purchased for a reasonable fee. CONFERENCESTherapeutic Recreation, Recreation, or CE sessions in related disciplines are accepted if the content relates to the NCTRC Job Analysis Knowledge Areas. INTERNSHIP SUPERVISIONAn internship supervisory experience that includes in-depth professional training and results in documented student competence in the TR process. Please review the NCTRC Internship Supervision for Continuing Education Form for more information. NCTRC Standards require 50 hours of continuing education during the five-year certification cycle. Continuing education must relate to the NCTRC Job Analysis Knowledge Areas. Upon completion of continuing
education, you must receive official, original documentation of participation containing the following information: your name, attendance date, title of the course or program and contact hours. NCTRC offers pre-approval of continuing education hours prior to the submission of a formal recertification application. The application for this pre-application process is available on your dashboard profile at MY NCTRC Login. NCTRC wants to assist you with your recertification. For a copy of the Recertification Standards, please visit nctrc.org. If you have any questions, please feel free to call
845-639-1439 or email nctrc@nctrc.org.
NCTRC Conducts Annual Board MeetingThe NCTRC Board of Directors conducted its annual meeting on June 1–2, 2020. Three new members were inducted to the NCTRC Board of Directors for the 2020-2023 term: - Kerry (Brown) Steeb, CTRS (OR)
- Laura McLachlan, PhD, CTRS, RTC (CA)
- Shaun Geise, CTRS, Employer Representative (IN)
A new Executive Committee for the term of 2020-2021 was elected: - Melissa Davis, LRT/CTRS (TX) Chairperson
- Angela Wozencroft, PhD, CTRS (TN) Vice Chairperson
- Shaun Geise, CTRS (IN) Treasurer
- Sara Knowles, CTRS/L, CBIS (OK) Secretary
Frederick Green, CTRS (MS) was appointed to the Standards Review Committee Caily O’Connor, CTRS (AZ) was appointed to the Standards Hearing
Committee Rachelle Forster, CTRS (Canada) was appointed to the Exam Management Committee
Certificant’s MeetingDue to the uncertainty regarding upcoming conference locations, NCTRC will conduct the annual Certificant’s Meeting using Zoom during the fall 2020. Please be on the lookout over the summer for information regarding the date/time of this meeting; meeting details will be shared via e-blasts, e-news, website, and the NCTRC
Facebook page.
NCTRC Resource MaterialsThe NCTRC Board of Directors continually monitors and updates the certification standards. Prior to using any of your stored certification-related materials, it is important that you verify the accuracy of the contents to make sure they reflect the current standards. This includes NCTRC resource materials/documents/presentations that you have recorded, downloaded, or have in paper form. If they do not align with the current NCTRC Certification Standards available on the NCTRC website, please discard them. You can access updated materials via nctrc.org or by calling the office at 1-845-639-1439.
Helpful Reminders to Assure a Successful InternshipIn order for NCTRC to verify your employment status as an internship supervisor, all active CTRS® internship supervisors are asked to go to the dashboard profile found at MY NCTRC Login and update/input your employment information by clicking on My Profile. The summer months often serve as an opportunity for students to complete their academic internships. In order to provide a smooth transition to obtaining the CTRS®
credential, the following requirements must be met during the internship experience: - The length of the internship must be a minimum of 14 consecutive weeks and 560 hours.
- The intern must work a minimum of 20 hours per week and no more than 45 hours per week.
- The primary agency CTRS® supervisor must be employed at least 30 hours a week at the sponsoring agency. At least 50% of the supervisor's duties must be in therapeutic recreation and they must be an active CTRS® on the first day of the student’s internship.
- The internship
must be supervised by an academic supervisor and an agency supervisor both of whom need to hold active CTRS® status.
- The internship agency supervisor must be certified for at least one year prior to supervising interns.
- The internship experience must be based on the therapeutic recreation process as defined by the current NCTRC Job Analysis.
Please visit nctrc.org to review and download the NCTRC Internship Standards.
NCTRC is now on Facebook. We are excited to open this new avenue of contact between you and the organization.
Go further with an NCTRC Scholarship.An NCTRC Scholarship recognizes the achievements of those who seek to advance their knowledge and professional competency to improve the quality of recreational therapy services.
Recertify and Reinvest in Yourself.NCTRC knows how hard you worked to obtain the CTRS® credential. Continue your professional journey by renewing your CTRS® certification.
Thank you for your continued support of NCTRC and the CTRS® credential!
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