POINTING
OUT SOME PROFESSIONAL FACTS
By
Kimberly A. Keegan, BS, TRD, ACC
Are
you tired of always having to defend yourself as a professional?
Does it bother you when people say "your job is
so easy, all you do is play all day" or "anyone
can do what you do?" I know comments like these
make the hair stand up on the back of my neck. But then
I compose myself, take a deep breath, and then calmly
begin to ask them what is a profession? How do you know
whether our field of service or yours qualifies?
I then proceed to say there are six key components that
distinguish a career as a profession. They are service
motive, professional organization, scientific basis,
extended preparation of personnel, autonomy of judgment,
and code of ethics.
Service
Motive ~ explains why we do what we do; it explains
our mission, our purpose, our service which is to help
people to use activities to intervene and prevent further
deterioration, to better their quality of life. NCCAP's
mission statement ~ the National Certification Council
for Activity Professionals is a credentialing body,
which sets standards and criteria to ensure that those
we serve have optimal life experiences.
Professional
Organizations ~ these are groups who provide continuing
education of its members via conferences, seminars,
workshops, newsletters, etc. In activities we have organizations
at varying levels ~ national, state and local. Nationally
there is NAAP ~ the National Association of Activity
Professionals. There are other National Associations
but NAAP is the only one that specifically focuses on
the elderly. On the State level are your State Associations,
which may even be broken down into regional levels depending
on how your association is set up.
Scientific Basis ~ means there is a body of knowledge
related to the professional practice. Not only does
this body of knowledge supposedly guide the governing
laws and principles of a profession, but also the applied
and practical delivery of service is governed by certain
fundamental consistencies. Professional journals, books,
and other publications demonstrate the vitality and
soundness of the profession - i.e. Activities Directors
Quarterly, TR Journal, and more. In retrospect activities
is a field that applies the knowledge, skills, and understanding
from several other disciplines: psychology, sociology,
anatomy, kinesiology, and more.
Extended Preparation of Personnel ~ refers to
continued schooling or education, through classes, workshops,
seminars and conferences, which ensures that the body
of knowledge that constitutes the profession is obtained,
and utilized, thus building a more successful and positive
image of our profession. After several years of hard
work NCCAP's re-engineering committee has completed
work and revised the Modular Education Program for Activity
Professionals (MEPAP).
Autonomy of Judgment ~ refers to the area of
licensing and certification, in that one must meet acceptable
standards of competency. Licensing is the act of giving
formal permission by a constituted authority to do something.
Certification refers to the act of attesting to the
qualifications of someone or something. Which is what
NCCAP does.
Code of Ethics ~ these are a set of ethical standards
and practices that govern all members. For NCCAP's code
of ethics, visit the NCCAP web site at www.nccap.org/about/nccapcodeofethics.pdf.
If I haven't convinced them by this point that we are
professionals I proceed to step two and go over an activity
analysis with them.
I explain that an activity analysis is a procedure for
breaking down and examining an activity to determine
its inherent characteristics or parts. These can then
be used in a number of ways. It can help lead to an
understanding of all activity components for the program,
including participation requirements, modifications
and adaptations as well as expected outcomes. Further
it can help compare the functional level of the program
to the functioning level of the individual. Lastly,
an activity analysis provides useful information for
selecting an intervention, instructional, or leadership
technique to run the program.
I then go on to ask if they know how to play the game
of checkers. Although this game may seem simple that
is not the case. When you examine checkers you realize
that it is actually cognitively complex with rules,
strategy, evaluation and requires physical skills of
eye hand coordination, fine and gross motor movements,
etc.
If I still don't have them convinced I illustrate on
a piece of paper the following four areas physical,
cognitive, social/interactive and affective/emotional.
I ask them to pick an activity that they enjoy doing;
if they can't come up with one as I have put them on
the spot then I go back to the checkers game and use
that activity.
Under physical I may write down things like ~ positioning,
body parts involved, types of movement, number and nature
of movement, coordination, speed, flexibility, energy,
sight, sound, etc.
Under cognitive I may list number and complexity of
rules, memory retention, concentration, strategy, reading,
command of language, etc.
Under social or interactive I may list cooperative,
competitive, physical closeness to other, physical contact
with others, number of participants, etc.
Under
affective or emotional I always say that this is the
most difficult area to prepare for since people are
complex beings and what makes one person happy, may
make another cry. I do preface that there are six basic
emotions ~ joy, guilt, pain, anger, fear and frustration,
and while we cannot guess which will occur we can be
ready that one or the other will happen.
Usually at this point the person has either apologized
profusely or walks away shaking their head saying, "wow,
I didn't know that". I like to think of situations
like these as "teachable moments". I choose
not to get mad but get even, so to speak. I am tired
of people putting down what we do, but as a professional
keep my composure and use my knowledge and skill to
set the record straight.
Keeping yourself in tune with happenings in our field,
keeping educated and certified attests to the credibility
of you as professionals! Keep up the good work! Stay
in touch, stay educated! NN
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