A recreation therapist is responsible for supporting the patients' physical and mental wellness by organizing therapeutic programs and activities, depending on the patients' condition and existing treatment plans. Recreation therapists work with other medical health professionals for advice and medication needs. They also track the patients' progress, maintain a medical chart, and report any updates to the physicians and patients' family members. A recreation therapist manages the resources and materials for the activities and ensures the safety and security of the participants.

Recreation Therapist Responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real recreation therapist resumes representing typical tasks they are likely to perform in their roles.

  • Manage ventilator care, intubation, arterial line placement, mechanical ventilation, BIPAP, and CPAP.
  • Evaluate assigned patients to assess and document the need for therapeutic recreational interventions in order to attain rehabilitation goals.
  • Obtain ABG samples when need, EKG analysis, and oxygen therapy to patients.
  • Support the CTRS in planning and implementation of in- house events and community outings.
  • Organize and facilitate programs for TBI survivors and their families.
  • Use patient prefer music to apply NMT protocols into sessions.
  • Provide coaching and performance evaluations of all CTRS staff in department.
  • Administer, score, & interpret COPM on client with CVA.
  • Complete all mandate training for staff, such as CPR and PMCS.
  • Substitute for another music therapist on maternity leave in the autism program.
  • Stock and run nursing home chuck wagon (nursing home store).
  • Conduct individual consults, screen for mood disorders subsequent to hospital procedures (e.g.
  • Assist nursing staff with helping clients to complete ADL s as well as serving meals.
  • Develop client-centered goals and treatment plans specific to clients with CVA with supervision of OTR.
  • Discuss current research with NMT researcher on site to expand understanding of the NMT field.

Recreation Therapist Skills and Personality Traits

We calculated that 27% of Recreation Therapists are proficient in Patients, CTRS, and Mental Health. They’re also known for soft skills such as Listening skills, Speaking skills, and Leadership skills.

We break down the percentage of Recreation Therapists that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Patients, 27%

    Provide Recreational Therapy services for inpatient rehabilitation unit for a variety of diagnoses related to adult and elderly patients.

  • CTRS, 11%

    Work as a certified CTRS and provides Recreational Therapy goals and objectives to children and adults with developmental disabilities.

  • Mental Health, 7%

    Provided recreational therapy services in ambulatory and intensive programs for children and adolescents with mental health conditions and substance abuse problems.

  • Rehabilitation, 7%

    Performed orthopedic rehabilitation and adolescent psych rehabilitation.

  • Patient Care, 6%

    Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams implementing department goals and objectives for patient care.

  • CPR, 4%

    Red Cross certified in CPR, basic first aid, and basic water safety.

"patients," "ctrs," and "mental health" aren't the only skills we found recreation therapists list on their resumes. In fact, there's a whole list of recreation therapist responsibilities that we found, including:

  • The most important skills for a recreation therapist to have in this position are listening skills. In this excerpt that we gathered from a recreation therapist resume, you'll understand why: "recreational therapists must listen carefully to a patient’s problems and concerns" According to resumes we found, listening skills can be used by a recreation therapist in order to "coordinated and integrated ongoing evaluation of therapeutic recreation programs and services and communicated to all relevant parties. "
  • While it may not be the most important skill, we found that many recreation therapist duties rely on speaking skills. This example from a recreation therapist explains why: "recreational therapists need to communicate well with their patients." This resume example is just one of many ways recreation therapists are able to utilize speaking skills: "develop and implement treatment programs for spanish speaking patients and as well as patients with substance abuse issues. "
  • Recreation therapists are also known for leadership skills, which can be critical when it comes to performing their duties. An example of why this skill is important is shown by this snippet that we found in a recreation therapist resume: "recreational therapists must plan, develop, and implement intervention programs in an effective manner" We also found this resume example that details how this skill is put to the test: "implemented instruction and leadership for therapeutic recreational activities. "
  • A recreation therapist responsibilities sometimes require "patience." The responsibilities that rely on this skills are shown by this resume excerpt: "recreational therapists may work with some patients who require more time and special attention than others." This resume example shows how this skill is used by recreation therapists: "people skills, crisis management, patience, flexibility and adaptability. "
  • Yet another important skill that a recreation therapist must demonstrate is "resourcefulness." Recreational therapists customize treatment plans for patients This is clearly demonstrated in this example from a recreation therapist who stated: "provided client and family support, clinical assessment and psychoeducation to promote mental health wellness and resourcefulness. "
  • Lastly, this career requires you to be skillful in "compassion." According to recreation therapist resumes, "recreational therapists should be kind and empathetic when providing support to patients and their families." This resume example highlights how recreation therapist responsibilities rely on this skill: "use compassion and encouragement to implement a recreation therapy program on a long-term, pulmonary unit with 35 beds. "
  • See the full list of recreation therapist skills.

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    What Activity Specialists Do

    An activity specialist is responsible for organizing events and planning activity outline for a social institution or a group of people. Activity specialists identify the activity requirements and goals, coordinate with suppliers and vendors for resources, and calculate costs and expenses within the budget limitations. They also finalize the participants' lists and pick the best grounds to set up an activity, ensuring the safety and security of the guests. An activity specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in writing reports and creating clear expectations to discuss with the management.

    We looked at the average recreation therapist annual salary and compared it with the average of an activity specialist. Generally speaking, activity specialists receive $23,132 lower pay than recreation therapists per year.

    Even though recreation therapists and activity specialists have vast differences in their careers, a few of the skills required to do both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require patients, rehabilitation, and cpr in the day-to-day roles.

    These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. A recreation therapist responsibility is more likely to require skills like "ctrs," "mental health," "patient care," and "treatment programs." Whereas a activity specialist requires skills like "good communication," "mediation," "role model," and "classroom management." Just by understanding these different skills you can see how different these careers are.

    Activity specialists tend to make the most money in the education industry by averaging a salary of $33,838. In contrast, recreation therapists make the biggest average salary of $55,011 in the education industry.

    On average, activity specialists reach similar levels of education than recreation therapists. Activity specialists are 4.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

    What Are The Duties Of a Treatment Coordinator?

    A Treatment Coordinator is responsible for assisting the doctors and other medical professionals in performing treatment procedures and administering medications for the patients. Treatment Coordinators manage administrative duties, such as scheduling medical appointments, discussing the treatment plans to the patients, updating medical information on the database, and processing payments for the medical procedures. They also coordinate with the insurance agencies to verify the patients' eligibility and information and file documents as necessary. A Treatment Coordinator must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in maintaining databases and ensuring that all medical forms are organized and safely stored.

    Now we're going to look at the treatment coordinator profession. On average, treatment coordinators earn a $14,293 lower salary than recreation therapists a year.

    Not everything about these jobs is different. Take their skills, for example. Recreation therapists and treatment coordinators both include similar skills like "patients," "mental health," and "patient care" on their resumes.

    In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences that are worth noting. For example, recreation therapist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "ctrs," "rehabilitation," "cpr," and "treatment programs." Meanwhile, a treatment coordinator might be skilled in areas such as "customer service," "financial arrangements," "treatment options," and "oral surgery." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

    It's been discovered that treatment coordinators earn lower salaries compared to recreation therapists, but we wanted to find out where treatment coordinators earned the most pay. The answer? The non profits industry. The average salary in the industry is $42,993. Additionally, recreation therapists earn the highest paychecks in the education with an average salary of $55,011.

    When it comes to the differences in education between the two professions, treatment coordinators tend to reach higher levels of education than recreation therapists. In fact, they're 5.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

    How a Music Therapy Internship Compares

    In a music therapy internship, an intern's duties primarily depend on the directives of a manager or supervising staff. Typically, they are responsible for gaining industry insights and practical experience while performing support tasks such as answering calls and correspondence, preparing and processing documents, conducting research and analysis, setting-up instruments and other devices, and running errands as needed. They may also assist and work with clients under the supervision of a therapist. Moreover, they must understand and adhere to the facility's policies and regulations, including its vision and mission.

    The third profession we take a look at is music therapy internship. On an average scale, these workers bring in lower salaries than recreation therapists. In fact, they make a $19,148 lower salary per year.

    Using recreation therapists and music therapy interns resumes, we found that both professions have similar skills such as "patients," "mental health," and "patient care," but the other skills required are very different.

    As mentioned, these two careers differ between other skills that are required for performing the work exceedingly well. For example, gathering from recreation therapists resumes, they are more likely to have skills like "ctrs," "rehabilitation," "cpr," and "treatment programs." But a music therapy internship might have skills like "occupational therapy," "individual therapy sessions," "traumatic brain injury," and "therapy intern."

    Music therapy interns typically study at higher levels compared with recreation therapists. For example, they're 5.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.9% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

    Description Of a Director Of Therapeutic Activities

    The fourth career we look at typically earns higher pay than recreation therapists. On average, directors of therapeutic activities earn a difference of $57,035 higher per year.

    While their salaries may vary, recreation therapists and directors of therapeutic activities both use similar skills to perform their jobs. Resumes from both professions include skills like "music therapy," "art therapy," and "mds. "

    Each job requires different skills like "patients," "ctrs," "mental health," and "rehabilitation," which might show up on a recreation therapist resume. Whereas director of therapeutic activities might include skills like "group sessions," "event planning," "incident reports," and "departmental policies."

    The average resume of directors of therapeutic activities showed that they earn higher levels of education to recreation therapists. So much so that the likelihood of them earning a Master's Degree is 15.6% more. Additionally, they're less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.2%.