Preparation for Working in Long Term Care Homes: Recommendations on Therapeutic Recreation Curricula from Recreation Therapists and Staff in Ontario

• Published in: Therapeutic recreation journal Vol. 56; no. 2; pp. 127 - 142
• Main Authors: Prentice, Kristin, Narushima, Miya
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Urbana Sagamore Publishing 22.06.2022; Sagamore Publishing LLC
• Subjects: Adult Learning; Aging; Aging (Individuals); Aging Education; Analysis; Beliefs, opinions and attitudes; Coding; Collaboration; Collaborative learning; Communities of Practice; Curricula; Dementia; Education; Employees; Gerontology; Government (Administrative Body); Health aspects; Inservice Education; Interagency collaboration; Interdisciplinary aspects; Internship Programs; Interpersonal Relationship; Leisure; Leisure Time; Listening; Long term health care; Long-term care of the sick; Montessori Method; Needs Assessment; Nursing; Nursing homes; Occupational Therapy; Older Adults; Older people; Personal grooming; Population; Practice placements; Practicums; Quality of life; Rankings; Recreation; Recreational Activities; Residential care; Resistance (Psychology); Retrospective studies; Sampling; Secondary Education; Socialization; Students; Therapeutic recreation; Therapists; Canada; Ontario; Ontario Canada; United States > US
• ISSN: 0040-5914; 2159-6433
• DOI: 10.18666/TRJ-2022-V56-I2-11109

As our population ages, more seniors will require care in long-term care (LTC) homes, including care from recreation therapists and staff. This study examined recreation therapists and staff's retrospective views of what would make them better prepared for working in LTC homes. A questionnaire distributed to 290 LTC homes in Ontario was completed by 487 recreation therapists and staff. Data were analyzed using ANOVAS and frequencies. Participants ranked experience as the most important and education as the least important factor for preparing them to work in LTC. Participants indicated increased practicum experience and knowledge of charting and documentation would help prepare them to work in LTC. The results of our study suggest the need for further training in gerontological competences for TR students, such as incorporating interprofessional collaboration and experience into TR curricula. TR practitioners can also enhance their learning by collaborating with others through communities of practice.