Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

This class is a continuation of Activity Professional Certification Training 1.  It builds on the Part 1 competencies, focusing on competencies related to managing and consulting on programmatic, legal, and regulatory requirements on state and federal levels.

Students successfully completing the course will be able to:

1. Work as activity professional managers or consultants in long term care facilities, adult daycare and community settings.

2. Meet the standards of practice for designing, administering, and evaluating activity programs.

3. Design, administer, and evaluate community relations and marketing policies, multiple programs, assistants, volunteers and other community resources, fundraising and grant proposals.

4. Meet eligibility standards for director and certification levels of the National Certification Council of Activity Professionals (NCCAP) and the National Association of Activity Professionals (NAAP), when combined with required academic, continuing education, and work experience.

1. At the successful completion of this course students will be able to manage maintain, and consult for a broad range of activity programs enhancing quality of life and care for elder and disabled clients along the continuum of care levels.  

2. Students will have knowledge of and the managerial skills to implement Federal Standards and Scope of Practice, meeting all 163 competencies, including working knowledge of employment requirements, ADA guidelines, tracking skills and follow up methods for documentation for all aspects of the activities in accordance with administrative rules and guidelines for state and federal applications.

3. After 2 years of working experience at the nationally certified Activity Director level, they would be eligible to apply for the Activity Consultant certification level. 

This course requires both academic and internship/work components. It also requires the student to work under a sponsoring mentor, who must be either an administrator, Director of Nursing or Nationally Certified Activity Director, in a Skilled Nursing Facility, Assisted Living Facility, or an Alzheimer's (Memory Care) Unit. During the internship or work hours at the facility, the student will complete seven Practicum Assignments. These clinical practicums serve as the student's field research, documenting their competencies related to management and consultation on programmatic, legal, and regulatory requirements on state and federal levels.

1. Assessment of assignments, examinations, and work-based learning of the 163 competencies.

2. Assessment of the seven Practicum Assignments based on the standards of practice.

3. Assessment by the sponsoring facility mentor of the student's competencies, applied understanding of the standards of practice, and adherence to professional ethics. 

Course content prepares students for managerial and consultative activity professional roles in the Skilled Nursing Facilities, Assisted Living Facilities and Alzheimer's (Memory Care) Units based on the 163 Competencies meeting Federal Standards and Scope of Practice Guidelines.

Practicum assignments are designed to demonstrate the knowledge and skills to implement activity programming for a variety of functions and behavioral deficiencies experienced by elderly in the above named type of facilities.

Course content focuses on preparing students to acquire knowledge and skills in the following areas:

* Applied management theory

* Identification of leadership style and effective application to management of staff, interdepartmental medical staff and volunteer programs

* Respect for resident rights as federally mandated, advocacy for those rights, and application of Resident Council Policy and Procedures

* Management skills and methods for implementing time and duty scheduling and follow-up of work completion using tracking skills and communication interventions

* Working knowledge of interviewing, hiring, termination and correctional interventions for staff operations

* Policy and procedure development for activity programming and implementation, including development of a mission statement for activity department

* Application of leadership skills in personal relationships with staff, medical staff, clients, client's family members and volunteers

* Implementation of team methods of communication for staff covering various shifts or locations within the activity departments

* Documentation of service outcomes in a tracking system for all clients served at various cognitive and physical diagnostic levels.