Reflections: exploring professional values and creating a professional identity.

As I continue this journey of professional growth, I am thinking more critically about my professional identity and professional values and how these are conveyed through my online presence. Over the past few weeks, this course has broadened my view of social media and is teaching me the importance of digital literacy as a tool for elevating my online presence. I am still in the early learning stages of this process but have already made significant gains with respect to curating content and developing an e-portfolio and trialing various platforms. It has been a leap as I tend to steer away from new technology, and I don’t often use traditional social networking and social media. Putting this into a professional context has made this meaningful and empowering.

The next challenging task is developing and communicating a strong professional identity. My personal and professional values have indeed led me to healthcare and the field of Therapeutic Recreation (TR). Some of my core professional values include empathy, wellbeing, social connectedness, engagement, life-long learning, communication, belonging, accountability, and self-motivation. I believe these values have remained stable and consistent over time, whereas my professional identity has evolved. Professional identity is something I have personally struggled with over the course of my career. The following describes some of the attributes of my current professional identity: collaborator, organizer, advocate, detail-oriented, empathic, energetic and team-player. There are areas of growth which I feel would better support my professional values. These include confidence, leadership, creativity, and knowledge. These are skills I would like to build on to enrich my professional identity.

One of the hurdles I’m facing, however, is a shift in professional identity. The field of TR has always had difficulty with its’ identity, which I believe stems from inconsistent educational requirements for entry to practice. Other factors include varying standards of practice, inconsistent job titles, non-accredited education programs and lack of a unified direction. Without clear education preparation and inconsistent roles and responsibilities, the profession becomes diluted and runs the risk of losing credibility. My professional identity, I’m discovering, is less aligned with my professional role.

One important consideration then becomes ‘where do I (and the field of TR) fit’ within the healthcare system. For decades, TR organizations have been calling for Regulation to ensure public safety, minimize risk of harm, improve accountability, and develop a standard education curriculum. Regulation of the profession would offer a clear delineation between other allied health professionals and define the roles of a Recreation Therapist and Recreation Therapy Assistant. Instead, the profession relies on voluntary organizations, such as Therapeutic Recreation Ontario and The Canadian Therapeutic Recreation Association to certify or register professionals, suggest titles, create standards of practice, develop code of ethics, and recommend education paths to practice. Certification is recommended but not mandatory. This is a decade long debate which is seeing provinces move in various directions. I personally don’t see professional regulation on the horizon but will continue to advocate for my role and the immense value it brings to my patients.