nursing and recreation therapy

[neonate20]

I have a degree in recreation therapy and almost complete with my nursing degree. I would like to incorporate both in my career. Anyone know of a job that does this?

[Quickbeam, BSN, RN]

My husband is a rec therapist and has 30 years of outdoor education/experiential education experience. His take on this (it is a question that comes up often in his profession) is that while nursing is a great boost, there are few opportunities to really make a career out of the combination. Most likely, you'd be considered a highly sought after rec therapist because of your nursing knowledge. He's never seen anyone paid more for it though.

A lot of niche positions have dried up over the decades since he began. His own wilderness diversion program was just shut down after 30+ years. This is a dark time for anything out of the box in health care, sorry.

[neonate20]

wow that's too bad, well then i guess i will just incorporate my skills into what ever position i land as a nurse. that is part of the reason for getting out of recreation therapy b/c job market was going down and the need/desire to have them part of the health care team was diminishing

[Quickbeam, BSN, RN]

I wish I had better news and hope you find me wrong :)

I also find though my experience that nursing isn't that great at helping people combine skill sets. The one exception might be peds if you were interested in child life.

[Double-Helix, BSN, RN]

I'm not familiar with the role of recreation therapist. Could you provide some more information about what you do and what your skills are? That would better allow me to suggest a nursing area that might make the best combination.

[neonate20]

Recreation therapist provide treatment services and recreation activities for individuals with disabilities or illnesses. Using a variety of techniques, including arts and crafts, animals, sports, games, dance and movement, drama, music, and community outings, therapists improve and maintain the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of their clients. Therapists help individuals reduce depression, stress, and anxiety; recover basic motor functioning and reasoning abilities; build confidence; and socialize effectively so that they can enjoy greater independence and reduce or eliminate the effects of their illness or disability. In addition, therapists help people with disabilities integrate into the community by teaching them how to use community resources and recreational activities. Recreational therapists are different from recreation workers, who organize recreational activities primarily for enjoyment.

[wooh, BSN, RN]

Maybe working at one of the camps specializing in childhood illness, like the asthma/diabetes/cancer/etc camps?

[ventmommy]

I don't know about hospital based but I was thinking trach/vent camp.

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

What about school nursing in a special needs or autistic school? A nurse that is qualified to assist with social skills groups/activities could be highly valuable. Granted high pay is not exactly associated with education.

[Guest717236]

How about Dance Therapy? It is a dance masters degree with psychology,

but your nursing background would be a compliment to the work...