Careers in rehabilitation with an undergraduate degree in rehabilitation - includes list of programs offering major or minor in rehabilitation

American Rehabilitation, Spring, 1993 by Tom Evenson, Celia Williamson

A bachelor's degree in rehabilitation provides the foundation for a myriad of careers within the broad spectrum of human services. The purpose of this article, which is based on the National Council on Rehabilitationn Education's (NCRE) position statement on Undergraduate Education (1987), is to provide specific information about some of those career options.

Undergraduate Education

NCRE's position statement on Undergraduate Rehabilitation Education stresses that the foundation of a quality baccalaureate program is its emphasis in preparation in the liberal arts. Coupled with focused pre-professional training in rehabilitation, the liberal arts component prepares students to become "thinkers" as well as "doers" within their careers. According to NCRE, the objective is to graduate people who are knowledgeable and literate in the humanities and who have competenncies in the social and psychological sciences as they pertain to people with social, physical, mental, or emotional disabilities. The primary purposes of the undergraduate programs are to prepare students for direct employment in rehabilitation-related positions and/or graduate work in rehabilitations or allied human service professions.

Undergraduate programs in rehabilitation are typically associated with programs in rehabilitation, counseling, psychology, allied health, education, or social work. While there may be variance in their specific degree requirements, typical course work of content, in addition to course work in the liberal arts and sciences, most programs include:

* the history and philosophy of vocational rehabilitation and independent living programs;

* human growth and development;

* legal and ethical principles;

* case management;

* interpersonal helping and human relations;

* interviewing;

* community resources;

* client advocacy;

* behavior management;

* introductory sections on job development and placement, vocational evaluation, supported employment, and medical and psychosocial aspects of disability; and

* practicum/internship experience in a rehabilitation service setting.

In some cases, undergraduate programs may offer specialization tracks within the general rehabilitation curriculum. Examples of specialty areas include vocational evaluation, deafness, substance abuse/addiction studies, mobility training, and criminal justice. Students will frequently supplement their major in rehabilitation services by selecting a minor in such allied areas as psychology, social work, sociology, criminal justice, communication disorders, recreation, or business administrtion.

Career Possibilities for Graduates in Rehabilitation Services

Job Titles. While there may be significant overlap in job responsibilities, job titles for rehabilitation majors tend to vary depending on the place of employment. Examples of job titles include rehabilitation specialist, interviewer, placement specialist, job developer, personal-social adjustment instructor, case-worker, supported employment specialist, job coach, counselor aide, vocational evaluator aide, mental health technician, independent living coordinator, corrections specialist (parole/probation), client advocate, eligibility worker, and health technician.

Job Competencies. Competencies required by persons in these types of positions also vary with the primary focus of the job setting. However, at a minimum, rehabilitation graduates can be expected to bring the following kinds of knowledge and skills to any position: intake interviewing, case finding and community outreach, basic case management, fundamental vocational evaluation and work adjustment techniques and procedures, preliminary job development and job plalcement techniques, client advocacy, individual rehabilitation program planning, behavior change techniques, and specialized administrative/supervisory skills.

Employment Settings. Because of the baccalaureate is designed to prepapre students as generalists within the rehabilitation field, graduates from these programs are qualified for a variety of entry-level positions in human services. Employers select these graduates because of their strong orientation in rehabilitation philosophy with its positive emphasis on abilities and potential. They are trained to take a holistic approach aimed at maximizing the quality of life of each person with whom they work.

Baccalaureate-level rehabilitation majors can be found in virtually any type of agency or program that provides services to people. The most frequent employment settings are those directly related to rehabilitation, such as work adjustment programs, supported employment programs, sheltered workshops, group homes, centers for independent living, mental health centers, developmental disbilities programs, disability specific programs (blind, deaf, head injured, etc.), client assistance programs, state vocational rehabilitation agencies, proprietary rehabilitation services, and disability determination units.

Because their specialty is working with people, rehabilitation majors are qualified for the same types of employment as graduate of psychology, social work, sociology, and similar programs. Therefore, a significant number of rehabilitation graduates are employed in rehabilitation-related agencies and programs, such as hospitals, employee--assistance programs, correctional programs (institutions, probation, and parole), senior centers and nursing homes, substance abuse programs, therapeutic recreation services, public volunteer programs, disabled student services programs, and human resource development in private industry. The rehabilitation philosophy and its basic concepts provide a constructive addition to the traditional approaches used in many of these settings.