NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas, Nov. 10 Alliance Seating & Mobility (Alliance) prides itself on only hiring rehab experts who have an Assistive Technology Professional (ATP) certification through Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA). However, ATPs are hard to find in today's competitive market.
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Alliance recently launched an internal development program for existing employee-owners at The SCOOTER Store. This program provides the needed materials and knowledge to prepare for the RESNA exam and to become eligible to apply for a position as an ATP for Alliance. During the course of four months, trainees study theory and application of the entire spectrum of Assistive Technology including augmentative speech communication, transportation, computer access and other topics. The study program covers anatomy and physiology, medical terminology, disease states and progressions, and human growth and development.
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Upon graduation, they take the RESNA exam, which is a situation-based test. Everything that is learned over the four months of study is synthesized and applied to the situations presented in the certification exam.
Trainees include mobility and service specialists who visit customer homes to fit and deliver the standard power chairs and scooters, as well as healthcare relations consultants who educate physicians about mobility products and services throughout the nation. This year, 18 trainees out of 30 from the program took the RESNA certification test and passed it the first time, which is a pass rate of 60 percent, exceeding the industry average pass rate of 45 percent.
"To create the program, we bought our text from RESNA and tailored the syllabus to their exam," said Paul Jensen, ATP, Clinical Education & Training Director for The SCOOTER Store and Alliance. "The University of Pittsburgh, one of the leaders in assistive technology research and education, provided some study material and a follow-up teleconference as we finalized the training before taking the exam. We consider it a success."
The goal of this program is to provide career development for employee-owners, as well as address an industry-wide need for ATPs. There are approximately 3,000 ATPs across the country, and many of them work in clinics or schools. This training program develops and increases the number of ATPs available for one-on-one customer interaction in this specialized industry.
"We realized that there are employee-owners with a passion to transition into helping individuals with more complex rehab needs at The SCOOTER Store," said Scott Higley, Alliance Vice President. "They just needed help preparing to pass a tough test, so our Learning & Organizational Development Department worked with the University of Pittsburgh to create this training program. Based on this success, we will continue to offer it to interested and passionate employee-owners."
Established one year ago, Alliance now serves complex rehab customers across the country. Alliance is also responsible for sales and service of rehabilitation equipment and commercially available assistive technology products.
About Alliance Seating & Mobility
Alliance Seating & Mobility is a division of The SCOOTER Store and has access to The SCOOTER Store's nationwide network of service and support professionals. Alliance exclusively hires rehab specialists with the Assistive Technology Professional (ATP) certification through Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) to conduct evaluations and recommend equipment and technology solutions. It is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Health Care, Inc. (ACHC) as a division of The SCOOTER Store.
SOURCE Alliance Seating & Mobility
