The Therapeutic Recreation Department at the NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center offers student internships to students from contracted schools. Currently we have affiliations with Ithaca College, State University of New York at Cortland, East Carolina University, and Lehman College. The program strives to expose students to different patient populations and encourage opportunities to work with other disciplines and formulate positive professional relationships. We offer affiliations in two major areas, Inpatient Rehabilitation and Inpatient Psychiatry (two locations), with the opportunity to observe in another area or visit other facilities.
Students are accepted by application and interview. Our program follows guidelines for internships established by the American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA) and the National Council on Therapeutic Recreation Certification (NCTRC). As per NCTRC guidelines, at least 480 service hours are required for the internship. All Therapeutic Recreation Core courses must first be satisfactorily completed.
Students will be expected to complete all hospital and departmental orientations, attend all pertinent meetings, demonstrate competence in all relevant clinical paperwork, and keep a daily journal, which is reviewed by the supervisor on a regular basis. Other expectations include the development and implementation of a group activity protocol, the coordination and implementation of a special event, and the completion of two presentations, one to the Therapeutic Recreation Department and one to another clinical service.