ESTHER7 0 Report Share Posted April 3, 2009 HI, I AM SEARCHING FOR A CAREER CHANGE. MY HUSBAND AND I VOLUNTEER AT A LOCAL ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY NEARBY 2X A MONTH. I HAVE FALLEN IN LOVE WITH THE ELDERLY AND I AM LOOKING INTO BECOMING AN ACTIVITIES ASSISTANT OR DIRECTOR. NOT SURE YET. WHAT EXACTLY IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO? I CURRENTLY LIVE IN ONE STATE BUT NOT WANTING TO GET CERTIFIED IN THE PRESENT STATE THAT I LIVE IN BECAUSE WE ARE TALKING ABOUT MOVING THIS YEAR. I AM WANTING TO GET CERTIFIED IN THE STATE OF GA SO THAT I WILL BE CERTIFIED WHEN WE MOVE. CAN ANYONE SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS WITH ME??? THANKS... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yunakitty 2 Report Share Posted April 4, 2009 (edited) HI, I AM SEARCHING FOR A CAREER CHANGE. MY HUSBAND AND I VOLUNTEER AT A LOCAL ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY NEARBY 2X A MONTH. I HAVE FALLEN IN LOVE WITH THE ELDERLY AND I AM LOOKING INTO BECOMING AN ACTIVITIES ASSISTANT OR DIRECTOR. NOT SURE YET. WHAT EXACTLY IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO? I CURRENTLY LIVE IN ONE STATE BUT NOT WANTING TO GET CERTIFIED IN THE PRESENT STATE THAT I LIVE IN BECAUSE WE ARE TALKING ABOUT MOVING THIS YEAR. I AM WANTING TO GET CERTIFIED IN THE STATE OF GA SO THAT I WILL BE CERTIFIED WHEN WE MOVE. CAN ANYONE SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS WITH ME??? THANKS... Hi! The difference between Assistant and Director is usually that the director handles all of the paperwork, MDS's, careplans, meetings, etc. (Or am I just doing too much? ha ha) In some large facilities, I have heard of activity programs where there is more than one director, or a director who only does admin type stuff, and a small army of assistants actually do the activities. I am at a small facility, so I just have one assistant in addition to myself, an hourly waged AD. (believe me, it's better than way - if I was salary, they'd never let me leave.) I work Sat-Wed with my assistant coming in on Thu and Fri so I can have two days off. I am actually the one out on the floor doing the activities; 10am art, 11am walking club, 2pm bingo, 3pm Wii Games, for example, and then in between I squeeze in meetings, paperwork, and 1:1 visits with residents that don't usually make it to group. My assistant's day is much more relaxed, as she doesn't have the meetings and paperwork to fit in. It is straight up activities. Assistants also do not have to be certified, so you might want to consider just starting out as that and not trying to get certified before even trying out the job. You'll be able to make a lot more sense out of the classes if you have actually worked in the position somewhat first! In my case, I started as an assistant, under the Activities Coordinator for the independent living side of the community. The AL and SN parts of the building had just opened, so she needed someone to work over here. I basically ran the program after a few weeks of working with her, and they sent me to the certification course in Stockbridge (I'm also in GA) that November. So I worked as essentially a director for 5 months uncertified - however, the AC was a certified AD, so the facility still fulfilled F249 (a federal tag). But as soon as I could get certified, I did, and the facility paid for it - another reason you might want to wait until you're hired! Edited April 4, 2009 by yunakitty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeanine 0 Report Share Posted April 5, 2009 HI, I AM SEARCHING FOR A CAREER CHANGE. MY HUSBAND AND I VOLUNTEER AT A LOCAL ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY NEARBY 2X A MONTH. I HAVE FALLEN IN LOVE WITH THE ELDERLY AND I AM LOOKING INTO BECOMING AN ACTIVITIES ASSISTANT OR DIRECTOR. NOT SURE YET. WHAT EXACTLY IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO? I CURRENTLY LIVE IN ONE STATE BUT NOT WANTING TO GET CERTIFIED IN THE PRESENT STATE THAT I LIVE IN BECAUSE WE ARE TALKING ABOUT MOVING THIS YEAR. I AM WANTING TO GET CERTIFIED IN THE STATE OF GA SO THAT I WILL BE CERTIFIED WHEN WE MOVE. CAN ANYONE SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS WITH ME??? THANKS... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeanine 0 Report Share Posted April 5, 2009 Hi, Having a love for the elderly is a great place to start. I would suggest that if you want to get into the activity profession, start out as an assistant which usually does not require certification and see how you like it. If you have a good activity director as your supervisor, she will set up a training program that will help you advance in your career and let you take on additional responsibilities. You could start out by leading activities on your own and doing one on one visits and then as you got to know the residents, start planning the calendar and go on from there. I have a new assistant who has no previous experience and this is working well for her. One thing you have to know is that there is alot of time spent outside of work preparing for activities and if you don't want to spend your own time, this is not he field for you. Good luck!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pennie 26 Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 MEPAP Starts on Tuesday April 7th.. Visit http://www.activitydirector.net/certification to download the Course info pack or to contact Adminssions.. Activity Directors Network NCCAP approved MEPAP courses required for certification begin the 1st Tuesday of every month. Contained in the Info Pack is the PO form for corporate billing, Admins needing AD Staff to become "Qualified" and satisfy the F249 Federal Tag for State Surveyors should download and print the info pack, fillout the first 3 pages and fax to the number provided on the forms. Your signed PO will allow your staff member to begin the course. The courses are delivered Online . Lessons for the week are posted every Tuesday and are available 24/7 throughout the week. Each of the lessons for the week are due the following Monday. Good working knowledge of the computer and digital documentation is essential for an Online course. Each Student is required to upload or attach documents created using a Word Processor (i.e. Microsoft Word) to the classroom lesson for Instructor grading and review. Students must also have a good understanding of Message Board / Forum communication and be able to attend a Live Chat on Wed evenings. Online Classrooms are not for everyone, but if you feel confident in your abilities to participate, then call us at 1.888.238.0444 or visit NCCAP.org for alternative options in your area. thanks, Pennie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ESTHER7 0 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 Hi! The difference between Assistant and Director is usually that the director handles all of the paperwork, MDS's, careplans, meetings, etc. (Or am I just doing too much? ha ha) In some large facilities, I have heard of activity programs where there is more than one director, or a director who only does admin type stuff, and a small army of assistants actually do the activities. I am at a small facility, so I just have one assistant in addition to myself, an hourly waged AD. (believe me, it's better than way - if I was salary, they'd never let me leave.) I work Sat-Wed with my assistant coming in on Thu and Fri so I can have two days off. I am actually the one out on the floor doing the activities; 10am art, 11am walking club, 2pm bingo, 3pm Wii Games, for example, and then in between I squeeze in meetings, paperwork, and 1:1 visits with residents that don't usually make it to group. My assistant's day is much more relaxed, as she doesn't have the meetings and paperwork to fit in. It is straight up activities. Assistants also do not have to be certified, so you might want to consider just starting out as that and not trying to get certified before even trying out the job. You'll be able to make a lot more sense out of the classes if you have actually worked in the position somewhat first! In my case, I started as an assistant, under the Activities Coordinator for the independent living side of the community. The AL and SN parts of the building had just opened, so she needed someone to work over here. I basically ran the program after a few weeks of working with her, and they sent me to the certification course in Stockbridge (I'm also in GA) that November. So I worked as essentially a director for 5 months uncertified - however, the AC was a certified AD, so the facility still fulfilled F249 (a federal tag). But as soon as I could get certified, I did, and the facility paid for it - another reason you might want to wait until you're hired! THANK YOU SOOO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP!!! IT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ESTHER7 0 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 Hi,Having a love for the elderly is a great place to start. I would suggest that if you want to get into the activity profession, start out as an assistant which usually does not require certification and see how you like it. If you have a good activity director as your supervisor, she will set up a training program that will help you advance in your career and let you take on additional responsibilities. You could start out by leading activities on your own and doing one on one visits and then as you got to know the residents, start planning the calendar and go on from there. I have a new assistant who has no previous experience and this is working well for her. One thing you have to know is that there is alot of time spent outside of work preparing for activities and if you don't want to spend your own time, this is not he field for you. Good luck!! THANK YOU SO MUCH! THIS IS GOOD INFO TO KNOW. I APPRECIATE YOUR HELP... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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