PCCs

What is a Professional Contribution Credit (PCC)?

For those new to the profession, you will often hear the term ‘PCC’ in relation to education events, conferences and the designation. There is quite a bit of confusion about what a PCC is and so we will try to shed some light on this topic.

PCC stands for Professional Contribution Credit. PCCs are points (or credits) that are earned to support TR professionals in either their initial or maintenance application of their designation. It is a record of continuing education (workshops, conference, webinars, etc.) and/or professional contributions (volunteering on a TRO committee, publishing a blog or article on TR, etc.).

PCCs may be recorded on a PCC transcript or they may be tracked with written proof of participation in an activity. For example, when you attend TRO-sponsored education events, in addition to the registration fee, you may also want to purchase a PCC transcript as a record of your attendance at the event. The low $15 fee helps to cover the administrative costs of managing the PCC tracking system. 1 hour of education = 1 PCC. If a workshop includes 5 hours of education, then the attendee’s transcript would reflect 5 PCCs. By watching an entire webinar series, you can earn 5 PCCs. Another great way to earn your points is by attending a TRO conference. Depending on the conference, you can earn anywhere from 10 – 15 PCCs by attending the education sessions all for the price of $15.

If you attend a non-TRO sponsored training at your workplace or through another 3rd party, make sure you have proof of attendance such as a certificate or letter from the trainer that shows the number of education hours, location of the training, etc. (see the Professional Contribution Criteria for Non-TRO sponsored events form for further details.)

If you volunteer on a TRO Committee, be sure to ask the committee chair for a letter acknowledging the following:

• # of hours you volunteered
• what volunteer activities you did (attended meetings, organized an event, reviewed documents, etc.)
• time period you volunteered

You will be surprised at how quickly your PCCs add up and before you know it, you will have met the 25 points necessary for the Professional Contributions category in both the initial and maintenance designation applications.

Still have questions? Contact Amy Bennett-Thompson, Interim R/TRO Administrative Support, at trodesignation@trontario.org.

Purchase PCCs

To purchase your PCC transcript(s), please email Amy Bennett-Thompson, Interim R/TRO Administrative Support, at trodesignation@trontario.org.

Application to make your education event PCC eligible

Are you organizing an event that you would like to be PCC eligible? Therapeutic Recreation Ontario is now offering PCC points for members who attend educational opportunities made available by/to regional groups or facilities. Attendees will be awarded 1 PCC point for every 1 hour of education sessions they attend. Only attendees who purchase PCC points will be able to submit the education session along with their PCC transcript for points in their Designation (R/TRO, R/TRO DIP) application/maintenance packages. The organizing individual/group must complete the attached application form and email it as directed. Email your abstract as early as possible to allow for the approval of PCC points to be included in promotional material. The Practice Review Committee will review all completed proposals and will notify organizers via e-mail within two weeks of receipt of application. To ensure quality outcomes of the education sessions, PCC points will be awarded based on content relevant to PCC code criteria.

How to apply

Step 1: Fill out the following form: PCC Application Form (Please note the following PCC Code Glossary to inform your application)

Step 2: Submit your application via email (see details in PCC Application Form)

TRO sponsored events learning objectives

When filling out the application for PCCs for TRO Sponsored events, be sure to include 3-5 learning objectives that delegates will achieve by participating in your conference session. Learning objectives describe what each conference delegate will achieve by the end of your session. Include SMART Learning Objectives, which are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely. e.g. “Each participant will be able to identify 3 benefits of obtaining a professional designation through Therapeutic Recreation Ontario by the end of the session.”

In the above example, the learning objective is:

• Specific because it describes what must be completed  i.e. identify benefits
• Measurable, because it describes something that can be measured, e.g. 3 must be identified
• Attainable, which should describe something that can be realistically achieved
• Relevant or something that would motivate a delegate to achieve it = the number of benefits is both attainable, and something that the delegate would be motivated to achieve
• Timely, which in the example above is indicated by “end of the session.”

See more examples from previous sessions below:

i.e. by the end of the conference session, each delegate will:

1. Identify 3 responsibilities of a Residents’ Council Staff Assistant.
2. Identify 3 major changes in obtaining the R/TRO designation beginning September 1, 2015.
3. Will be able to perform 5 seated exercises.