- Hourly / - BiWeekly /
- Monthly / $42,056.00-$66,759.00 Yearly
An Activity Therapy Associate III is
the full performance level of activity therapy support work at Maryland
Department of Health (MDH) designated Court Involved (CI) Facilities assisting
in the implementation of prescribed activity therapy programs and patient/client
assessments for mentally ill, aged or physically ill or physically disabled
patients, or developmentally disabled clients who are residents of State
treatment facilities or community based programs. Employees in this
classification do not supervise other Activity Therapy Associates but may
provide advice and guidance to direct care staff, students and volunteers.
Employees in this classification
receive general supervision from a Therapeutic Recreator or other healthcare
professional. Employees may be assigned to day, evening or rotating shifts to
include holidays and weekends, overtime and on-call duty. Employees are
required to observe infection control precautions in order to prevent
contamination and the spread of disease. Employees may be required to restrain
patients/clients displaying violent or aggressive behavior. The work may
require lifting and positioning of non-ambulatory patients/clients
and lifting of wheelchairs and other heavy equipment. The work may require
long periods of standing, walking, bending, and reaching.
Positions in this classification are
evaluated using the classification job evaluation methodology. The use of this
method involves comparing the assigned duties and responsibilities of a
position to the job criteria found in the Nature of Work and Examples of Work
sections of the class specification.
The Activity Therapy Associate I,
Activity Therapy Associate II, and Activity Therapy Associate III are
differentiated on the basis of degree of supervisory control exercised by the
supervisor over these employees. The Activity Therapy Associate I learns to
perform duties under close supervision. The Activity Therapy Associate II
performs duties under close supervision at times and under general supervision
at other times depending on the complexity of the specific duty being
performed. The Activity Therapy Associate III performs the full range of
duties and responsibilities under general supervision.
Conducts prescribed therapeutic
activities in art, music, dance, crafts, games, aerobics, gymnastics, swimming,
therapeutic recreation or social events for patients/clients as directed by the
Therapeutic Recreator or other healthcare professional;
Plans and organizes approved
therapeutic activities by assigning patients/clients to specific activity
groups and planning auxiliary structured activities;
Prepares for group activity sessions
by setting up equipment and material, informing staff of the day's agenda and
escorting patients to the recreational area;
Observes patients'/clients'
participation during individual and group activities in order to document
progress in behavioral terms;
Participates in patient/client
planning conferences as a member of a treatment team by reporting progress of
patient and effectiveness of the treatment in order to assist in patient/client
assessments;
Prepares attendance rosters, periodic
reports documenting types of activities, number of participants, and problems,
and progress reports documenting treatment and therapeutic activities of
individual patients/clients;
Motivates the patient/client to
participate in the activity therapy sessions;
Maintains equipment, work area and
adequate operation of the activity therapy programs;
Attends in-service training programs
in order to maintain a continual awareness of current activity therapy
principles and practices and the needs of the mentally ill and developmentally
disabled population;
Recommends patients/clients for
special activities such as off ground activities;
May provide advice and guidance to
direct care staff, volunteers and students;
Performs other related duties.
Knowledge of group dynamics and
current activity therapy principles and techniques;
Knowledge of the symptoms of common
physical illnesses, mental illnesses, or developmental disability disorders;
Knowledge of the use and care of basic
activity therapy materials and equipment;
Skill in application of activity
therapy techniques;
Skill in observation of
patients/clients and communicating in behavioral terms;
Skill in assisting in preparing
structured activities and assessment reports;
Skill in assisting in assessing levels
of patient/client behavior, aptitude and performance;
Skill in motivating patients/clients
to participate in therapeutic activities;
Skill in applying procedures and
safeguards in moving and positioning patients and clients;
Ability to exercise good judgment in
patient/client treatment; Ability to organize work and manage time;
Ability to carry out emergency and
routine safety procedures for the protection of patients, clients, staff and
the public;
Ability to establish and maintain
working relationships with volunteers, students, employees, supervisors,
patients and clients;
1. Employees in this classification
may be assigned duties which require the operation of an automobile. Employees
assigned such duties will be required to possess a motor vehicle operator's
license valid in the State of Maryland.
2. Employees in some positions may be
required to operate vehicles which require a Class "C" motor vehicle
operator's license valid in the State of Maryland.
3. Employees in this classification
may be required to successfully complete and maintain current certification of
cardio-pulmonary resuscitation training.
4. Employees in this
classification at facilities with a swimming pool may be required to
obtain Red Cross instruction and certification in Life Saving and Water Safety
prior to permanent appointment.
Employees in this
classification are subject to call-in and, therefore, will be required to
provide the facility with a telephone number where they can be reached.
Class specifications are broad
descriptions covering groups of positions used by various State departments and
agencies. Position descriptions maintained by the using department or agency
specifically address the essential job functions of each position.
This is a Skilled Service
classification in the State Personnel Management System. All positions in
this classification are Skilled Service positions. Some positions in
Skilled Service classifications may be designated Special Appointment in accordance
with the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 6-405, Annotated Code of
Maryland.
This classification is assigned to
Bargaining Unit D, Health and Human Service Nonprofessionals classes. As
provided by the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 3-102, special
appointment, temporary, contractual, supervisory, managerial and confidential
employees are excluded from collective bargaining. Additionally, certain
executive branch agencies are exempt from collective bargaining and all
positions in those agencies are excluded from collective bargaining.
Employees in this classification are
eligible to receive overtime compensation. An employee who works more
than the normal workweek is entitled to be compensated for that overtime, as
provided by the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 8-305.
This classification is one level in a
Non-Competitive Promotion (NCP) series. NCP promotions are promotions by
which employees may advance in grade and class level from trainee to full
performance level in a classification series. In order to be
non-competitively promoted to the next level in a NCP series, an employee
must: 1) perform the main purpose of the class, as defined by the Nature
of Work section of the class specification; 2) receive the type of supervision
defined in the class specification and 3) meet the minimum qualifications of
the classification.