Announcing a New Pathway to ATP Certification

Published in Complex Rehab on August 20, 2024

Guest blog written by Andrea Van Hook, Executive Director, RESNA

Thanks to the support of U.S. Rehab, the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) is launching a new program this fall: the ATP Guidance Program (AGP).

This program builds off the Assistive Mobility Repair Group’s (AMRG) certification for assistive mobility or complex rehab repair technicians, by offering a step-by-step program to becoming certified as a RESNA ATP.

RESNA’s ATP certification establishes demonstrated competence in assistive technology provision and service delivery. It is the only assistive technology certification accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA), and is recognized by CMS, Medicare, Medicaid, and many private insurers.

Over 4,500 professionals are certified as RESNA ATPs, but that’s not enough to serve the approximately 8% of Americans with mobility impairments, not to mention the millions more that need other types of assistive technology.

By and large, people who enter the field of assistive technology do so because they stumble across it – through a family member or friend with disabilities, a random class at school, or exposure at a conference. Many folks describe “lucking into it” – finding a career that is fulfilling and meaningful just by chance.

The ATP Guidance Program is our attempt to develop a career pathway for our industry, starting with wheelchair repair technicians. Technicians who achieve the AMRG certification already exhibit qualities important for a certified ATP. They are interested in assistive technology; they care about quality service; and they are invested in their own career growth and learning. So, let’s “close the gap” and help them become a RESNA certified ATP.

This one-year mandatory program combines instructional courses, professional ethics, case studies, and an intensive mentorship program to prepare students with the skills needed to be proficient in AT service delivery and provision. Most importantly, beyond passing the exam, students will develop the transformational skills needed to be a great certified ATP whose work improves outcomes for their clients.

What is a great ATP? Someone who, in addition to knowing the ins and outs of assistive technology, also knows how to communicate with the three Cs – clients, clinicians, and caregivers. They know how to build trust, bring value, and collaborate effectively. They know how to advocate for their client and how to handle conflict. They also know, importantly, how to take care of themselves and their teams and prevent burnout.

This is the kind of stuff that people usually say “no one can teach” – except we can. Through the mentorship part of the program, students will be matched with ATPs who are recognized leaders. RESNA will provide mentors with monthly topics, complete with discussion points, videos, and guidelines for a structured discussion, and monitor their progress with their mentees. Mentors will offer opportunities to shadow them at work, either in-person or through Zoom, and will introduce mentees to their professional network and manufacturer reps. Together with the instructional courses, mentorship will allow a repair technician to make the leap to certified ATP, and better yet, hit the ground running with the customer-facing skills necessary for success.

If you are an employer, this program will allow you to “home grow” your own ATPs and reward valued employees with career growth and promotion potential. If you are a technician, this program will give you a structured, time-limited educational program that will prepare you to not only take the ATP exam but become a certified ATP professional with all that the designation entails.

RESNA is currently recruiting mentors. Mentors receive a small honorarium as well as credit towards their certification renewal. In September, the registration portal will open for our first cohort of technicians. You can find more information on the ATP Guidance Program webpage. If you would like to discuss the program or schedule a presentation at your workplace, please contact me directly at execoffice@resna.org.

This program alone will not solve the problem of needing more ATPs. However, if successful, we believe that this combination of instructional courses and mentorship could be opened to others (such as recent graduates and newly certified ATPs) and serve as a model for developing qualified and prepared certified ATPs.

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