The first ever Burn Therapist Certification (BT-C) rolled out to the membership at the 2018 Annual Conference. Burn survivors have many rehabilitation needs after their injuries that require specialized knowledge skill and experience to address adequately. The American Burn Association BT-C identifies occupational and physical therapists who show high level competencies with these skills. Having a certification for burn therapists raises the standard of care, helping burn survivors throughout the world to receive the most advanced rehabilitation possible.
Mission
The mission of the Burn Therapist Certified (BT-C) program is to promote and recognize occupational and physical therapists who have specialized knowledge, skill and experience in burn rehabilitation.
Minimum Criteria
The minimum criteria for applying for BT-C is as follows:
- Criteria 1 – Possess an occupational therapy or physical therapy license in good standing with the state/territory/country licensing agency.
- Criteria 2 – Graduated from a World Federation of Occupational Therapists or World Confederation for Physical Therapy recognized educational program.
- Criteria 3 – Have worked with the burn injured population for a minimum of 2 years.
- Criteria 4 – Have worked 4,000 hours in direct patient care* with the burn population in the 5 years prior to application date.**
**Direct Patient Care Exception
Physical or occupational therapists who have worked in the field of burn rehabilitation for a minimum of 10 years, are interested in applying for certification and meet all of the BT-C minimum certification criteria except Criteria #4 may be eligible to apply for initial BT-C status under the Direct Patient Care Exception. Please see the
BT-C website
for more information on how to apply using the Direct Patient Care Exception.
Application Process
The format of BT-C is Portfolio Application. The applicant is required to complete FOUR Evidence Forms (EF). Three of the EFs require a description of a patient case showing that the applicant has the skill, knowledge and experience to meet the pre-defined Specialty Practice Objectives for a given domain of burn rehabilitation practice (Ex. Splinting, Scar Management, Evaluation/Treatment/Discharge Planning, etc) . The fourth EF is a description of a Program, Publication or Research Project related to one of the burn rehabilitation domains with which the applicant has been involved. The four EFs together should represent a collection of the applicant’s best work and demonstrate high level competence in burn rehabilitation. An Applicant Manual is available to therapists who are considering applying for BT-C, which describes all of the components of application process and provides helpful information for preparing an application. More information can be found on our BT-C website .
Application Fees
The fee for BT-C registration and application is $450 and the certification is good for 5 years. Recertification criteria is available in the on our BT-C website .
By: Ingrid S. Parry, MS, PT, BT-C; Shriners Hospitals for Children, Northern California, Sacramento, CA
