Choosing a Professional Membership
In this (extremely long) post, I will be discussing the importance of obtaining and maintaining professional association membership in a quality professional association. I felt the need to create a blog post, because I have presented in multiple graduate level classes on the importance of professional organizations and the benefits of association membership. Here, I’ll be talking about professional membership and why I believe that the International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals (IARP) is the right choice for rehabilitation professionals at any point during the course of their careers.
So, why is professional association membership important? Professional association membership provides many benefits. These include personal and professional benefits for you, your business, and your clients. Personal benefits for you include becoming a part of a network of professionals who share similar interests with you and know what you’re talking about whenever you voice concerns about the status of Workers’ Compensation, the consolidation of contracting opportunities with SSVE, the struggles of finding the right DOT codes, exciting new opportunities in transition services, or even students and early career professionals also struggling to take their first steps into the field.
During a recent social gathering for rehabilitation professionals in my local area, a long-standing rehabilitation professional announced to the group that through her experience with IARP over the thirty-plus years she has been in practice, she has made friends who have lasted a lifetime and encouraged younger members to do the same.
While building a network of close friends may not be the sole reason for getting and keeping a professional membership, it sure serves as a great bonus. IARP provides additional benefits to members, such as group rate insurance for personal health, disability, pet insurance, and other discounts for travel and consumer goods. These professional benefits are the primary service of professional associations, and are particularly for those of us in private practice who do not receive benefits from an employer.
IARP also offers access to discounted private practice liability insurance. This insurance is important because even when doing your job correctly you can be sued by a client who feels they have been negatively impacted by your practice. (I would suggest putting this at the end of the paragraph two up that outlines the insurance benefits). Along those same lines, professional associations often include a code of ethics, which holds members to a higher standard of practice. IARP is an excellent example as the association holds members to both a broad code of ethics as well as specific standards of practice for vocational rehabilitation and case management, forensics practice, and life care planning.
Another valuable benefit is the private online space (IARP Connect) for professionals to exchange ideas and resources. One effort that the organization is taking is to create a special space for basic practice resources for new graduates and those transitioning into private practice.
For early career professionals and established professionals alike, professional associations often offer low cost continuing education options. Because many of these organizations are specialized, the continuing education options are typically very relevant to the practice areas of members. As a recent graduate, I’ve answered several texts from my cohort and the cohort above mine asking where to start getting CEUs. My response is always, “What professional association are you a part of?” I usually follow up with referring them to IARP LEARN.
One of the great things about local or state chapter membership is the availability of accessible state level leaders who can customize CEU sessions to the needs of members in the area. On a national level, IARP has specialty sections associated with various practice areas (Life Care Planning, Rehabilitation Case and Disability Management, Forensics, Social Security Vocational Expert, and now Transition Services), and each chapter has a section leader who sits on the education committee and members are encouraged to share their education ideas and needs with these section leaders to assist IARP in meeting the education demands of its members.
In addition to continuing education offerings, IARP publishes The Rehabilitation Professional and the Journal of Life Care Planning. These professional journals offer peer-reviewed work by industry leaders and serve as guides to state-of-the-art professional practice. These journals are a great resource for professionals and students and provide both an opportunity to stay up-to-date with current literature and publish quality research in industry leading journals.
For students, early career professionals, and professionals who are transitioning into a new practice area, membership in IARP can give access to more experienced members who can serve as a mentor or coach to act as a guide through early career development or career transitions. IARP has formal mentorship and coaching opportunities which are always being developed with new professional members who can provide guidance on specific issues that students and early career professional may have, such as setting up a private practice, developing business, as well as career transitions.
For your clients or future clients, the benefits of your professional membership come in two forms. First, being provided services by an individual with professional association membership gives them more confidence in the services provided and assures them the professional is holding themselves to a higher standard of practice. Second, IARP strongly encourages members to lobby state and national government officials to protect the rehabilitation professionals, the services that they provide, and to the people whom we serve. The IARP community provides resources and encouragement for members to use when contacting their legislators. Examples of this have been seen in efforts by members to address language in the recent Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act which reduced the level of required education and training for those who provide rehabilitation counseling services to people with disabilities. Another example has been the successful member push to retain the Licensed Rehabilitation Counselor coverage in various states where separate licensure exists for rehabilitation counselors. These efforts help to ensure that people with disabilities are served by appropriately educated rehabilitation providers.
On the other side of the coin, there are two main barriers that I have seen in my own life and those of my friends when it comes to professional association membership: Time and Money. My short answer is that it is worth it. While IARP offers one of the best deals imaginable for recent graduates (a $92 membership!), I have opted to skip that membership level due to my experience in rehabilitation and the value that I see in full professional membership, which comes with the opportunity to serve in greater leadership roles to help the organization continue to serve rehabilitation professionals in all practice areas.
For students, many organizations have a greatly reduced rate. When I was a student, I held memberships with IARP, as well as a number of other professional associations for rehabilitation counselors and students. One of the key hooks for me when it came to IARP has been that the organization has shown its dedication to student members and early career professionals by providing free membership to current students and the reduced membership rate for recent graduates. Many state chapters of IARP go beyond this to allow students free access to live seminars, often at a cost to the organization.
For anyone still “on the fence” about whether or not IARP membership is worthwhile, I am available to talk about my own experience and to walk students and professionals through the many great benefit that IARP has to offer.