A Perspective on Vocational Rehabilitation for the Physician

Vocational rehabilitation—The profession of vocational rehabilitation counseling, or rehabilitation counseling, began in the early 1920s but gained crucial momentum in the United States after World War II as an effort to help veterans with disabilities access employment or return to work after disabling injury (Leahy and Szymanski, J Couns Dev 74:163–166, 1995). In 1954, the Vocational Rehabilitation Amendments (Vocational Rehabilitation Amendments of 1954, Pub. L. No. 83-565, 1954) established funding through the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) for the development of master’s-level counselor education programs, and accreditation standards for these programs emerged in 1972. As of this writing, there are approximately 93 programs in 44 US states and territories (Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE), CORE Master’s programs in rehabilitation counselor education 2014–15 academic year. Schaumberg, IL: CORE, 2015). Typical coursework encompasses medical and psychosocial aspects of disability, diverse counseling approaches, vocational assessment, disability evaluation, career development and assessment, job placement and case management strategies, legal and legislative foundations, and ethics (Riggar and Maki, Handbook of Rehabilitation Counseling. New York: Springer, 2004). For the past 40 years, the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC) has regulated professional practice. The associated credential (CRC) is available and awarded to those who complete qualifying graduate training, including a supervised practicum and internship, and pass a national exam (Leahy and Szymanski, J Couns Dev 74:163–166, 1995).