Although often stated, many individuals sacrifice their own personal self-care needs and activities when life becomes too chaotic and busy or they allow others’ needs to take priority. This keynote will discuss the requirement within Section D: Professional Responsibilities of the CRCC Code of Ethics (2023) for rehabilitation counselors to “engage in self-care activities to maintain and promote their own emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual well-being to best meet their professional responsibilities” and other applicable sections. Participants will explore the importance and impact of self-care practices on their personal and professional health, roles, responsibilities, and relationships. Participants will also explore supervisor and peer-facilitated wellness practices that enhance job satisfaction and retention within staff.
Learning Objectives
Describe ethical requirements related to the practice of self-care
Recognize the impact of self-care on personal and professional roles
Explore strategies for initiating sustainable wellness practices within the work setting to enhance job satisfaction and staff retention
Gina Oswald, PhD, CRC, CVE, NBC-HWC, Cornell University
Gina brings over 25 years of experience across employment, vocational rehabilitation, and professional development pedagogy to the K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on Employment and Disability. Her career has included experience at the local, state and national level through the direct provision of vocational habilitation and rehabilitation services in Ohio, professional development of preservice and seasoned practitioners across the country, and leadership at the national level in rehabilitation organizations. She is currently the President-elect of the National Rehabilitation Counseling Association.
Her key areas of interest and research focus on rural rehabilitation, universal design, best practices in employment services, transition-aged youth services, assistive technology, inclusive STEM education and makerspaces for all, and health and wellness.
At the Yang-Tan Institute, Gina is currently a Senior Extension Associate and Principal Investigator of the NYS Consortium for Advancing and Supporting Employment (CASE) project. She also oversees the Disability Workforce Development Center through which she provides trainings to support vocational rehabilitation counselors, employment service providers, and other workforce development partners.
Prior to coming to YTI, Gina held faculty positions at the University of Maine at Farmington, Wright State University, and Maryville University of St. Louis. She also worked as a state vocational rehabilitation counselor, campus-based transition-aged youth program coordinator, job developer and coach, and facility-based service provider. Her experience spans multiple states, diverse geographic and demographic regions, and unique populations. She is a certified rehabilitation counselor, certified vocational evaluator, and national board cerfified health and wellness coach.