"I had been through accreditation processes before in a prior self-owned business and as a supervisor in a manufacturing company years ago. Those experiences didn't endear me to "experts" telling me how to conduct business. Or requiring me to spend money on a certificate that wouldn't necessarily bring in extra clients. What would we really gain by the piece of paper we would get and how much time and money would we waste on it when we could be in the classroom instead? This would also be the third time that our department had started the accreditation process. It didn't look particularly exciting to me. Now, looking back, I would have to admit that the process was well worth the effort and the expense.

Accreditation helped us identify areas of growth and need. This is probably the greatest benefit that I perceive in the accreditation process. Without a good look in the mirror, no person or department can move forward. CoAEMSP doesn't require that you change your program to a rigid standard. Rather, it provides a tool, in the self-study, which helps to identify gaps in your processes for you to improve upon. As we spent time writing the documents, forming the reports and digging for the information necessary to complete it, we were often struck with ideas for new ways of doing things. We used it as an opportunity to brainstorm and re-invent aspects of the program, rather than as a drudgery and necessary evil requiring "more meetings". We probably could have finished the self study in less time, but found ourselves getting side-tracked into "hey, let's try this..." or, "we could add this..." types of discussions.

I enjoyed the site visit. Both visitors were friendly and non-judgmental. They followed their process, but also provided useful feedback about our program. They seemed to learn as much from us as we did from them and seemed to enjoy the exchange of ideas. The visit didn't feel like a testing situation, but more like mentors dropping by to see how we were doing.

Accreditation will soon be required for students to take the National Registry certification exams. This change is long overdue. Hopefully, with the new national standards being enacted, more states will join in requiring accredited schools for their paramedics. Then we can finally start standardizing the field across state boundaries. Because EMS is one of the few allied health care professions that does not require its educational programs to be accredited, this is a good step towards getting the recognition that our profession deserves.

In the end, accreditation can only bring good things to the education of our students and, ultimately, our profession."

Time Extension Offered to
Program Directors Needing to Obtain a Bachelors Degree for Accreditation

One of the requirements for accreditation of Paramedic educational programs is that the Program Director must possess a Bachelors degree. Because some programs may find it difficult to meet this requirement by the 2013 date, the CoAEMSP Board of Directors has approved a Bachelors Degree Plan for Program Directors.

This plan provides an extended period of time for the Program Director of a program seeking Initial Accreditation to obtain his/her Bachelors degree. To be eligible for this plan, the program must submit its Initial Accreditation Self Study Report (ISSR) and fees to the CoAEMSP for evaluation prior to January 1, 2011. Doing so will allow the Program Director to demonstrate that qualification by current enrollment and continual satisfactory academic progress (defined as a minimum of 15 semester hours per year) toward a Bachelors degree until successfully completed.

Make sure the Paramedic program has an accreditation-eligible sponsor, which can be a college, university, hospital, clinic, medical center, U.S. Armed Forces, governmental educational or medical services, governmental fire academy or governmental EMS training agency, or a consortium. Complete information about accreditation-eligible sponsors is here under Standard I.

Complete the CAAHEP Request for Accreditation Services form found here.

Complete the Initial Accreditation Self Study Report (ISSR) found here.

Submit the completed Initial Accreditation Self Study Report (ISSR) and appropriate fees.
 
Submission of a completed ISSR by January 1, 2011, will make the program director eligible for the extended period of time to complete a Bachelors degree. More information is available here. For additional information or assistance, contact Bill Goding at bill@coaemsp.org or 817.330.0080, EXT 113.