CoAEMSP Interpretations Updated 

The Board added more interpretations to the document "CoAEMSP Interpretations of the CAAHEP Standards" during its February meeting. They are shown below. Please review these updates before your next site visit! The document can also be accessed here.    

CoAEMSP Interpretations of the CAAHEP Standards

III.B.2.a. Medical Director Responsibilities

The medical director is a critical component of any paramedic program. The person is responsible for all medical aspects of the program. Documentation is key to validating a program's resources and ensuring the medical director is ultimately fulfilling the responsibilities.

CAAHEP Standard III.B.2.a. The medical director must be responsible for all medical aspects of the program, including but not limited to:
CoAEMSP Interpretation: There must be written documentation that the Medical Director fulfills each of the responsibilities:

CAAHEP Standard III.B.2.a.1): review and approval of the educational content of the program curriculum to certify its ongoing appropriateness and medical accuracy,
CoAEMSP Interpretation: Documentation could include a signed memorandum stating the nature of review activities, dates conducted, etc.

CAAHEP Standard III.B.2.a.2): review and approval of the quality of medical instruction, supervision, and evaluation of the students in all areas of the program,
CoAEMSP Interpretation: Documentation could include a signed memorandum stating the nature of review activities, date of review, etc. This responsibility does not mean that the Medical Director must be present for each type of activity- only that he/she reviews and approves. Review of evaluations is for those that relate to the
students, not the faculty/staff. The Medical Director is not responsible for evaluation of program personnel.

There must be evidence of interaction between the Medical Director and the students.

CAAHEP Standard III.B.2.a.3) review and approval of the progress of each student throughout the program and assist in the development of appropriate corrective measures when a student does not show adequate progress,
CoAEMSP Interpretation: Documentation could include descriptions of on-going activities, date(s) of communication with program director for such activities, etc.

CAAHEP Standard III.B.2.a.4) assurance of the competence of each graduate of the program in the cognitive, psychomotor, and affective domains,
CoAEMSP Interpretation: Documentation must include a terminal competency form for each graduate signed and dated by the Medical Director); [A CoAEMSP Terminal Competency form is available on the CoAEMSP web site for use by the program, if so desired.] At the conclusion of the program there must be a document signed by the Medical Director attesting to the competence of each graduate as an entry-level Paramedic.

CAAHEP Standard III.B.2.a.6) adequate controls to assure the quality of the delegated responsibilities.
CoAEMSP Interpretation: The Medical Director maintains final responsibility for items 1 thru 5.

CoAEMSP has been assigned a dedicated travel agent to assist you with your site visit travel needs. Please contact:

Judy Rusk

(281) 480-0111 ext 3116

ruskj@travelleaders.com 

In addition, she will ask for your credit card to guarantee the hotel room. If you do not have a credit card, the CoAEMSP corporate card will be made available.  

When booking air tickets, please request that the agent reserve the hotel, and if necessary, the rental car at the same time. 

The travel agency charges a service fee of $32 when the air travel is booked and issued. When the car and/or hotel are added later, an additional fee of $10 is assessed. 

Thank you for keeping costs down; the programs appreciate it!

Biographical Sketch Requested

You have just learned who you are paired with for the next site visit. "Hmm, I wonder who she/he is," you ask yourself. You contact Jennifer to "get the scoop".  Then the program director contacts Jennifer to "get the scoop". 

Or, maybe you have thought about calling, but never get around to it. Then it hits you when you're en route to the site visit, and you ask yourself, "What makes my team member qualified to do a site visit?"

To give you (and the program director) "the scoop", a brief biographical sketch will be provided to the program and site team. 

Please complete the brief survey. The questions are short and you should be able to complete it in less than five minutes. Thank you!

Self Studies for Site Visits Available on the FileShare

There has been an increased number of requests by site visitors to have the self study report available via the FileShare. To accommodate this request, CoAEMSP will automatically make it available here. After the self study has been added to your FileShare account, an email is automatically generated to notify you it is now available.

If you prefer to receive the self study report on a CD or thumb drive, please contact Karen at karen@coaemsp.org or 817.330.0080, ext. 111.

New Webinar Series Available:
Preceptor Training, Medical Director Responsibilities 

The recent series of CoAEMSP webinars is now available, with information you can use!  Print the PowerPoint document or view and listen to the recorded versions.  

 "CoAEMSP Interpretations: Preceptor Training," with George W. Hatch, Jr., EdD, LP, EMT-P, Executive Director, CoAEMSP and Deb Cason, MS, RN, EMT-P, Vice-Chair, Site Visit + Visitor Subcommittee Chair, CoAEMSP and Program Director, UT Southwestern, Dallas, TX

This webinar describes the key components of a preceptor training / orientation program. At the end of the webinar, participants will: define preceptor, preceptor training, and preceptor orientation; list the standard that deals with preceptor issues; describe content that must be in the program; discuss options for program delivery; and describe the evidence required to demonstrate the training has been completed by the preceptors.

  Access This Webinar 

"Medical Director Responsibilities," with George W. Hatch, Jr., EdD, LP, EMT-P, Executive Director, CoAEMSP and Patricia Tritt, MA, RN, Quality Assurance Subcommittee Chair, CoAEMSP and Program Director, HealthOne, Denver, CO

The goal of the webinar is for participants to describe the responsibilities of a medical director and list the documentation required to support the medical director's involvement.

 Access This Webinar  

Upcoming Webinars 

Due to popular demand, three new webinars are scheduled for 2011, including:

• Thursday, June 30 @ 1PM Central -- Curriculum Sequencing
• Thursday, August 25 @ 1PM Central -- Annual Reports and the Resource Assessment Matrix
• Thursday, October 27 @ 1PM Central -- Preparing for and Conducting Site Visits