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August Webinar
Annual Report & the Resource Assessment Matrix
Thursday, August 25 @ 1PM CT
Facilitators: George Hatch, Ed, LP, EMT-P & Bill Goding, MEd, RRT
Description: At the end of the webinar, the participant will be able to complete the following:
- identify the accreditation Standard that relates to the
Annual Report (AR); - list the required outcomes;
- state who must file an AR and when;
- describe the components (tabs) of the AR; and
- discuss the data required in each of the tabs
OCTOBER WEBINAR
Topic TBD, based on feedback from June & August webinars
Thursday, October 27 @ 1PM CT
Registration will begin September 15
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Attend the November Accreditation
Workshop in Atlanta
One-on-One Sessions Now Available After the Workshop!
Monday, November 14, 2011, 8:00 AM ET
to Tuesday, November 15, 2011, 12 noon ET
The Omni Hotel at the CNN Center
100 CNN Center
Atlanta, GA 30303
(404) 659-0000
Accreditation Workshop: STEPS TO SUCCESS
This comprehensive one-and-a-half-day accreditation workshop will arm you with all you need for a successful accreditation experience. You will receive hands-on instructions and guidance. Plan to attend now.
Join us for an informative workshop, which will include the:
- Concept and overview of accreditation
- Process of accreditation
- Steps to the self study report with examples
- Site visit process--how to prepare for it and what happens during and after the visit
- Common stumbling blocks to accreditation and how to overcome them
NEW! Following the conclusion of the workshop at noon on Tuesday, November 15, presenters Dr. Hatch, Ms. Cason and Mr. York will be available for individual 15-minute sessions from 1:00 to 3:00 pm. These special 15-minute sessions will be based on time availability and requests made in advance. A sign-up roster will be available at the beginning of the workshop.
REGISTER NOW!
EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION fee is $300 through October 14, 2011. Beginning October 15, 2011, the registration fee is $350. This fee includes the cost of the workshop plus breakfast, lunch and breaks each day.
Get complete information.
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Meet Executive Committee
Member-at-Large
Thomas Brazelton, MD, MPH, FAAP (AAP)
Thomas Brazelton, MD, MPH, FAAP (AAP), is a Pediatric intensivist at the University of Wisconsin's American Family Children's Hospital (AFCH). In addition, Dr. Brazelton has been Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin (UW) School of Medicine & Public Health since 2007; Vice Chair for Quality Improvement, AFCH Department of Pediatrics since 2010; Medical Director of the AFCH Neonatal/Pediatric ECMO Program since 2000; Medical Director/founder of the UW AFCH Children's Hospital Emergency Transport Ambulance service (CHETA) since 2004; and Associate Medical Director of the UW Critical Care Transport Program (Med Flight & CHETA) since 2007.
Drawing on his experience in the late 1980's as an advanced life support EMT, heavy rescue specialist and high-level rescue instructor, Dr. Brazelton has served on a number of EMS-related boards and committees, including Chair for the Wisconsin EMSC Program; Physicians Advisory Committee for the State EMS Medical Director; and Medical Director for Oregon Area Fire/EMS District. Currently, he is the American Academy of Pediatrics liaison to the CoAEMSP (since 2004); the Co-Chair for the Section on Emergency Care, Executive Committee, of the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP); and a member of the national Expert Panel, Risk-Informed Clinical Information Network for Safe Pediatric Emergency Transfers.
In addition to holding numerous professional certifications, Dr. Brazelton is a reviewer for Critical Care Medicine and Pediatric Critical Care Medicine; an ad hoc reviewer for Academic Emergency Medicine; and a member of the editorial board of "Pediatric Emergency Medicine Pocketbook", Tarascon Publications, 5th edition.
Dr. Brazelton has served as Ad Hoc reviewer for the Wisconsin Medical Journal, the official journal of the Wisconsin Medical Society, since 2007; and is a Medical Mediation Panel physician member for the Supreme Court of Wisconsin.
Among the many honors and awards Dr. Brazelton has received, he has been elected to Best Doctors in America (R) since 2009 by a peer-reviewed national survey.
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Seeking Help from Your Colleagues
for CAAHEP Accreditation
It's One of the Simplest Ways to Make the Accreditation
Process Easier
By Denise A. Wilfong, Ph.D., NREMT-P
Director, Emergency Medical Care Program
Western Carolina University
Cullowhee, North Carolina
One of the most important actions a Program Director can take in preparing for CAAHEP accreditation (through the CoAEMSP) is to seek help from as many internal and external sources as possible. Some of the best individuals to talk to are other program directors who have already been through the process. These can include other EMS education program directors or accredited health care education programs at your institution. Other health care education programs in the CAAHEP family that you can seek out include anesthesia technology, cardiovascular technology, cytotechnology, diagnostic medical sonography, kinesiotherapy, surgical technology, among many others. Since the CAAHEP family shares common Standards and Guidelines concepts, the experience of colleagues in these areas will likely be beneficial in making the accreditation process easier, more efficient and less time consuming.
Finding the Right Advice
If your program is not affiliated with a community college, then consider asking experienced program directors of similar programs and institutions. If you are part of a community college, however, you have the resources you need right in your own back yard. Another option is to look for advice from other local or regional EMS programs. You do not need to locate a program of similar size or composition, as this has no reflection on the process. This is because regardless of the size or type of program, the requirements must still be met. The value of accreditation is that the CAAHEP Standards and Guidelines can be met in a multitude of ways, allowing each program to maintain its own character, individuality and uniqueness.
In the technological age in which we live, you are not geographically limited in whom you interview. While face-to-face discussions are ideal, phone conversations can also work. Follow-up questions can always be handled via email or through subsequent phone calls. Also consider talking to more than just one colleague for advice. Because each program achieves accreditation in its own separate way, you will gain more insight and ideas for successfully completing the accreditation process.
Here are some questions to ask:
- How did you go about planning for the process?
- What steps did you take?
- How did you divide up the responsibilities?
- What is a realistic estimate of how long the process will take?
- What was the most challenging part of the process?
- What barriers did you face?
- How did you overcome these barriers?
- How did you budget your time while working on the self study?
- What strategies did you use for planning the process?
- If you could have known anything/something before you started working on accreditation, what would it have been?
- How did you get ready for the site visit?
- How did you organize documents/items for the site visit?
- What surprised you the most about the process?
- What benefits have you seen both during and after the process?
- What was the most rewarding part of the process?
Plan to spend about one to two hours on your initial interview session. It is not necessary to ask all of the suggested questions, so the actual amount of time you spend in your fact gathering may vary.
What to Do With the Information You've Gathered
After you have completed your interviews, you will no doubt have plenty of information to sort through. Once the information is organized you should formulate a solid plan of how to best use what you have learned and then share this information with your faculty, staff, and the department head, dean or other administrative representative. You can then set up a reverse timeline for carrying out these tasks. Also remember that CoAEMSP staff members are available and willing to assist you by helping you process the advice and information you have gathered. While the bulk of the responsibility of the accreditation process will rest on you as the program director, you will benefit by delegating a number of these tasks to the appropriate faculty and staff members.
While the accreditation process can sometimes appear daunting, you will have a better experience if you keep in mind the multiple benefits of leading an accredited EMS educational program. In addition to fostering accountability, transparency, and validation of having a quality program, accreditation means:
- an unrivaled level of credibility and prestige to your program
- recruitment of a better caliber of students
- students who are better prepared to take the NREMT National Certification examination and
- students will have an easier time transferring their credits to a four-year university or other higher education institution.
Gathering information from individuals who have been through the accreditation process is an invaluable tool for program directors seeking national programmatic accreditation status. It is important to know that you are not alone and that there are many people willing to help. Moreover, seeking advice from colleagues will make the accreditation experience easier, more efficient and much less formidable.
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Site Visitor Highlight:
John Karduck, MD
John Karduck, MD is Medical Director and Lead Instructor at Conemaugh School of EMS, Memorial Medical Center, Johnstown, PA. He also serves as the Medical Director for Cambria County 911 Center, and is EMS Medical Director for numerous EMS agencies.
Also an instructor of Advanced Trauma Life Support, Advanced Medical Life Support, GEMS, and PEPP, Dr. Karduck was appointed to the Regional Faculty for Advanced Cardiac Life Support, and the National Faculty for Pediatric Advanced Life Support. He holds staff appointments at Conemaugh Hospital, (Active Staff, Dept. of Family Practice); Windber Medical Center, (Courtesy Staff, Dept. of Family Practice); and Miner's Medical Center, (Attending Physician, DEM).
Dr. Karduck is a member of the American Medical Association (AMA), Cambria County Medical Society, Pennsylvania Medical Society, American Academy of Family Physicians, Civilian Aviation Medical Association, National Association of EMS Educators (NAEMSE), and National Association of EMS Physicians (NAEMSP).
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Meet Our Sponsors:
American College of Cardiology
The American College of Cardiology (ACC) was founded in 1949, with the mission of improving the quality of cardiovascular care by offering professional education and other services to medical professionals. Today, the ACC is the world's leading advocate for quality cardiovascular care, continuing to uphold the belief that "quality cardiovascular care is not only their most important goal, but their 'sacred duty'. The ACC carries out this philosophy through medical care that is patient-focused, ongoing quality improvement, and national registries for the measurement and improvement of quality care.
A leader in forming and influencing health care policy, the ACC acts as an advocate for quality cardiovascular care, through the development of standards and guidelines, education, research promotion, and development.
Now comprised of 39,000 members world-wide, this non-profit medical society consists of physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists and practice managers, who become members only through meeting stringent qualifications.
The ACC continues to be inspired by the words of its founder Franz Groedel who stated that the ACC would carry out its vision "not merely by dreams, but by concerted action and unextinguisable enthusiasm."
VISIT THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF CARDIOLOGY WEBSITE
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EMS World Features Article about Accreditation
"Does the Bogeyman Cometh?"
CoAEMP Executive Director Dr. George Hatch, interviewed by EMS World, separates fact from fantasy about mandatory accreditation of Paramedic programs beginning January 2013.
Read the interview.
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2011 Annual Report Tool Will Open September 1
Filing Deadline is December 1
Support is available by email and phone: Lynn Caruthers at lynn@coaemsp.org or 817.330.0080, ext 115.
You will receive an email on or around September 1 informing you that access to the annual report is available for data entry, along with your program's user name and password. The filing deadline is December 1, 2011.
Login link
Get complete directions here
Key points to the annual report are...
- Enrollment & Retention: continue adding enrolled classes up
through December 1, 2011. - Survey Worksheet: survey results for the graduates of 2010
are to be entered. - NEW! Programs, at a minimum, are required to use the CoA survey items for the graduate and employer surveys, but may add their own questions. Programs are required to only report the CoA survey items on the annual report.
- Graduate and employer surveys are administered 6 to 12 months after graduation.
- NEW! Programs may select the method to administer the survey instrument, including DataArc, SurveyMonkey, etc.
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Reminder: Progress Reports and Response to Findings Letters are Due September 1
Do you have a progress report due? Did you host a site visit in May or June and have a response due to the site visit?
Progress reports and a program's response to the Findings Letter are due on or before September 1. Due dates are set corresponding to upcoming CoAEMSP Board meetings, and an extension is not given unless it is an extenuating circumstance.
If a program's report is not submitted on time, the Program will still appear on the agenda and the Board will makes its decision or recommendation based on the information provided as of September. 1.
Questions? Email or call Karen at 817.330.0080, ext 114.
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Learning Opportunities with the CoAEMSP at the NAEMSE Annual Symposium
Take Advantage! Workshops, Presentations & Exhibiting
CAAHEP ACCREDITATION WORKSHOP
1 1/2 Day Course
Wednesday, September 14, 8:00am - 5:00pm and
Thursday, September 15, 8:00am - 12:00pm
Facilitators: Doug York, NREMT-P, Director, EMS Learning Resource Center, Iowa City, IA; George Hatch, EdD, LP, EMT-P, Executive Director, CoAEMSP, Arlington, TX; Deb Cason, MS, RN, EMT-P, Program Director, UT-Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
This session will include step-by-step instructions for completing the accreditation self-study portion of the CoAEMSP application process. The session will include information that deals with the preparation and conduction of the site visit.
Get more information here
Register here
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Program Directors Perspective
Sunday, September 18, 12:45 - 2:15pm
Facilitators: Gordy Kokx, MS, NREMT-P, Program Director, College of Southern Idaho, Twin Falls, ID; Patricia Tritt, RN, MA, Director EMS & Trauma, HealthONE, Englewood, CO
This session will be a group discussion by four Paramedic Program Directors about their experiences during the accreditation process. This session is intended to allow the open and frank discussion about the positives and negatives of the accreditation process.
Get more information here.
Register here.
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Find us at Booth #415 at the Annual Symposium!
Stop by to ask a question, get information and meet the staff!
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