CAAHEP Standards Under Revision
The CoAEMSP is responsible for developing and periodically revising the CAAHEP Standards and Guidelines in order to maintain: a) compliance with CAAHEP policy, including the Standards Template; and b) congruence between the educational preparation of students and the accepted state of practice for the discipline.
CAAHEP requires the CoAEMSP to review Standards and Guidelines at least once every five (5) years and provide the CAAHEP Board of Directors with a written report on the outcome of review. The current Standards were last approved by CAAHEP in 2005. In 2010, with the anticipated change in the profession for programs to become accredited by January 1, 2013, CoAEMSP requested and CAAHEP granted an extension for reviewing the Standards. Now, in 2014, with the huge influx of programs successfully brought into the accreditation system, it is time for CoAEMSP to embark on the revision of the CAAHEP Standards and Guidelines.
The review and revision of the CAAHEP Standards is a lengthy process that incorporates several drafts and several opportunities for the communities of interest to provide input. The steps the CoAEMSP will follow include:
1. Working with its 14 sponsoring organizations to develop progressive drafts over a period of several months. These drafts must comply with the current CAAHEP Standards Template. Initial and progressive drafts are shared with the CAAHEP Standards Committee for formal review and comment. The CoAEMSP reports to CAAHEP the process it used in working with its sponsoring organizations to obtain input on successive drafts. The CoAEMSP will provide a written rationale to CAAHEP for any variations from the Standards Template as to why the variation is necessary for the profession.
2. As part of the process, the CoAEMSP's sponsoring organizations are required to obtain consideration from all of their applicable communities of interest regarding what should and what should not be included in the Standards and Guidelines. The communities of interest include practitioners, educators, employers, related professionals, students, institutional administrators (deans and program directors), national societies and agencies, and the public. Solicitations may be made via media announcements, correspondence, postings, annual meetings, special hearings, etc.
3. The CoAEMSP incorporates suggestions from communities of interest into proposed Standards and Guidelines as it deems appropriate. The CoAEMSP then reports to CAAHEP the process by which the sponsoring organizations obtained consideration from all their applicable communities of interest and any suggestions from those communities of interest that were not incorporated into the proposed Standards and Guidelines, and the rationale for that exclusion.
4. The CoAEMSP will submit its proposed drafts of the revised Standards and Guidelines to the CAAHEP Standards Committee before the final draft is presented to the sponsoring organizations. The CAAHEP Standards Committee reviews proposed Standards and Guidelines drafts for: a) consistency with the current Standards Template, b) variations from the Standards Template along with the CoAEMSP's written rationale to determine if an exception is warranted, and c) consistency with CAAHEP policy and adherence to due process. If Standard III.C references a curriculum document, the contents of that curriculum document are incorporated into the Standards and Guidelines as Appendix B.
5. Once the Standards Committee has reviewed and approved the "Open Hearing" draft, it must be sent to the all of the CoAEMSP's 14 sponsoring organizations for endorsement.
6. After the 14 sponsoring organizations have endorsed the draft Standards and Guidelines, the CoAEMSP will submit the completed "Request for a CAAHEP Open Hearing on Proposed Standards and Guidelines" form, along with the endorsement letters from each Sponsoring organization to the CAAHEP office. CAAHEP will schedule a public Open Hearing on the proposed Standards and Guidelines.
7. Time and place of the hearing are determined by CAAHEP. Hearings are held in January, April, July and October and, when possible, will coincide with a face-to-face meeting of the CAAHEP Board of Directors. All hearings include the option of speaker phone participation for those who are unable to be physically present.
Immediately following the hearing, the panel meets in executive session to assess testimony and comments to determine which, if any, should be incorporated into the Standards and Guidelines.
8. The CAAHEP Standards Committee, following consultation with the CoAEMSP chair and senior staff, formulates a recommendation based on the outcome of the Open Hearing and forwards it to the CAAHEP Board of Directors. The CAAHEP Board of Directors takes action on the Standards and Guidelines at its next regularly scheduled meeting, and notifies the CoAEMSP of its decision.
The 14 sponsoring organizations of the CoAEMSP include: American Ambulance Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Cardiology, American College of Emergency Physicians, American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians, American College of Surgeons, American Society of Anesthesiologists, International Association of Fire Chiefs, National Association of EMS Physicians, National Association of Emergency Medical Services Educators, National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians, National Association of State EMS Officials, and National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians.
CURRENT STATUS: On February 8, 2014, the CoAEMSP Board of Directors approved the first draft of the proposed Standards and Guidelines. The draft is being reviewed by the CAAHEP Standards Committee for its formal review and comment.
NEXT STEP: Once the draft is finalized between the CAAHEP Standards Committee and the CoAEMSP Board of Directors, the draft will be disseminated to all the 14 sponsoring organizations and communities of interest. Solicitations will be made via e-newsletters like this, social media announcements, coaemsp.org, CoAEMSP workshops, sponsoring organizations communiqués, etc.
The revision process is expected to take 18-24 months.
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