Our keynote speaker was Rear Admiral William M. Roberts, MD, Commandant of the METC. Admiral Roberts spoke about the benefits and challenges of integrating the medical education and training across all U.S armed services at the METC. Of particular interest to me were Dr. Roberts' comments about the METC's commitment to provide exportable skills for its students. The METC must train sailors, soldiers, airmen, coast guardsman, and others to provide the specific service requirements of their role within each respective branch of service. This is a challenge in itself, but a further goal is to provide training that will be of value to individuals when they return to the civilian job market. Admiral Roberts indicated that it was for this reason that all eligible METC programs seek CAAHEP accreditation in order to insure that the training provides marketable skills and eligibility for civilian certification.

During the business portion of the meeting, the Commission elected Kate Feinstein, MD, Commissioner from the American College of Radiology as a Board Member representing a sponsoring organization, and Douglas York, NREMT-P, PS (NAEMT), as a Board Member representing a Committee on Accreditation. Doug is the Commissioner for the Committee on Accreditation for Emergency Medical Services Professions. John Padgett, PhD, was re-elected to the Board seat representing proprietary schools and Barry Eckert, EdD, was re-elected as the Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions representatives. These individuals will be helping to govern a growing CAAHEP. 

The Commission approved the membership of the Committee on Accreditation of Academic Programs in Clinical Research and its sponsoring organization, the Consortium of Academic Programs in Clinical Research. The Commission also declared Medical Scribe Specialists to be an eligible profession and proceeded to approve the Committee on Accreditation for Medical Scribe Education and its sponsoring organization, the American College of Medical Scribe Specialists. Welcome to these new professions.

CAAHEP's operational year runs from July through June.  As the current year comes to an end the newly elected directors will take their seats and other individuals will see their terms of service on the CAAHEP Board of Directors come to an end. I would like to recognize and thank these individuals for their contributions to the CAAHEP mission.  Bernard Cohen, PhD, FASNM, has served on the Board and as Chair of the Performance Oversight Committee. Calvin Harris, EdD, has served as  a public Board member and as Treasurer for several years.  Katie Lukovich, CST/CSFA has served on the Board as a recent graduate. Kerry Weinberg, MPA, RDMS, RDCS, RT, has served in many capacities on the Board, most recently as Vice President. On behalf of CAAHEP and its Board of Directors I would like to extend sincere appreciation to these individuals for their contributions. 

Another important component of CAAHEP governance is the role of Board Liaison to the Committees on Accreditation. A current or past Board member is assigned to each Committee on Accreditation to provide support and facilitate communication between the CoA and the Board. I would like to recognize those individuals who will be completing their service in this role at the end of this month. Jennifer Anderson Warwick has served as liaison to the Committee on Specialist in Blood Bank Technology/Transfusion Medicine, William Goding has served as liaison to the Lactation Education Accreditation and Approval Review Committee, Dan Points has served as Liaison to the Accreditation Review Committee for Medical Illustrators, and Marjorie Reif has served as liaison for the Committee on Accreditation for the Exercise Sciences. Thanks to these individuals for their dedication and service to CAAHEP.

 

In this issue, the Sponsor Spotlight is on one of CAAHEP's newest sponsors, the

Consortium on Academic Programs in Clinical Research (COAPCR). The COAPCR was approved as a CAAHEP sponsor by the Commission in April 2014. 

 

  

 

The Consortium of Academic Programs in Clinical Research facilitates the development of high-quality educational programs encompassing all areas of clinical research that are based in academic credit-granting institutions.

The COAPCR's mission is: 

• To provide a medium for communication among educators of clinical research professionals.
• To encourage and support the development and maintenance of academically based clinical research educational programs to meet the needs of the clinical research community.
• To foster inter-institutional articulation among educational institutions, clinical institutions, professional associations, and industry.
• To initiate and/or support research and studies relating to the educational, manpower and service needs of clinical research professionals.