Contact: Lynn Caruthers, lynn@coaemp.org , 214-703-8445, x115

If you have a physician serving under the direction of the program’s Medical Director, which do you have – an Associate Medical Director or an Assistant Medical Director?

Do not let the title confuse you. Review CAAHEP Standards III.B.3 and III.B.4. When the program Medical Director delegates specified responsibilities, the program must designate one or more Associate Medical Director(s). The Associate Medical Director fulfills the responsibilities delegated by the Medical Director and the Associate Medical Director must be a physician currently licensed and authorized to practice in the location of the program, with experience and current knowledge of emergency care of acutely ill and injured patients (see III.B.3.1-4).

When the program Medical Director or Associate Medical Director cannot legally provide supervision for out-of-state location(s) of the educational activities of the program, the sponsor must appoint an Assistant Medical Director. The Assistant Medical Director provides medical supervision and oversight of students participating in field experience and/or field internship and must be a physician currently licensed and authorized to practice in the jurisdiction of the location of the student(s), with experience and current knowledge of emergency care of acutely ill and injured patients (see III.B.4.1-4).

CoAEMSP approval is required for any physician serving as either an Associate Medical Director or as an Assistant Medical Director. A list of the required supporting documentation and required forms is published on the CoAEMSP Personnel webpage.

Associate Medical Director = same state as program

program’s Medical Director delegates specific responsibilities and is in the same state as the program

Assistant Medical Director = out-of-state location(s)

provides supervision for out-of-state location(s) of the educational activities of the program

If you have questions, please direct them to Lynn Caruthers at lynn@coaemsp.org.

This virtual workshop held via Zoom is designed to educate attendees on the 2015 CAAHEP Standards and the accreditation process, enhancing the accreditation knowledge of Paramedic program faculty. Through the use of expert presentations and interactive group learning activities, the workshop will provide best practices to avoid common stumbling blocks.

The following will be addressed:

Fees paid for ACCREDITCON 2020 and deferred to 2021 cannot be applied to this workshop.

Chair of the Board Chief Paul Berlin and Executive Director Dr. George Hatch will provide an update on the activities of the Committee on Accreditation of EMS Professions (CoAEMSP) and discuss the strategic outlook of the organization moving EMS education via credible education.

This is an opportunity to discuss issues, including hearing from the CoAEMSP’s communities of interest on topics of importance; seeking an understanding of the goals and values of the CoAEMSP; asking questions of the CoAEMSP leadership and giving feedback; informing Paramedic educational programs about emerging issues in accreditation; informing the CoAEMSP about emerging issues from the perspective of programs; gauging where the communities of interest stand on certain subjects; and serving as a place to identify possible solutions to a problem.

Access the webinar here.

New Webinars!

Are you a new program director? Perhaps a lead instructor? Looking for any education you can to learn more about accreditation? A series of webinars have been added to our webinar page here! Following is a list of webinars recently added:

CAAHEP Overview [12 minutes]

CoAEMSP Overview [45 minutes]

Completing the Self-Study Report [52 minutes]

Available Resources [24 minutes]

Getting Started: An Action Plan for CAAHEP Accreditation [70 minutes]

ASPA: The importance of programmatic accreditation [1 minute]

Contact: Jennifer Anderson Warwick, jennifer@coaemsp.org, 214-703-8445, x114

CoAEMSP paused scheduling site visits due to COVID-19, and will resume residential/in-person site visits when state and local travel restrictions have lifted, physical distancing guidelines have relaxed, campuses are open, and other variables are considered. Based on what we know today, it will be 2021 when the residential in-person site visits will re-start.

CoAEMSP has developed a detailed plan to move forward with conducting virtual site visits (v-SV.) (There are more than 80 programs waiting for a site visit.) For the first set of virtual site visits, the following criteria are being applied to programs:

Programs that qualify will be contacted directly. CoAEMSP will not force a program to host a v-SV.

Effective immediately, the Committee on Accreditation of Educational Programs for the Emergency Medical Services Professions (CoAEMSP) Board of Directors amends the CoAEMSP April 5, 2020, Updated Statement regarding COVID-19. CoAEMSP is extending the original guidelines associated with CAAHEP Standards III.A.2. Hospital/Clinical Affiliations and Field/Internship Affiliations and III.C.3. Curriculum to permit the use of alternative evaluation methods to include scenarios, case studies, and simulation as well as the adjustment of minimum competencies to satisfy the requirements of these standards for Paramedic educational programs through July 1, 2021. (The original date was October 31, 2020). This update supersedes any prior guidance by CoAEMSP.

The CoAEMSP reaffirms its support that Paramedic educational programs may employ a broader array of approaches, including simulation, in determining competency in didactic, laboratory, clinical, field experience, and capstone field internship.

For the complete updated statement the CoAEMSP website home page here.

Download a PDF of the updated statement here.

Contact: Heather Parker, heather@coaemsp.org , 214-703-8445, x116

All program directors for the CoAEMSP Letter of Review Programs and the CAAHEP Accredited Programs, along with each of the 14 sponsors of CoAEMSP, received their annual fee invoices from the email address: heather@coaemsp.org.

You are encouraged to pay the annual fee by ACH or the View and Pay Invoice option in the email. (Credit cards are not accepted.)

The fee was due July 1, 2020; there are 137 programs that have not paid.

If you have questions about the invoice or other accounting related items, please contact Heather Parker (heather@coaemsp.org, 214-703-8445, x116).

For a current list of LoR and accredited programs, visit www.caahep.org.

Eric Allmon, EdD, NRP, NCEE, Program Director with Ivy Tech Community College, Ft Wayne, Indiana, earned the Doctor of Education degree from Ball State University, which was conferred on July 31, 2020.

Congratulations, Dr. Allmon!