The use of simulation is not a new phenomenon and in fact, can be traced back to antiquity. However, progress in the use of simulation began to develop rapidly in the aviation industry early in the 20th century with the use of flight simulators. Since that time simulation has been adopted in healthcare education and serves multiple purposes including the ability to expose students to situations and practice skills that they might not encounter in clinical practice. Simulation also provides a safe and controlled environment in which to teach a wide variety of skills and also to encounter and navigate complicated and challenging situations. Simulation has proven to be a reliable method to assess student attainment of competencies.

Perceptions of simulation vary depending on the professional discipline and the purpose of the experience. A simple view of simulation is that it is an attempt to recreate something real for the purposes of practicing skills, problem solving, and judgment. The rapid advancement of technology has significantly enhanced the ability of a program to provide that ‘something real’. However, not all simulation requires technology: practicing patient assessment and history taking are critical skills to master and can be practiced effectively through well-crafted simulation and do not need equipment. Simulation is a technique and not a specific technology.

In recent years EMS education has embraced simulation, recognizing how the various techniques can supplement live patient encounters, which has become increasingly important with dwindling clinical resources in some areas. CoAEMSP continues to support simulation when used appropriately in both the formative and competency or evaluation phases of the Paramedic program and includes provisions for simulation in the recently released Student Minimum Competency Recommendations. The Simulation Guidelines and Recommendations do not define requirements for simulation but provide guidelines that programs must consider when assessing the appropriate incorporation of simulation as a learning and evaluation tool. Programs are responsible to evaluate student progression from novice to competency and have discretion in the development of the curriculum, the sequencing of content, and the use of simulation to augment live patient encounters

The recently released CoAEMSP Simulation Guidelines and Recommendations provide an overview of simulation in EMS, basic definitions, guidelines for implementation and best practices, and requirements for simulation to be considered acceptable in lieu of live patient experience. This document can be found on the CoAEMSP website in the Resource Library (https://coaemsp.org/resource-library) under:

The language around simulation can be confusing with varying interpretations. The authoritative source for simulation terms is the Healthcare Simulation Dictionary, Second Edition (2.1) and is the intellectual property of The Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH) and is published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

The CoAEMSP is increasing its site visitor cadre and is seeking Paramedic educators and physicians to become site visitors for the CoAEMSP.

The training workshop will be hosted on Tuesday & Wednesday, June 28 & 29, 2022, in Dallas, Texas, for applicants who have been selected to be site visitors.

The deadline to apply is May 1, 2022.

On May 1, 2020, the CoAEMSP Board of Directors approved Policy XVII – Interpretations of CAAHEP Standards. This policy allows various stakeholder groups the opportunity to provide input regarding proposed language for the CoAEMSP Interpretations of the CAAHEP Standards and Guidelines through an open public comment period. The public comment period will last 45 days, and all comments will be reviewed during the next scheduled CoAEMSP Board of Directors meeting.

The CoAEMSP Interpretations of the CAAHEP Standards and Guidelines is a companion document that contains interpretations of the CAAHEP Standards and Guidelines which are adopted by the CoAEMSP through policies. The CoAEMSP developed interpretations for several CAAHEP Standards and Guidelines during its February 2022 Board of Directors meeting and encourages all Paramedic educational programs and interested parties to carefully read the proposed interpretation for each of the specified CAAHEP Standards listed below and submit comments using the provided Survey Monkey link. The CoAEMSP will consider the comments received for each interpretation.

Please note: all comments are for the interpretation of the CAAHEP standard, not the CAAHEP standard itself.

The public comment period for the interpretations of the CAAHEP Standards specified below will end April 20, 2022, and all comments will be reviewed during the May 2022 CoAEMSP Board of Directors Meeting.

Provide comments to the interpretations for the following CAAHEP standards here.

CoAEMSP Interpretations of the CAAHEP Standards and Guidelines

XVI.C. Personnel Changes - Change of Program Director (specifically Interim Program Director)

The CoAEMSP Policies and Procedures for Programs can be found in full here.

The CoAEMSP Annual Accreditation fee invoice will be sent to all Program Director emails on May 4th, 2022.

To save time, streamline processes, reduce data entry, and eliminate additional processing fees, the CoAEMSP strongly encourages your program to pay invoices by ACH (Automated Clearing House). ACH payments are electronic payments that transfer funds directly from a checking account to the payee. Instead of writing out and mailing a paper check, the funds move automatically.

You may pay invoices by Automated Clearing House (ACH) or the View and Pay Invoice option that will appear as a link in the emailed invoice. As a reminder, credit cards are not accepted. The CoAEMSP will accept checks this year; however, please note that we are moving toward requiring all payments being made via ACH or “View and Pay” in the future.

All programs selecting to pay by ACH should email payment advice to sybil@coaemsp.org. A payment advice provides the details on payment and provides advance notice to the recipient.

The advantages of paying via ACH or the “View and Pay” option are:

•   Pay directly through the invoice

•   Secure environment

•   Payment processes in 3 days instead of 3 weeks (checks)

•   Automatically applies to the invoice (less data entry errors)

Have questions? Please contact Sybil Land at sybil@coaemsp.org for any questions regarding invoicing/payments.

The CoAEMSP offers a number of invaluable educational opportunities to assist with the accreditation process. The new guides give an overview of these educational offerings for your convenience.

Download them now for easy planning of the educational opportunities to take advantage of.

Education programs across the country are being held accountable for program outcomes, typically including passing rates on credentialing examinations, placement of graduates, and attrition/retention of students. Of these three outcomes, retention tends to be the most challenging for programs. The reasons students leave are varied and include academic, financial, personal, and pursuing other career opportunities. This session will explore the outcome threshold metric, how it is established, why retention is important and approaches to increasing retention in Paramedic programs.

At the conclusion of this presentation, the participant will be able to:

•   Discuss the rationale for the CoAEMSP retention threshold.

•   Discuss why retention is an important metric in higher education.

•   Describe strategies to retain students in the Paramedic program.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Can’t attend the live offering? Check our website here after April 10 for the recording! All the monthly webinars are recorded and posted here.

The Annual Report is based on the 2020 calendar year and its graduates; it is due May 15, 2022.

This allows the program at minimum one (1) year to gather all relevant data and allows sufficient time to send out and gather results for the Graduate and Employer Surveys for the applicable annual report year.

Paramedic educational programs are required to submit an annual report that encompasses the following three (3) key metrics:

•     Retention

•     Positive Placement

•     Success on the credentialing written (cognitive) exam.

All CAAHEP Accredited and CoAEMSP Letter of Review (LoR) programs will be required to complete the Annual Report and publish the outcomes from their annual report on their website. Outcomes will be for the year reported (and no longer based on a 3-year average).

As the CoAEMSP continues to strive to become more outcomes-oriented in its approach to EMS education, the evaluation of identified outcomes measures becomes increasingly important.

Have questions? Email AnnualReports@coaemsp.org.

Above: Webinars on the Annual Report offered in February were recorded and can be found here.

Randy Kuykendall, MLS, NRP, has joined the CoAMESP staff in the role of Technical Consultant.

Randy is well known in EMS nationally for his more than four decades of service, first as the State EMS Training Coordinator for the State of New Mexico and then as the State EMS Director in Colorado. He has served as a Paramedic Program Director for 10 years at Pueblo Community College. Randy’s background in education allows him the ability to understand the job done each day in the classroom of more than the 700 programs we serve. Randy's service for the State of Colorado as the Director of the Health Facilities and EMS Division at the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment brings a rare perspective to where EMS fits into the broader healthcare system of both acute and long-term care nationally.

Randy's service as the Chair of the CoAEMSP Board of Directors from 2006 to 2010 as well as the President of the National Association of State EMS Officials (NASEMSO) from 2010 to 2012 gives him a unique insight into the situations encountered by State EMS Officials in today's challenging health care environment. Randy will focus on national EMS accreditation efforts, aligning with the broader States’ EMS perspective that the CoAEMSP has fostered for more than four decades.

Randy, welcome to the team!

Randy can be reached at randy@coaemsp.org or 303-241-5389.

The CoAEMSP Board provides predictable, consistent, and deliberate communications with its sponsors about the work of the Board. The Board provides official updates via the Board Highlights to each of its 12 sponsors within 30 days of each Board meeting.

These Board Highlights are shared directly with each of the sponsors’ CEOs following the 30-day moratorium after a board meeting as well as posted here for review by anyone, including students, graduates, faculty, Paramedic educational program sponsors, administration, hospital/clinic representatives, employers, police and/or fire services with a role.

Read highlights from the most recent Board of Directors meeting here.

Now more than ever, we’d like to acknowledge the vital role of EMS professionals in our country. We honor these individuals who are Rising to the Challenge to help their communities every day. We support EMS Week because we believe in educating the public and stakeholders about prehospital medicine and the services provided by EMS to the community. And we believe there’s no better time to celebrate the accomplishments of EMS professionals than EMS Week. We want to shine a spotlight on those who serve and promote camaraderie among every EMS team in every community nationwide.

Produced by the American College of American Physicians (ACEP), in partnership with the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT), national EMS WEEK is designed to celebrate, unite, and inspire the men and women of EMS 365 days a year.

The CoAEMSP is a proud sponsor of EMS Week. Learn more about the campaign at emsweek.org

For a current list of CoAEMSP LoR and CAAHEP Accredited programs, visit www.caahep.org.