During EMS Week 2012 last month, the Commission on Professional Credentialing announced a name change for their Chief Medical Officer designation (press release here). I found this interesting, but can see both good and bad sides to this new designation.
Boon (the good):
1. Moves us forward to nationally-recognized EMS officer designations (NEMSMA Leadership Agenda).
2. This credentialing process is more intense than other “merit badge” courses offered to the aspiring EMS professional.
Bane (the bad):
1. It is expensive.
2. The credentialing process offers the participant no skill development beyond what he/she gained prior to submitting the application.
As I mentioned, I can see valid points both ways, so I’m going to crowdsource the issue to my readers. Please take a look at their site and share your thoughts (good or bad) in the comments section.
No related posts.
“The credentialing process offers the participant no skill development beyond what he/she gained prior to submitting the application.”
Not so. When you wish to re-credential 3 years hence, you will have to meet requirements that demonstrate continuing professional development. The credential does not require that you re-demonstrate compentencies that have already been proven (thank God – the opposite of most EMS continuing education schemes).
As to the cost, that’s just a cost of doing business, and $100/year for a chief officer should not be out of reach. EMS people have historically been unwilling to pay more than token fees, which is one of the things that have prevented us from moving forward.
Excellent points, Chief Kirkwood. Thanks for your feedback!
I agree that EMS has been generally unwilling to pay reasonable costs associated with certification. I also agree that $100 per year is probably reasonable for a professional management certification.
However, the comparisons that I would make also include significant use of testing. Test development is very expensive, which is one reason that certification fees are high. The CEMSO does not use a cognitive evaluation tool, which would significantly reduce the costs of administration.
True. The other “merit badges” aren’t management-level designations, so a premium price stands to reason.
What an interesting post. Looking into the web site it truly allows us to receive recognition for the things we have accomplished within our EMS careers. To me this seems like the brass ring in our leadership development. Once we have climbed to the top rung of the ladder of success we would be able to attain this prestigious designation.
My question is how do we get there? How do we gain all the knowledge, skills and experience needed to get to the top of this ladder? We really need to focus on initial training for Supervisors, intermediate training for Managers and advanced training for the Executive. This training should be consistent and allow for EMS leaders to gain the appropriate guidance for their respective position.
Chris
I had some of the same questions, Chris. Of the 90 people currently holding this designation, I am personally acquainted with only one. I’ve invited him to post on this, as well. Hopefully we can learn more about the vetting process from him.
Thanks for your feedback, and great work on your podcast!
Reminds me of the old joke about law school: it takes three years of intensive coursework to learn to say “it depends.”
CEMSO does not prescribe a set path for acquisition of knowledge and skills. For many, the path includes formal education. I am a strong proponent of specific educational requirements: associates for medics, bachelors for supervisor/managers and masters for executive officers. We need to embrace the relationship between formal education and professional status.
My CMO application used formal education and EMS experience to qualify for a shorter application, specifically an MPA with more than 10 years as a chief officer. Without formal education, candidates have a much harder time specifically documenting each area of competency with specific experiential or educational activities.
Follow up documentation is required for current professional activities and evidence of continued lifelong learning.
Like Mark, I agree with the FESHE model of formal education for emergency services leadership, though I would put a little finer point on it. While a liberal arts degree may be sufficient for those at the associates and bachelors levels, a Master of Fine Arts in photography wouldn’t do much to help the organization any given chief was serving.
I would venture to say the most relevant post-grad degrees would be MBA, MPA, and MPH. Any others?
What do we think of those with MAsters in emergency Management or Homeland Security with R+EMS backgrounds? What is they held the EMS CO standard?
Great questions and discussion. As to background, I hold this certification and the ASM certification from the AAA. I agree that this certification advances us towards a nationally recognized means of certifying those who are charged with leading EMS organizations.
It is important to realize that the CEMSO (formerly CMO) is a credentialing process, not an educational one. It is designed to certify attainment of knowledge and experience. It assures continued skill development through documentation of new skills and activities; not by prescribing refresher training or specific courses.
In my opinion, this is appropriate. Most professional certifications divorce the training from the certification. I would criticize the ASM process for being too training oriented.
My only criticism of the CEMSO process is that I think it is a bit weak on identifying the body of knowledge (BOK) needed for the practice. Certifications for project management (www.pmi.org), quality management(www.asq.org) or human resource management (www.hrci.org/sphr/)have extensive processes for identifying and maintaining the BOK for each area of practice. I have not seen as much evidence for that in the CEMSO process.
Congrats on your achievements, Mark. Very impressive!
Having a credential for Chief EMS Officer is excellent. The Certified emergency Manager credential started as training and experience for those in the field and now serves as the template for the direction new CEMs can follow to attain that prestigious certification.
Having credentials and standards in EMS will help alleviate EMSOs who have risen through the ranks through nepotism. This designation will also give the template for what our industry believes is needed for this level of accomplishment.
Remember, in the `980′s any doc could be a Emergency Department doc, now we have a Specialty of Emergency Physician. I am in favor of improving our profession.
Unfortunately, Steven, I think the good ol’ boy network will always be with us in some areas. You make a good point about the designation serving to separate the ranks, though. Thanks for the feedback!