PLATTE CITY, Mo. — The National EMS Management Association (NEMSMA) is developing the application, assessment, testing and credentialing process for prospective candidates to achieve recognition at their appropriate EMS officer level.
NEMSMA has retained a nationally recognized assessment and testing organization, familiar with the EMS field, to develop and validate a credible, valid, and reliable testing and credentialing process. NEMSMA anticipates implementation of testing and credentialing for the supervising EMS officer, to begin by the fall of 2016, followed shortly thereafter by the manager and executive levels.
NEMSMA recognized the need for standardized EMS officer competencies and credentialing when it published “Emergency Medical Services Management and Leadership Development in America: An Agenda for the Future” in 2008.
3 levels of EMS officer
In 2010 NEMSMA hosted the “National EMS Officers Levels and Competencies Conference”. The conference was attended by representatives of many models of EMS systems including fire-based EMS. By the conclusion of the two-day conference the group had reached consensus that there are three levels of EMS officer; the supervising, managing and executive officers. The next task was to actually develop the competencies needed for each officer level.
In 2014, NEMSMA published the “Seven Pillars of National EMS Officer Competencies”. By then, the EMS Officers Competencies project had spanned six years with countless hours of research, deliberation and development work. The publication was the product of collaboration among a broad representative group of national EMS experts and association members representing all delivery models and segments of the service and it incorporated extensive input from all participants.
NEMSMA recognizes that at the core of each EMS agency the true leaders are very similar and their requisite management capabilities are identical. The competencies were developed for the entire EMS community regardless of service model; volunteer, career or combined staffing models, a rural or urban system or private company, government based or non-profit organization.
NEMSMA has also begun a major project to identify and review all nationally recognized EMS management and leadership training and educational programs. The association is undertaking this effort to determine the degree to which each program addresses the various competency components for each level of EMS officer. NEMSMA will use the outcome of this analysis to evaluate each application to determine an individual’s eligibility to test for certification; to ensure applicants have met the exam prerequisites and requirements.
As a first step in identifying programs around the country that teach to the competencies, NEMSMA has accredited a series of sessions being presented at EMS Today in February of 2016, for the supervising EMS officer credential. For the first time, educational opportunities at a national conference will be available that have been pre-approved as qualifying for accreditation toward NEMSMA’s officer credentialing.