As an educator, paramedic, and a parent of elementary age kids, who is sadly pushing 50,  I have witnessed my share of fads. Of particular interest this month, beyond the obvious fashion trends (and toys of the past like the fidget spinners), the position of Medical Director playing a prominent role in initial training has proven to have staying power in our profession.  

To truly understand the responsibility of a Medical Director, EMS faculty should reflect briefly on their own interactions as a candidate with the medical director that oversaw their own program when you were cutting your teeth in the business.   I would caution everyone to not dwell there too long, or judge the impact that position has on EMS education. For that person may not have meant much to the attributes of your training because their influence could have been small.  

Don’t misunderstand me or get mad. I am not proposing every Medical Director during the decades of bands like Duran Duran, Nirvana, Britney, or Kesha Rose Sebert were not making relevant contributions to how institutions ran training.   Nor am I implying today’s medical director are the main source of success or failure of students.   No one can paint the past with such a broad brush. I am, however, claiming that the majority of Medical Directors of today’s EMS education are likely to be more involved than ever before.   Not because there is suddenly a new affinity for them to be more engaged than in the past, but due to the mandates and pressures that are associated with those in positions of regulation and oversight.   

Today, as most know, there are job descriptions, contract requirements and guidelines which are clearly defined by state EMS offices and accreditation bodies which are reviewed in depth during site visits. So, let’s take a moment to review how Platinum Educational Group is helping our peers keep Medical Directors compliant and involved in aspects they need to be for groups like yours.  

  1. Several years ago, we established a Medical Director position within EMSTesting.com that was designed to permit supervising physicians an ability to review and sign off on high stakes exam for quality assurance purposes.  CAAHEP Standard III.B.2.a
  2. EMSTesting.com allows Medical Directors to be added as instructors, authorizing them to review grades and progress throughout their cohort towards their final terminal competency sign off. CAAHEP Standard III.B.2.a.4
  3. With instructor rights, the Medical Directors are allowed to retroactively review high stakes exams to assure validity and reliability.  Which includes the statistical analysis necessary to assure evaluations are fair and performed properly. CAAHEP Standard III.B.2.a.2

In cooperation with the Program Director, Medical Directors can create and deploy exams that are based on their own personal questions on our testing platform. CAAHEP Standard IV.A.2

Closing thoughts:  As far back as the late 90’s in the National Standard Curriculum there have been numerous calls to action for Medical Directors to be actively involved in all aspects of student learning.   Peppered within the 962 pages are many action verbs that outline the duties of a medical director for oversight and advocacy for your candidates. Which I believe is a good thing and makes the probability of “Milk Carton Medical Directors” a dying fad very likely.

Would you like to know more?  Contact us anytime. We would love to show you how me Make the Difficult Easy.