December 2021
From the President
New California Law May Signal Changes to Perspectives on Health Profession Students’ Earnings
As 2021 winds down and CAAHEP looks forward into 2022 and beyond, the communities of interest within our organization should be aware of recent changes in California that could signal a new environment in which accreditors are prohibited from preventing students from receiving pay during experiential education (“earn and learn”). Although some CAAHEP accredited professions have long allowed students to receive wages during externship experiences, California Assembly Bill (AB) 1273, signed into law in October 2021, mandates that the California Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) and Department of Public Health (DPH) and their respective regulatory boards incorporate “earn and learn” programs into the eligibility pathways for their licensing and certification examinations.
What does this law mean for CAAHEP accredited programs and Committees on Accreditation? The law states that the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA), the Department of Public Health, and their boards are forbidden from prohibiting, and from approving an accrediting body in one of the licensed or certified professions or occupations that prohibits, earn and learn programs. The California legislature says that the purpose of the bill is to “remove barriers to ensure California’s diverse workforce have equal access to educational opportunities that result in family-sustaining careers in all industry and public health sectors” (AB.1273, 2021). A complete analysis of the legislation is available to CAAHEP stakeholders, including a list of the regulatory agencies and professions identified in the California law set to go into effect in 2024.
The broad network of CAAHEP sponsors, Committees on Accreditation, and Commissioners supports sharing information to provide quality assurance in health professions education. Those who have additional questions regarding the California law are encouraged to contact their Committee on Accreditation leadership or the CAAHEP Board of Directors ([email protected]).
We wish you a safe and happy holiday season,
Don
Donald A. Balasa, JD, MBA
CEO and Legal Counsel, American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA)
2021-2022 CAAHEP President
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The CAAHEP Office will be closed on December 24, December 27, December 31, and January 3.
We wish you all a safe and joyous holiday season.
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Updated CAAHEP COVID Statement |
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The CAAHEP Board has approved the following updated position statement on the COVID-19 pandemic.
One of the purposes of the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) is to “promote and support the education of competent and compassionate allied health professionals who will provide the highest quality of care for their patients." This purpose of providing the highest quality of care for patients extends to students, faculty, and staff in CAAHEP-accredited programs, especially students, faculty, and staff who are engaged in clinical experiences (including Capstone Field Internships) that bring them into contact with patients and other health professionals.
As a programmatic accrediting body of health science programs recognized as such by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), CAAHEP is committed to adopting and enforcing standards for its accredited programs that not only foster the provision of high-quality education in the health sciences, but also protect students, faculty, staff, other professionals, and patients from illness and injury. Note the following from the CAAHEP Standards Template (2021):
V. Fair Practices...
C. Safeguards
The health and safety of patients/clients, students, faculty, and other participants associated with the educational activities of the students must be adequately safeguarded.
The Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Program acknowledges the scientific findings of governmental bodies—such as the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the United States Food and Drug Administration—that the COVID-19 vaccines available in the United States are effective in preventing infections by the COVID-19 virus and lessening the deleterious health consequences from COVID-19 infections. CAAHEP also recognizes the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and do not pose a statistically significant risk of morbidity or mortality to recipients of the vaccines.
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In 1998, a seasoned association executive and attorney from the D.C. area applied to lead a programmatic accrediting body for allied health education. She traveled to the CAAHEP Board meeting for her interview. When it was over, she told her spouse that she was uncertain about how the meeting went and figured she'd chalk it up to another professional experience. The candidate was shocked when the call came to say that she got the job as Executive Director, which is how Kathy Megivern remembers her first introduction to CAAHEP.
Kathy jumped into her new role as Executive Director with both feet, learning all she could about this new organization that had only been in existence for just over a year. Thank goodness she was a quick learner with ingenuity and management skills, traits that served her well to shape policies and processes that have built CAAHEP into a strong organization that today serves 32 professions and supports 25 Committees on Accreditation. During Kathy's tenure, CAAHEP has grown by 13 professions and nine CoAs, with over 2,500 accredited programs in more than 1,300 institutions.
The path to success was not always easy but Kathy’s leadership skills have endured as she has successfully worked with 23 Boards of Directors and served 15 Presidents. She led the Commission through three Council of Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) recognition processes, including writing self-studies, participating in site visits of Board meetings, and surviving cross-examination by the CHEA Committee on Recognition. Kathy has shepherded the organization through lean times, hundreds of meetings, and even a pandemic.
Over the past 23 years, Kathy has demonstrated a passion to help and support allied health education in every way possible. She is a great legal advisor, advocate, listener, boss, adviser, and friend, not to mention a decent karaoke singer. Kathy is retiring as CAAHEP's Executive Director on December 31, 2021. While she will be missed, we wish her the very best that life has to offer with lots of good music and a never-ending number of beautiful sunsets from the back of a cruise liner. Please join us in wishing Kathy well.
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Education Benefits and Allied Health Programs can Support Healthcare Workforce Recovery |
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By Darcy Monaghan, Senior Marketing Manager, Guild Education
Many allied health programs have a history of partnering with local healthcare organizations to help upskill and educate their local workforce. What began as smaller-scale, localized efforts have grown into a larger national movement in which major employers across industries are committing to cover tuition costs for their employees. Perhaps nowhere is this benefit more warranted than in healthcare: The ongoing pandemic drastically accelerated what has become known as “the great resignation” in which widespread burnout is leading to a mass exodus of experienced professionals that in turn contributes to further staffing shortages and added strain to an already overtaxed workforce.
To better understand how to best serve this growing student population, Guild Education, an education and upskilling platform that connects academic institutions with employer-sponsored students conducted a survey of 558 employees currently working in allied health in a variety of roles, both clinical and non-clinical, to understand their motivations, career interests, and perceptions of education. Below are some key takeaways from this research.
1. Education benefits stand to have an outsize impact on this prospective student group.
Feelings of burnout are not uncommon as many employees struggle to balance work and life, including caregiving responsibilities, and this imbalance is often a key push factor cited by employees who said they plan to leave the field. However, education benefits and the opportunity for career mobility and advancement that comes with them could convince a significant contingent to stay: 48% of employees who plan to leave healthcare said they would reconsider if their employer offered education benefits like debt-free degrees and certifications.
2. Respondents rank job and career outcomes among the top attributes they would seek in healthcare education programs.
One in four survey respondents interested in pursuing education in healthcare cited job and career outcomes as the most important attribute of an education program. This mobility outcome is not the sole responsibility of their employers; education providers committed to serving working adult students must also have a robust focus on helping students understand and navigate the career options available to them. Given that over 45% of all survey respondents have a combined household income of $50,000 per year, institutions and employers share a strong moral imperative to help drive economic mobility for this group.
3. Working adult students need clear pathways that connect education with advancement and upward mobility.
Guild found evidence that, for as important as career advancement is for this prospective student group, many struggle to identify long-term mobility pathways beyond the next promotion. Allied health programs have a unique opportunity to help students understand the ways in which their skill sets can grow, and what career pathways can become available to them as a result. Helping working adult students navigate career pathways positions education providers to build long-term relationships with ambitious learners.
Ultimately, education benefits can help healthcare retain talent and begin to address serious skills gaps by upskilling from within. Healthcare programs have renewed opportunities to partner with major organizations, and to serve a group of students with the maturity and experience to understand how their values align with the field. Central to supporting their needs is a better understanding of whom they are and forging stronger connections between competencies and career. Learn more about how you can partner with large healthcare providers to unlock opportunities for frontline workers.
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The CAAHEP committees continue to work hard in the final quarter of the year. Below are a few highlights of their recent accomplishments:
The CAAHEP Standards Committee and Performance Oversight Committee worked together to create a new Policy 210 on Naming Specific Certification Credentials, Examinations, or Organization, and the CAAHEP Board approved the following policy:
210 Naming Specific Certification Credentials, Examinations, or Organizations
Specific certification credentials, examinations, or organizations cannot be referenced within a standard in the CAAHEP Standards and Guidelines. Specific certification credentials, examinations, or organizations may be referenced within a guideline.
The Performance Oversight Committee continues to review liaison reports and accreditation process assessment surveys submitted. The Committee recommended several changes to Policy 200 in the CAAHEP Policy Manual that were subsequently approved by the Board of Directors. These changes will be included in an updated version of the Policy Manual, posted on the website by January 1, 2022.
The CAAHEP Planning and Development Committee developed the agenda for the 2022 Leadership Conference to be delivered in a hybrid format allowing for in-person or virtual attendance. The in-person meeting will be held in Orlando, Florida. Please see the article below for additional information.
The CAAHEP Standards Committee brought forward two sets of updated Standards, which the CAAHEP Board approved. Congratulations to the Committee on Accreditation for the Specialist in Blood Bank Technology/Transfusion Medicine (CoA-SBBT) and the Accreditation Review Council for Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (ARC/STSA) and all of their communities of interest that participated in the development of updated Standards. The Board approved the proposed Standards and Guidelines for the Accreditation of Educational Programs in Specialist in Blood Bank Technology/Transfusion Medicine, as well as the Standards and Guidelines for the Accreditation of Educational Programs in Surgical Technology. The proposed Standards and Guidelines for the Accreditation of Educational Programs in Respiratory Care are posted on the CAAHEP website for review. A virtual open hearing on the Respiratory Care Standards is scheduled for January 11, 2022, at 2:00 PM Eastern. To review the proposed Standards and Guidelines or to register for the open hearing, please visit the Public Notifications page on the CAAHEP website.
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2022 CAAHEP Leadership Conference
The 2022 CAAHEP Leadership Conference will be held on January 21, 2022, at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando and virtually for those who wish to attend online. This meeting is specifically for the CAAHEP leaders including the Chairs of the Committees on Accreditation (CoA), Executive CoA Staff, the CAAHEP Board, and Liaisons. Details are available on the CAAHEP website.
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2022 CAAHEP Annual Meeting
The 2022 Annual Meeting will be held on January 22, 2022, at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando, Florida, and virtually for those who wish to attend online. With a theme of "CAAHEP's Future Direction: Defining Excellence in the New Normal." The agenda includes a Hot Topic Breakfast; Introduction of the new CAAHEP Executive Director; a Washington Update with Jay Vaughn, JD, with Cooley, LLC; Recent Graduate Task Force panel on their “Project to Promote CAAHEP Professions in Underrepresented Communities”; and more. To see the full agenda and register for the 2022 Annual Meeting, please visit the CAAHEP website.
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Each profession in the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) system has a Committee on Accreditation (CoA) that consists of experts in the profession that are responsible for reviewing programs and making appropriate recommendations for accreditation to CAAHEP. CAAHEP reviews recommendations received from its CoAs in each profession, assures due process was followed and takes final action on an accreditation status.
CAAHEP took the following actions on November 19, 2021. Actions are identified by profession, action taken, date of the next comprehensive evaluation, and whether a progress report to improve program compliance is required. In some cases, the concentration and/or degree are also specified. To view a copy of the most recent accreditation award letter for a program, which includes information about the accreditation decision, visit the program’s listing on the Find An Accredited Program section of the CAAHEP website.
The following programs were found to be in compliance with the accreditation Standards and Guidelines and were granted continuing accreditation, with the next comprehensive evaluation to occur no later than 2026. These actions require no progress report and were approved on the consent agenda.
Diagnostic Medical Sonography
Orthotic and Prosthetic Technician
Orthotist/Prosthetist
The following programs were found to be in compliance with the accreditation Standards and Guidelines and were granted continuing accreditation, with the next comprehensive evaluation to occur no later than 2031. These actions require no progress report and were approved on the consent agenda.
Diagnostic Medical Sonography
Surgical Technology
The following program was found to be in substantial compliance with the accreditation Standards and Guidelines, with one or more Standards requiring a progress report to be submitted to the appropriate Committee on Accreditation (CoA). The program was granted continuing accreditation, with the next comprehensive evaluation to occur no later than 2026.
Kinesiotherapy
The following programs were found to be in compliance with the accreditation Standards and Guidelines and were granted initial accreditation with the next evaluation to occur no later than 2026. These actions require no progress report and were approved on the consent agenda.
Diagnostic Medical Sonography
Exercise Science
Specialist Blood Bank Technology/Transfusion Medicine
Surgical Technology
The following program was found to be in compliance with the accreditation Standards and Guidelines and was granted initial accreditation with the next evaluation to occur no later than 2028. This action requires no progress report and was approved on the consent agenda.
Inclusive Rehabilitation Sciences
The following program was found to be in substantial compliance with the accreditation Standards and Guidelines, with one or more Standards requiring a progress report to be submitted to the appropriate Committee on Accreditation (CoA). The program was granted initial accreditation, with the next comprehensive evaluation to occur no later than 2026.
Anesthesia Technology
The following program was found to be in substantial compliance with the accreditation Standards and Guidelines, with one or more Standards requiring a progress report to be submitted to the appropriate Committee on Accreditation (CoA). The program was granted initial accreditation, with the next comprehensive evaluation to occur no later than 2029.
Art Therapy
The following program had a transfer of sponsorship approved, with a status of initial accreditation, with the next comprehensive evaluation currently in progress. This action requires no progress report and was approved on the consent agenda.
Emergency Medical Services – Paramedic
The following programs had a transfer of sponsorship approved, with a status of continuing accreditation, with the next comprehensive evaluation to occur no later than 2025. These actions require no progress report and were approved on the consent agenda.
Diagnostic Medical Sonography
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Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs
9355 - 113th St. N, #7709, Seminole, FL 33775-7709
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