Getting ready for a CoAEMSP self-study

The self-study report asks a paramedic program to show, standard by standard, that it meets the CAAHEP Standards and CoAEMSP interpretations. Almost everything it asks for is something you already do. The work is finding the proof. Collect it as you go and the self-study becomes an assembly job.

Records worth keeping all year

• Sponsorship, program goals and the minimum expectation statement, published where students see them.
• Advisory committee roster and minutes, at least yearly, with every required community of interest.
• Program director, medical director and faculty qualifications and agreements.
• Signed agreements with every clinical and field internship affiliate.
• Preceptor orientation records.
• Student evaluations across the cognitive, psychomotor and affective domains.
• Student minimum competency counts per student, per cohort.
• Outcomes: retention, NREMT pass rate and positive placement, plus graduate and employer surveys.
• Published policies: costs, grievance, withdrawal, nondiscrimination and student safety.

Check outcomes against thresholds every year

CoAEMSP sets thresholds for outcomes in its annual report. Look up the current numbers on the CoAEMSP site, and when a cohort falls short, write the action plan then, not the year of your visit.

Walk through it once a year

Once a year, go through a checklist of the standards and mark what's on file. Anything missing gets an owner and a date.

How FlagshipEMS helps

The accreditation reports build the SMC summary, outcomes, survey results, affiliate lists and sentinel events from everyday records, and a self-study checklist tracks the rest. FlagshipEMS isn't affiliated with CoAEMSP, and your program remains responsible for what it submits.