Finally, don’t forget to keep an eye on your certification dates, which need to be renewed every three years.  Submission of continued professional development (CPD) is the recommended way to renew. 

Enjoy this edition and feel free to share any feedback with coordinator@simcertification.com

As I reviewed the content in the Director’s Corner and the updates from the Accreditation and Certification Committees, a phrase came to mind – continuous improvement. In healthcare we value continuous process improvement in terms of enhancing patient safety and, more recently, enhancing health professionals' education. SSH values continuous improvement in its programs and processes. However, even when we value something like this, it doesn’t mean that doing so is easy.

SSH calls upon the wisdom and expertise of its members to make each version of the accreditation and certification programs the best it can be. These programs will never be perfect, and will always be works in progress. So I hope you will provide feedback on new standards and proposed changes as they come forth. Your voice matters and your advice is always welcome.

The Accreditation Committee has been very busy this year, mainly reviewing and revising the standards.  This was especially challenging in moving from having bold (required) and unbolded (suggested) elements to having all elements be required--while remaining inclusive. The new expectation is that almost all documentation is provided to the reviewers prior to them actually going to visit the program. We are also reaching out to key stakeholders (accredited programs, key leaders, affiliates) to obtain their feedback into the new standards to ensure we have a truly global perspective. If you receive a request for feedback, please provide your expertise so we can improve our work!

We are very excited to be revisiting programs that are going through their first reaccreditation. This year marks the fifth anniversary of the accreditation program, and those that are going through the process were part of the pilot project. The standards have morphed considerably since those early days, but the basic concept of ensuring a quality program remains strong.

Recently someone asked me why so many of our faculty are taking the certification exam for simulation educators. I paused, gathered my thoughts and answered: "Many of our faculty are utilizing simulation as a theory based education strategy. Obtaining certification recognizes their knowledge base and expertise in teaching with simulation.” Later I was disappointed with my response and decided to develop my elevator speech.

So, here it is.

Certification is a volunteer activity and provides a method by which consumers, students, agencies and institutions can identify competent individuals. Research has demonstrated that individuals who obtain certification make decisions with greater confidence and adhere to evidence-based guidelines. Additionally, individuals who obtain certification perceive the benefits of certification to include an increase in personal satisfaction, professional credibility and marketability (Kaplow, 2011; Rutherford-Hemming & Lioce, 2015). Certification as a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator (CHSE) and Certified Healthcare Simulation Operations Specialist (CHSOS) provides a formalized validation of specific knowledge, skills, attitudes and experience related to simulation. Advanced certification (CHSE-A) achieved through portfolio review allows an individual to demonstration the application of these competencies. 

Often times, I receive questions about particular items on the certification exams.  Today, I’ll share an overview of the path an item takes before being placed on an exam—it is quite the trek!

The process begins with a Practice Analysis (also called a Job Analysis).  This analysis serves to pull together the information that identifies what it is that you—the healthcare simulationists—do in your work.  We conduct a survey of articles, job descriptions, SimConnect discussions and more, gathering it together and compiling it with the assistance of our psychometric experts at Schroeder Measurement Technologies, Inc. (SMT).  A group of subject matter experts (SMEs) then pores through it, and categorizes, stratifies, and identifies what is done.  All this is sent, via survey, to the healthcare simulation community, verifying all that was captured, and voila—the landscape of practice is now set for items to be written in the examination blueprint. 

Afterwards, more SMEs meet in person to write, review and revise each item through a consensus process, guided by the experts at SMT. The exam content must meet strict criteria; it must be consistent, free of language issues, mapped to the exam blueprint, representative of principles and concepts and more. The end result is that each item is often almost unrecognizable from the original draft. More SMEs are tasked with looking at these finalized items; comparing them to the other content; ensuring the final quality of the items as the forms (full exams) are put together; and mapping to the overall content of domains for each certification.

Finally the question is on the computer-based exam. It is a long path, filled with many SMEs who strive to create a high-quality exam. To date, there have been nearly 50 SMEs involved in the creation of the CHSE exam. And we continue to involve more to make the exams better!

Now you know the basic path. This doesn’t even consider what happens once the data starts coming in…