It's spring! And, while non-assessment design nerds are focused on the NCAA, I'm sitting here thinking about the NCCA. The National Commission for Certifying Agencies, to be precise.
By now you may have heard that both the Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator (CHSE) and the Certified Healthcare Simulation Operations Specialist (CHSOS) received full renewal of their NCCA accreditation. So, today, we’ll examine the impact of this milestone, whether you are still considering the journey toward certification, or you have already secured this recognized standard of expertise.
If you're in the preparation phase, NCCA accreditation probably isn't the first thing on your mind. But it's the silent partner in your corner, making sure all that stress over finding preparation materials and caffeine consumed to study them will be worth it. To earn and maintain accreditation, our programs must prove that every exam question is scientifically sound and developed through a rigorous process that includes practice analysis, psychometric review, and subject matter experts who are actively doing this work in the field. The bar you're trying to clear was set by people in your role, not pulled from thin air. Walk into that testing center knowing the exam is fair, legally defensible, and directly relevant to what a simulationist actually does on the job.
If you've already earned your credential, NCCA accreditation is what separates your achievement from the rest in a world where you can get a "certification" for almost anything online. It tells employers, institutions, and learners that what you hold has been independently evaluated against the highest professional certification standards in existence. That is not a marketing claim. It is a verified, publicly documented fact, and it protects the value of the investment you made in yourself for the rest of your career.
Healthcare simulation is still a young field. We don't yet have universal licensing or mandatory credentialing for most roles. The voluntary choice to pursue certification says something real about your commitment to this profession and to the patients your learners will eventually treat.
This accreditation isn't just a milestone for SSH. It's a shared victory for every candidate who has trusted us with their professional development and a reflection of the high standards you bring to the field every single day.
Until next time: be excellent to each other, and go get certified.
Rachel Araujo
SSH Director of Certification