Think about your young coworkers and employees, the ones who are just starting out, and those still in their internships. These are the employees who are often hungry to learn, sometimes a little too sure of themselves, and frequently don’t know what they don’t know.
Now think about your older coworkers. The ones who have been around for decades. These are the employees who have wisdom and stories you earn only from years of experience in the field. As people get older, however, they become less likely to be aware of new techniques and they, too, don’t know what they don’t know.
We all know a coworker or two who thinks they know everything or a colleague who stubbornly resists new best practices. In every instance, robust professional development can protect an organization, its employees, and individual careers from costly mistakes and inefficiencies this line of thinking brings.
For emergency responders and healthcare organizations, four certifications stand out as opportunities that pay dividends.
- Certified Healthcare Safety Professional (CHSP)
- Certified Healthcare Emergency Professional (CHEP)
- Certified Healthcare Fire Safety Professional (CHFSP)
- Certified Emergency Department Professional (CEDP)
Each is guaranteed to help employees know and demonstrate skills.
“The value of these courses comes from having a better understanding of what you’re doing. They make you a well-rounded subject matter expert in areas you’re expected to be to perform your job,” says Jamey Burrows, HazMat Branch Director for Vantage Point Consulting. “Anything someone can do to add value to their employment and share knowledge with their colleagues to improve an organization is a win-win,” he adds.
Individual employees have every incentive to consume as many certifications and training programs as they can, particularly when organizations may pay all or most of the cost. “These are accreditations that prove you have the knowledge,” says Carey Slauter, a long-time consultant to emergency preparedness organizations.
At Vantage Point, CHEP, CEDP, CHFSP, and CHSP courses are delivered with a month’s advanced notice of a standard test. During this time healthcare managers, facilities managers, fire personnel, safety coordinators, and others, study test materials at their own speed. Then, for a day or two before the test students are in classrooms, covering sample questions, discussing problems, and asking questions of each other and instructors. “This format is useful for professionals who can do most of it on their own time,” says Burrows.
These certifications are organized and validated by the International Board for Certification of Safety Managers, a standards body with validating review agents on-staff at Vantage Point. Certifications are renewed every five years and require 10 hours of continuing education annually.
“City, County, and State emergency personnel have a lot of different regulations, presidential directives, and Homeland Security policies to follow. Certified Healthcare Emergency, Healthcare Safety, and Certified Emergency Department professionals all benefit from this variation of the more widely-known Certified Emergency Manager accreditation,” says Slauter.
Like all professional development, Slauter adds, “The more and better educated you are, the less likely you are to make mistakes that cost money to your organization.” These are critical for healthcare groups looking to save money and lives. They can also help during an OSHA investigation. “Maybe you’ve had certified, accredited people managing an OSHA investigation. That can help move a case along,” says Slauter.
Teams with ongoing accredited learning are agiler and better prepared to help their colleagues and organization. Vantage Point Consulting is the only training body with CEDP courses available across the United States. Courses for CEDP, CHSP, CHEP, and CHFSP are coming in August, September, October, and November 2018:
- CHFSP-Aug 15-16 & Dec 12-13
- CHEP-Sept 26-27 (pre-conference course at Indiana Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Symposium)
- CHSP-Oct 24-25
- CEDP-Nov 14-15
