| On Line CE is Finally Here |
|
|
|
On-Line CE is Finally Here
In the summer of 2007, many of our members were shocked to find out that they were being detailed to a 40-hour work week because they lacked the appropriate amount of continuing education hours required to sustain their EMT certification. The timing couldn’t have been more terrible. The department was in “Augmented Staffing” in preparation for the Fourth of July holiday as well as temperatures in the high 90’s and low 100’s. This put a tremendous strain on our members in the form of recalls and backfilling as well as the members who were struggling to find places to get the necessary amount of hours to become current again. It was a fiasco we hope we never have to face again.
Shortly after, members of the EMS Section and Local 1014 looked for ways to mitigate the problems facing our members in getting the necessary CE hours. As fate would have it, President Dave Gillotte (who himself was detailed to a 40-hour work week) and Director Dave Morse were attending an EMS conference in Houston and came across a company who was pitching an idea for on-line continuing education. Both sampled the product and both agreed that it was an idea we could use in our department. Upon their return, President Gillotte tasked Dave Morse and myself to research the idea and hence, On-Line CE was born.
We researched several on-line CE providers and did an exhaustive search. We asked many questions from the heads of these companies and tried to find the best company that would give us the best product. While we did our research, the EMS Section was doing their own research. Members of the EMS Section met with Dave Morse and I and we compared our notes. We took many things into consideration such as cost, user friendliness, ability to handle our extensive membership, IT maintenance, tracking of hours, etc. While both sides had their favorite, the goal was to get this out to the membership as soon as possible.
We are pleased that this program is finally here so our members can enjoy the benefit of obtaining CE on their own at NO COST to the member. Local 1014 would like to thank all the department members who volunteered for the EMS Sub Committee. Your work was invaluable and much appreciated. Be advised, Local 1014 will be very involved in how to improve the program as well as how the program is administered. Your input, both good and bad, would be welcomed.
Thanks for all the support.
Patrick Dolan
Director
|
|
|
