CoAEMSP Research (Feat. George Hatch)

In this episode of Registry Insider, Bill Seifarth sits down with Dr. George Hatch, Executive Director of CoAEMSP, at the Accreditcon Conference in New Orleans to discuss the organization's expanded commitment to research and what it means for the profession.

Together, they explore how accreditation and certification work hand in hand to prepare future Clinicians, address post-pandemic challenges facing paramedic programs, and use practice analysis data to ensure education standards remain grounded in scientific evidence. Learn how these collaborative efforts will strengthen EMS education and help protect public health.

Watch the full episode on our YouTube channel or listen on your favorite podcast platform. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:12

Welcome to the Registry Insider. I'm Bill Seiferth from the National Registry VNTs. And on today's episode, I'm joined uh by George Hatch, Dr. George Hatch, who is coming back for yet another episode on Registry Insider. So, George, thanks for joining me. Thanks, my friend. It's good to see you. Thanks for being here. And we are uh we're filming from the 2027 Accredicon conference, which is taking place in New Orleans. And um grateful to be here and spend some time with you on a really exciting topic uh that's coming up with the CoEMSP.

SPEAKER_01 0:42

Yeah, um, I I would just say kudos to the registry for you know looking back. Um they established a research initiative. You guys have really set the bar high way uh you know several years ago. And I guess what I want to share with our audience and your audience is that as part of our new strategic plan that was approved by our board of directors, we are going to get into the research business. Uh, we are going to hire a research director for the co-AMSP, and we hope to have that person seated in uh early 2027.

SPEAKER_00 1:17

That's exciting news. And you're right, uh, we at the registry, uh our mission is to uh to support the EMS profession through partnerships, research, and of course, lifelong assessment of clinical competence. So research has been an important or an integral aspect of what we do at the registry to better understand certainly um workforce challenges, which our our fellows and research team works on. Um but we've also done research, education research with you and your associates, which I think is hopefully is what caused some piqued interest to to have Koei jump into the research pool, if you will.

SPEAKER_01 1:59

Yeah, I think I think there is uh there's great interest. There has been great interest on our part to be able to demonstrate um that there is value in the accreditation process. I mean, I think it's not just we're asking programs to do certain things, but we really want to have that evidence base to demonstrate that when we're when we're talking about something and how their students are going through a program, that it really does have a direct impact on patient care. So I think that's that is part of the impetus.

SPEAKER_00 2:30

Excellent. And you know, obviously it goes without saying, but we at the registry look forward to working um and partnering with continue to partner with you uh as your new researcher comes on board. Um we too um are bringing on a full-time researcher in addition to the fellows uh that we have at the national registry. So uh the addition of a researcher on our team and the advent of a research team now, starting one at the CoA, I think will be quite powerful for the profession. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:01

I I I again I think the you know the the challenge to all of us is really to uh to see where that takes us in terms of the workforce. Uh are they prepared, not just taking the credentialing exam to say, okay, well, they're good, they're minimally competent, they're road-ready to get out there, but what what difference does that make when they really go out there and they're they're delivering care over their career? So I think we want to be able to do that as well.

SPEAKER_00 3:26

And you know, uh you mentioned, obviously, we we do certification, get accreditation, and uh the EMS Education Agenda for the Future, a systems approach, has both of us really the accreditation at one side and at the other end uh of the uh spectrum is certification. We're kind of the bookends for for EMS education. So having research as part of our our ethos or our organizations is going to benefit, not just, like you said, the workforce, but potentially some clinical research. There's a lot of challenges, I think, that and questions that need to be answered. Obviously, we were talking uh before we filmed the the challenge facing um many programs in clinical access. So the potential for research for that I think is is fantastic.

SPEAKER_01 4:11

Yeah, I think we're just now taking on um the discussions. We've heard what our communities of interest are saying. Our program directors are starting to feel that there are difficulties that they're encountering in the field to be able to get their students clinical access. So whether that's in the emergency department, that's in the obstetrical area, anywhere in the hospital, they're having difficulty getting in there. I think even a little bit more concerning is the fact that in some cases they don't have capstone access. Their field internship sites are not always available. And with now over 800 paramedic programs that are going through this process, and now voluntarily, at least in some cases, the advanced EMT, um, where are those students going to get their experience? Where are they going to get the opportunity to practice their skills, learn some of the things that they need to know before they actually go out there and deliver care in the back of an ambulance?

SPEAKER_00 5:07

So that is definitely uh one problem that is uh worthy of some research to better understand it, to better define it. But it is a trend, speaking while we're talking about it, that is a trend that's pretty much getting worse since the pandemic. Is that correct?

SPEAKER_01 5:20

Or yeah, I think I think that that's probably true. Let's let's let's face it. I mean, everybody in healthcare is stretched to the max. And I don't think that this issue is necessarily uh an EMS issue only. It really is an issue for all of allied health education and and people that are in the medical professions. So I'm sure nursing is facing this. I know that physician education is facing this, but at the end of the day, uh I saw something during EMS week that I shared with you, and that was, you know, at at uh at the bedside, it's EMS before the ER. So before the ER, there's EMS. And I thought, wow, that really sort of frames the discussion about being at the tip of the spear. If we have people that are not exposed and don't get the proper education before, then they're going to be out there. It's going to be like back in the day in 1970, you know, people just showing up and doing their best.

SPEAKER_00 6:13

Yeah, so uh which is critical as to why we have accreditation, right? So that there is uh protection certainly of the public, but also an advocate for the student to make sure they're getting quality education so they're being prepared to function. Um so getting back to research, obviously a plethora of stuff from uh clinical access challenges to you know student outcomes, perhaps doing some more predictive analytics, uh, a lot of things that I think that potentially can be done. What are some other opportunities for research or topics that you feel are important for CoE to pick up?

SPEAKER_01 6:50

I I think one of the things that um, you know, working closely with your team at the registry, I think the practice analysis, right, is is ongoing. Currently, you guys are in the perhaps the final phases of coming out with the analysis of your practice analysis, the most recent information. I think before we make any changes to our student minimum competencies, the SMC, before we do any of that, we really want to, again, base any decision that we're gonna make on what's the evidence, what's the best practice that you've identified that paramedics in 2026 and beyond should be doing? What are things that they shouldn't be doing, perhaps?

SPEAKER_00 7:29

Yeah, and you have with 800 programs, you have um a plethora of options to dive deep into in terms of what is successful, what is not, but it can be approached in a more scientific way rather than a simple survey. So that's another benefit. So lots of opportunity, lots of benefit with research uh and uh the co-AMSP. And certainly, as I said earlier, the National Registry remains firmly firmly committed to partner with you in that, and I think it's going to uh advance the profession greatly. So, congratulations on the um on the addition of research. We're very excited. Uh we're excited to continue working with you on that. So, and thanks for joining me for yet another episode. Thanks, Bill. Thank you for joining us as well, and as always, stay safe. Thank you for joining us for this episode. If you wouldn't mind, please click the like and subscribe buttons as well as the notifications so you can get notifications about the coming episodes. Also, for the latest and greatest happenings out of the National Registry, feel free to go to nrmt.org. Thank you very much, and again, stay safe.