About US
What is ISACC?
What is ISACC?
What is ISACC?
ISACC is a non-profit organization (501 (C) 3 status anticipated), that was incorporated in the District of Columbia on April 20, 2023. This organization is designed to encourage and facilitate research that supports continuing competence program improvements, as well as recognize those organizations that are moving our industry forward i
ISACC is a non-profit organization (501 (C) 3 status anticipated), that was incorporated in the District of Columbia on April 20, 2023. This organization is designed to encourage and facilitate research that supports continuing competence program improvements, as well as recognize those organizations that are moving our industry forward in this area. In our current credentialing landscape, processes for candidates to demonstrate they meet standards required to enter a profession or occupation are well-established, usually consisting of accredited education or training and subsequent successful completion of an internship, apprenticeship and/or an examination. These processes are usually standardized and rigorous and are supported by a rich body of psychometric research and experience. However, a considerable body of evidence suggests that that initial competence is not permanent, and that in fact, knowledge and skills acquired to enter a profession fade over time, due to both decay as well as obsolescence. Clearly, it is important for practitioners to refresh their knowledge and skills over time, but how do we ensure that they do so?
An increasing number of practitioners in the credentialing arena feel that processes used to help ensure the continuing competence of practitioners can be improved. Some organizations have devoted considerable resources to pursue new ways to help ensure that practitioners stay up to date, and new tools and approaches are being developed. Which of these can be shown to be effective, and how might we encourage or support programs to “go the extra mile” in enhancing public protection?
ISACC proposes to begin by recognizing organizations that expend efforts to provide evidence-based programs designed to help candidates maintain and demonstrate continuing competence. By conducting an awards program to identify and support programs that contribute to advancements in the field, we hope to encourage others to participate as well. It is also essential that research is conducted to guide our progress in improving continuing competence programs, and ISACC intends to stimulate and recognize research in this area, initially by showcasing such research through presentations, recognition and content generation. Later we may be able to facilitate the provision of research grants and perhaps the establishment of an endorsement for programs advancing the state of the art in supporting and assessing continuing competence.
Our Team
What is ISACC?
What is ISACC?
Board of Directors
Grady Barnhill
Public Member/Freelance
Christopher Butcher
Heuristic Solutions
Eric D’Astolfo
Pearson VUE
Catherine Dower
Catherine Dower Consulting
Tom Granatir American Board of Medical Specialties
Ginny Hanrahan Independent Regulatory Consultant Retired CEO at CORU Dublin, Ireland
Becky LeBuhn Citizen Advocacy Center
Board of Directors
Grady Barnhill
Public Member/Freelance
Christopher Butcher
Heuristic Solutions
Eric D’Astolfo
Pearson VUE
Catherine Dower
Catherine Dower Consulting
Tom Granatir American Board of Medical Specialties
Ginny Hanrahan Independent Regulatory Consultant Retired CEO at CORU Dublin, Ireland
Becky LeBuhn Citizen Advocacy Center
Sheila Mauldin National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants
Caroline Miller The Regulatory Consultant Group
Jan Robinson College of Veterinarians of Ontario, Canada
Marc Seale
Anglia Ruskin University, University of Cumbria, London, England
John Weiner Independent Consultant Formerly LLH/PSI/Talogy
Our Partners
What is ISACC?
Our Partners
ISACC intends to work symbiotically with organizations that have similar missions/visions to our own, establishing relationships that will benefit both organizations. We plan to generate content based on research and evidence that can be distributed in a variety of already-existing modalities such as participation in online discussions, w
ISACC intends to work symbiotically with organizations that have similar missions/visions to our own, establishing relationships that will benefit both organizations. We plan to generate content based on research and evidence that can be distributed in a variety of already-existing modalities such as participation in online discussions, webinars, session presentations at annual conferences, educational content provided as online coursework, pre-conference workshops and articles. This content distribution serves ISACC’s mission, but also can provide additional revenue for organizations providing the delivery of learning through already established education modalities. We feel this approach benefits both ISACC and participating organizations, but especially the public.
Our Community
Join us in our journey
ISACC - Empowering Continuing Competence
Mission: To support the efforts of credentialing organizations to make real, evidence-based progress in developing and maintaining renewal, recertification and revalidation processes that help demonstrate the continuing competence of credentialed practitioners to the public and other stakeholders
Vision: A credentialing landscape in which the public, practitioners, employers, regulators and other credential stakeholders are committed to effective, relevant, and evidence-supported processes that support practitioner learning and ensure demonstration of competence not only at entry to practice, but throughout their career path
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Draft Framework
So what might we do to encourage organizations to do more to ensure the continuing competence of their practitioners? Currently there is very little incentive to do so – CE Tracker models are acceptable in ANSI 17024 accreditation and NCCA accreditation standards (even though comments included in the NCCA standards indicate concerns with CE-only models), so why do otherwise?
However, some courageous and public protection-minded organizations have done much more. The American Board of Medical Specialties has implemented new standards that require all 24 of their Boards to develop and adopt programs that both educate and assess their Diplomates – programs that are both formative and summative. These longitudinal assessment programs, as they have come to be known, are revolutionary, but more importantly, are supported by evidence and research that suggests they are effective and help practitioners maintain their knowledge. Adoption of longitudinal assessment models is no longer limited to medicine, as respiratory therapists and physician assistants have implemented similar programs and other healthcare credentialing bodies such as nurse anesthetists and dietitians are investigating it.
Other organizations such as the Oncology Nursing certifying body have implemented programs that provide assessments that can help practitioners identify learning gaps and can target CE to those gaps or provide an exemption from some of those CE requirements if they demonstrate they already have sufficient knowledge. Other groups, such as the Board of Pharmacy Specialties, have programs that focus on continuing education provider quality to increase control over the character and quality of CE that is provided to their practitioners so that CE quality can be monitored and improved to help their practitioners. There are other examples of groups that have gone the extra mile in order to provide higher quality renewal/recertification processes that are supported by research and evidence, and this is what ISACC aspires to encourage.
Other credentialing bodies, particularly from outside the US, have revalidation programs that are supported by literature. Organizations such as the General Medical Council in Ireland have models that focus on a variety of data sources to conduct practitioner evaluations or practice audits on a regular basis. The Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons has done important work incorporating risk-management in their registration scheme by focusing additional efforts on practitioners seen to be at higher risk. We have a great deal to learn from program development wherever their results are supported by evidence of effectiveness. It is for this reason that our efforts should include not just US approaches, but also those from around the globe that are shown to be of benefit. We propose the creation of a non-profit organization to provide reinforcement and encouragement for those organizations who have invested time and resources towards renewal/recertification processes that are supported by evidence and are seen to be more effective. ISACC is proposed to comprise a model that includes strategic decision-making by a board of directors; and membership composed of representation from a variety of credentialing bodies, but especially the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (I.C.E.) and the Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulation (CLEAR). Both of these organizations have missions that are clearly in alignment with public protection and support of continuing competence. Other groups might be interested as well, including the Federation of Regulatory Boards (FARB), the Association of Test Publishers (ATP), or the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). The International Society for the Advancement of Continuing Competence [ISACC]), was incorporated as a non-profit corporation (501 (c) 3 status will be applied for) on April 20, 2023, with the purpose of recognizing and encouraging notable efforts by credentialing organizations that go beyond the minimum and that research, develop or implement evidence-supported programs that enhance and document continuing competence.
At the outset it should be made clear that the creation of an organization or structure is in no way intended to compete with other organizations in the credentialing field, but rather to complement and enhance their programs and offerings. In creating a new organization, it is easier to interface with a number of different, existing organizations with existing infrastructures. Whenever possible,
ISACC will interface with existing structures and likely, enhance the revenue streams that are already in existence in these organizations. As an example, both CLEAR and ICE already have a process for offering pre-conference workshops at their conferences, and ISAAC could utilize those structures to expand offerings and “spread the word” about recertification/renewal research and progress. Both of these organizations already have structures in place for both in-person and online delivery of educational material. ISACC could work with those organizations to provide content for delivery through those already existing structures.
Details of the actual organization of ISACC and selection of participants will be available elsewhere and are not a part of this prospectus. Our initial aim will be to recruit pioneers and luminaries in the credentialing field with experience in developing, researching, or implementing advanced programs for renewal, revalidation or recertification, and those who are in a position to effect positive change and serve as opinion leaders.
Using an “on-ramp” approach, activities could be developed using a phased approach:
Phase I
In this phase, significant efforts will be expended to establish the governance and infrastructure for the organization, but hopefully awards can soon be made to organizations that make an effort to research, develop or implement improvements in their programs that are evidence-based and seem likely to contribute to the development, assessment and/or documentation of continuing competence. ISSAC could review and process submissions, and the “ISSAC Awards” could blend easily with existing awards programs of I.C.E. and/or CLEAR, for example. Another possibility in Phase I is the stimulation or recognition of significant research that is supportive of our mission. This might include providing content for conference sessions or pre-conference workshops that would showcase research in the continuing competence area, including presentations by significant researchers. As our website is developed and built out, we may be able to provide a working bibliography of research categorized into different areas that are supportive of advancements in education and continuing competence. This could serve to drive traffic to our website to further enhance interest in improving continuing competence programs. The emphasis in Phase I would be to use low to no-cost processes to introduce our ideas and develop interest among opinion leaders in the credentialing landscape.
Phase II
In the second phase, the program might transition from a simple awards phase to an endorsement or recognition process, with the understanding that if several or many of the applicant programs met the standards established, then they could all receive recognition or endorsement. This might be more akin to something like the Leeds designation for buildings in architecture for “green” buildings (ours could be called a “Leads Endorsement?”). In the startup year and continuing into Phase II, documents, research and evidence could be gathered to help establish categories for recognition of renewal/recertification program attributes that are shown to advance and/or document continuing competence. Relationships or communications could be established with the Research committees of involved organizations to help gather evidence and research to undergird these categories. More effective programs could be recognized by different levels of achievement, depending on the program qualities (e.g., Green, Silver, Gold, Platinum, etc..). Examples of program categories might include security of the sign-in or candidate identification process, evidence-based education attributes such as spaced education or test-enhanced learning to reinforce the acquisition and retention of learning, requirements for continuing education with evidence-based attributes that enhance the acquisition or duration of knowledge, psychometric qualities that support the identification of learning gaps or documentation of continued competence that yield valid and reliable results, and so forth.
During Phase II, it may be fruitful to consider developing grant applications from foundations known to have potential interest in similar work – groups such as the Bill and Melinda Gates or Robert Wood Johnson foundations. Grants could be used to stimulate and fund research to advance the state of the art in continuing competence, as well as other related initiatives.
In building and encouraging membership, it may be useful to develop products or other reasons to join. This could be anything from an electronic newsletter, for example, keeping subscribers appraised of new or developing research in this area, and/or perhaps access to an annual Research Compendium, summarizing research and programmatic trends in the area of continuing competence. Access to this information for members as a benefit would need to be weighed against a desire to spread the information for low or no-cost as a means to stimulate uptake of the ideas researched and to stimulate additional research. Other uses for funding could include the proposal and partial funding for research projects seen as pivotal in advancing the support, assessment, and documentation of continuing competence.
Phase III
In the third phase, we might consider development of training to help encourage and facilitate development of advances in renewal/recertification program quality. If the body of knowledge has advanced sufficiently, it may be useful to develop a certificate training program – both to organize the learning and to provide recognition for those completing initial training in the area of effective continuing competence program development. Education and training content could be delivered through learning managements systems of existing organizations to reduce costs and benefit the hosting organization(s). ISACC would serve as an entity that would share and promote resources to a variety of organizations with similar values and missions (e.g., CLEAR, FARB… ATP?) – as mentioned previously, the idea being that our program information and content could be shared with their existing structures for delivery. The goal of ISACC is not to replace these structures (and importantly, their lines of cost and revenue), but rather to provide content for them and “spread the word.” As a 501 (c) 3 corporation, our mission will be the dissemination of the idea of an increased value of continuing competence – rather than the generation of revenue.
