In past articles of Beyond Certification we have looked at the best ways to get points toward certification renewal. We have discussed other certifications and further educations. I talk to a lot of people who have earned their certification and they seem to have a common question. “How do I get points towards certification renewal? I live in a rural area or my work doesn’t send many people to training.” Everyone likes to go to a manufacturer’s training course that pertains to equipment you have in your workplace. It helps you do your job more effectively. But a lot of times they are expensive and only one or two people from a HTM department can attend. Where does that leave the others that can’t attend and get points? They have to find other ways.
My answer for those people is always the same. It is webinars and biomed society participation. This time we are going to discuss webinars. In the continuing education journal there is a category called “Courses.” This category is defined as “Educational activities directly related to the biomedical field that can positively affect you on a professional level may be listed in this category, such as: formal discussion groups, professional sessions, continuing education courses, etc.” When you edit this section you will see under Course Type C “Correspondence course, teleconference, computer-based course, in service, etc.” Teleconference and webinar are one and the same. Webinar has not only the phone portion of a teleconference, but also has some type of program to let everyone attending share the PC screen with the presenter. This allows the audience to see Power Point slides or anything else the presenter is looking at on the PC.
These webinars or teleconferences count for one point toward renewal if you are a participant. They count for two points if you are the presenter. The courses category has a total of 10 points that you can count toward renewal. If you can get all 10 points in this category over a three-year period that puts you two-thirds of the way toward the 15 renewal points needed.
I have noticed lately that there are a lot of webinars available to HTM professionals. TechNation just happens to have what they call “Webinar Wednesdays.” These free webinars are offered at least once a month and some months there are two or three webinars offered. You can start to see that it should be fairly easy to accumulate 10 points in the courses category over a three-year period. If you participate in one webinar every other month you would have six points at the end of a year. Take that over three years and you have maxed out the courses category without ever leaving your workplace. I always recommend to have more than what is available in a category. So, you should be trying to get more than 10 points. That way if for some reason some of your points aren’t counted you will still have some in the bank for reserve. No one should try for only 15 points in a three-year period.
I have looked at the TechNation webinar schedule and they have some top name presenters for the webinars. People like Manny Roman, Frank Magnarelli, Karen Waninger and Alan Moretti have presented free webinars for TechNation. When these people talk or have something to say, I listen. There are not very many people in our profession that I hold in higher regard than this group. There are other great presenters that may not be as well known as these people but they cover topics that could be helpful in your workplace. All of the TechNation webinars are free. You can find out more about the webinars at www.IAmTechNation.com/webinars.
In addition to TechNation, I have seen several webinars offered by AAMI. Sometimes the AAMI webinars are free and other times there is a fee to participate. So, you have no excuse not to have all 10 points in the courses category. I have attended webinars by both organizations and recommend you do the same to get the most points possible toward certification renewal.