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News and InformationBeginning in 2003, the BCCA accepted applications for consideration of "certification based on prior credentials alone", as a means to identify "Subject Matter Experts" in the field of clinical anaplastology who could play a role in certification development, test delivery, and advisement to the board of directors. In 2006, we began our development of a job/task analysis in the field of anaplastology. A workshop was conducted by psychometrician Gerald Rosen, M.A., Ed.D, and attended by representatives of the BCCA and other recognized Subject Matter Experts in the field, following the AAA conference in Chicago, IL. From the work obtained in this session, and extensive follow-up and review of that work, Dr. Rosen was able to formulate an analysis of the types of knowledge needed to perform the tasks of a clinical anaplastologist. This list was broken down into "domains" and subsets of tasks & knowledge within each domain. Subject Matter Experts also helped to craft a draft practice analysis, which was then validated through a survey distributed to all AAA members. In May, 2007, Board members from the BCCA, AAA, and other Subject Matter Experts, met in Baltimore, MD at Johns Hopkins University to analyze the hundreds of questions submitted. Dr. Rosen again mediated the session, advising on question construction and legitimacy. Groups of three experts worked together to evaluate, validate and rewrite assigned pages of questions. The groups entered their own questions into a master list that was submitted to the BCCA in a secure format. No one saw the entirety of the questions and each participant signed an attestation of confidentiality regarding the content of the questions they assessed. By hiring a consultant and following guidelines for fair and comprehensive test development, we now feel that our examination will be fair and representative of the body of knowledge that a competent CCA is expected to have. The NCCA standard that addresses the assessment of applicant competency is Standard 8. For complete NCCA standards visit: http://www.noca.org/NCCAAccreditation/Standards/tabid/93/Default.aspx In addition to our consultation with Dr. Rosen, we also worked with Michael Hamm, CMC, the former Executive Director of the National Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA), an association and national standard setting body for certification organizations. Mr. Hamm helped us analyze our current program and focus our resources on deficiencies in our procedures to date. His years of experience working with NOCA have given us a valuable perspective in the structure of a certification board, its responsibilities to the general public and to the profession it serves. The board is actively monitoring the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid's policy on accreditation of prosthetic providers, implementation of the National Provider Identifier, and other issues that will affect our certificants. CMS is currently implementing quality standards that dictate that all certified individuals be tested and their practice facilities accredited. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) DMPOS Quality Standards: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/CompetitiveAcqforDMEPOS/04_New_Quality_Standards.asp
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