By James X. Stobinski, Ph.D., RN, CNOR, CNAMB, CSSM(E)
Leslie Feinzaig, in a recent issue of Fortune magazine, said that “In times of great disruption, comes great opportunity.” (Heimer, 2021). As I have written recently in this column the credentialing industry has been disrupted during the COVID pandemic. The impact has been far less than what the pandemic has wrought on the American health care system, but there has been disturbance in our workflows. I would like to speak to the unique characteristics of credentialing bodies like the Competency and Credentialing Institute (CCI) which administers the CNOR certification and five other credentials for perioperative nurses. While the pandemic has disrupted credentialing worldwide, CCI believes opportunities are also present.
The Competency and Credentialing Institute is categorized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(C)(6) nonprofit. Generally, our revenue in excess of expenses from our core business is not taxable. To meet the IRS requirements CCI must, “Be an association of people with a common business interest, and its purpose must be to promote this common interest.” (The Balance Small Business, n.d.). And, as a business we cannot be organized for profit. In this respect, CCI is like trade and professional associations with one key difference. That is, CCI does not have members and you cannot join CCI. We are also a mission-driven organization led by a board of directors elected by our certificants which gives us much flexibility.
These characteristics are an advantage in disruptive times when change must happen quickly. Credentialing and certification processes are being transformed as the pandemic alters the landscape and accelerates change. For CCI, the readiest example of change is the rapid transition to remote secure proctored examinations (RSPE) which allow test takers to test at home versus travelling to a testing center. This new testing modality now accounts for a quarter of the testing volume for CCI. This transition was completed in about three months to include earning approval from our accreditation bodies. The move to RSPE was a massive logistical challenge but this transition pales in comparison to the challenges perioperative nurses have faced in the pandemic.
Another example of a rapid change was the transition of the recertification processes for our certifications. CCI moved from a system centered on continuing education (CE) credits to a professional development points system. The CSSM and CNAMB credential have only this points system as a method for recertification and the CNOR credential will soon join that group. To make this transition, CCI invested in a proprietary learning management system (LMS) and quickly built up a repository of learning activities vetted for relevancy by certified perioperative nurses. This system has been a resounding success with more than 20,000 learning activities being completed in 2021.
Both the use of RSPE and a LMS give considerable flexibility to certificants. Remote testing can be done from home at any time during the day or night to include weekends. The LMS can also be accessed 24/7 through a simple login process. Thus, perioperative nurses can log in at their convenience and choose from a diversity of learning activities most of which are available without charge. In uncertain times with tight professional development budgets and with travel being burdensome an LMS can provide great value to certificants. The use of RSPE and the CCI LMS allow certificants far greater control of their professional development and offer considerable cost savings. So, even though the pandemic has been tremendously unsettling it has also presented opportunities and prompted change. In these unsettled times, CCI envisions further growth and transformation in 2022 as we strive to meet the needs of our certificants.
– James X. Stobinski, Ph.D., RN, CNOR, CNAMB, CSSM(E), is CEO of the Competency and Credentialing Institute.
References
Heimer, M. (2021, December/2022, January) Investor roundtable. The smart money moves beyond crisis mode. Forbes, 184(3), 80-88.
The Balance Small Business (n.d.). What Is a 501(c)(6) Membership Based Nonprofit? Accessed December 19, 2021 at: https://www.thebalancesmb.com/what-is-a-501-c-6-membership-based-nonprofit-4173471
