Online Medical Certifications Surge During Pandemic

New York, NY, April 16, 2020 --(PR.com)-- Healthcare professionals worldwide have had to change the way they do business in light of the pandemic crisis. For most, this means working extensive hours in dangerous conditions that often compromise their own safety. In these chaotic times, healthcare institutions such as hospitals, urgent care centers, along with medical and nursing school programs, have had to adapt and flex some of their administrative demands.

National Certification Services, www.onlinemedcerts.com, a pioneer in the online medical education field, has once again risen to the challenge to meet the needs of healthcare providers. Now more than ever, providers are unable to attend traditional, live-in person programs to earn credentials such as BCLS or BLS (basic life support) or ACLS (advanced cardiac life support). While the conventional method of earning their initial or renewal certifications is to attend live, in-person courses including many hands-on skills, that certainly is not acceptable practice during the pandemic for social distancing purposes but also in terms of healthcare providers basic availability to attend these programs at this time.

The online programming for BCLS, ACLS and other certifications like PALS (pediatric advanced life support) has been stepped up even more at www.onlinemedcerts.com. “We want healthcare providers to be out in the field where they're needed, saving lives,” said Karen Boyer, Executive Director since the company was founded in 2005. But Boyer also explained she understands that as many providers are taking second and third employment positions to meet the demand, and others previously retired are returning to the workplace, that there is a strong demand for credential renewals. “We’ve developed a system to make this as fast and easy on the provider, while still meeting the requirements of employers.”

Clients returning to www.onlinemedcerts.com or those previously BCLS ACLS certified elsewhere are promptly greeted by a credentialing specialist online who offers to walk them through the process in a maximum of three minutes. “Essentially we are running a concierge business at this time, really catering to clients to get their BCLS and ACLS renewals done as fast as possible, taking as little patient time away as possible,” Boyer said. She explained that their staff is in close contacting with credentialing departments, immediately forwarding certifications to them and freeing up valuable physician and nurse time.

The pandemic has strongly impacted staffing agency searches for qualified nurses and physicians who are willing to work in high volume areas, but this means providers being able to quickly comply with credential requirements in a time when most in-person courses are not available. “This is where we step in to get that provider credentialed and out working quickly,” Boyer said, adding that the area they’ve been working with most extensively is the New York metropolitan area.

And while nursing and medical schools have traditionally held to the conventional means of BCLS and ACLS certifying their students before graduation, they have had to rethink that not only because of social distancing guidelines, but because they are churning out their students into the workplace sooner than originally anticipated. “We see this as a place for growth and an opportunity to lend a hand to the healthcare community, which desperately needs it right now,” added Boyer.