This article explains what ABLS National Faculty Educators are and the requirements for becoming National Faculty.
Who are the ABLS National Faculty Educators?
The ABLS National Faculty (NF) Educators are an elite group within the ABA tasked with facilitating the ABLS Live Instructor courses and maintaining the integrity and high standards of the ABLS program and ABA as a whole.
A National Faculty Educator must be an instructor in good standing who has demonstrated educational excellence in the delivery of the ABLS course material. This person has demonstrated consistent superiority in teaching the ABLS course content and is a respected educator and expert in the field of burn care. National Faculty status is not simply the “next level” of ABLS instructor, it is a highly specialized educator role within the ABLS program. These members are tasked with dissemination of the ABLS Live and instructor courses to ensure the utmost integrity of the ABLS educational content and product.
Eligibility and Requirements to Become National Faculty
National Faculty (NF) must be ABA members and meet the following criteria:
ABLS Instructor for a minimum of 5 years. Instructor status must be in good standing for the entire period (meaning their ABLS instructor credentials could not have lapsed in that time period). Candidates must have maintained ABA membership during that time, completed all course updates, received consistent positive reviews of their teaching skills, and received no complaints on teaching record.
Submit a National Faculty Application. The candidate must submit a National Faculty Application, complete with:
A letter of interest to the ABLS program. An individual interested in becoming ABLS National Faculty should submit a letter of interest to the ABLS program outlining their interest and experience with the ABLS program.
A letter of support from local burn center leadership. A letter of support from the candidate’s burn center leadership is required to be considered for NF status. This letter should highlight the applicant’s record as educator of burn content.
Review and confirmation of status eligibility from the ABLS committee and central office. Central office will receive all requests for NF status. After confirming that the candidate meets the pre-requisites, the central office will forward the request for status and letter of support to the ABLS committee who will review and approve at their scheduled monthly meeting.
Complete ABLS teaching observations and attend the National Faculty webinar. After being confirmed by the ABLS committee and central office, candidates must attend the National Faculty webinar on how to teach the ABLS Instructor course and then must be observed teaching both the ABLS Live and ABLS Instructor Candidate course by an existing National Faculty member who has attended the National Faculty webinar and completed the additional criteria. They must achieve excellent marks on all observed criteria. Once the observations and webinar have been completed, their data will be reviewed and approved by the ABLS™ education coordinator.
Requirements to Maintain National Faculty Status
Maintain all requirements for ABLS Instructor.
2. Teach an ABLS instructor course a minimum of 2 times in 4 years.
3. Complete all continuing education related to changes or improvements in the ABLS instructor course.
Maintain good standing as an ABLS instructor and NF member. Any concerns or complaints related to the member’s dissemination of the ABLS course content will be reviewed by the ABLS committee and central office and may result in immediate removal of NF status.
National Faculty status will continue as long as ABLS instructor status continues provided the above criteria are met. If the NF member loses ABLS instructor status, they will lose NF status as well and will need to complete the 5 years in good standing as an instructor before being considered for NF again.