I would like to throw in another concern, one that I have seen occur over the years and which had a major impact. That is the use of the word "certification". Many years ago, both the American Red Cross (ARC) and American Heart Association (AHA) would teach first aid and CPR courses and then issue a "certification card". This practice came to a screaming halt when "certified" people were sued for providing aid to a victim and the victim had a bad outcome, through no fault of the "certified" caregiver. Both the ARC and AHA were also sued and after a few years, removed the word "certification" from their training literature, course descriptions and cards. As a Regional Falculty with the AH for many years, we were directed to ensure that instructors and courses were not referred to as "certified" in any shape, form or manner, a student simply completed a "course of instruction" and were issued a "course completion card".
This was all based on legal and monetary concerns. The word certification in the professional world pertains to "Certifications earned from a Professional society and, in general, must be renewed periodically, or may be valid for a specific period of time (e.g., the life-time of the product upon which the individual is certified). As a part of a complete renewal of an individual's certification, it is common for the individual to show evidence of continued learning — often termed continuing education — or earning continuing education units (CEU)." It also implies that the person being certified have a monetary investment in the process.
Another concern is that they agency granting such a certification be a national recognized agency.
In todays world, I can easily see the following scenario: a "certified" spotter / chaser calls in a tornado causing the local EM / NWS to sound warning sirens / issue a tornado warning which in turn closes down a business because the business wants to protect their employees. After "x" amount of time when no tornado arrives because the "certified" spotter / chasers report was inaccurate / faulty / etc., the business decides to sue the EM / NWS and whoever else to recoup lost money and productivity. I know that several of you on this forum will take great delight and tell me how stupid this is, have at it, but do a little research yourself...this sort of stuff happens all of the time. And granted that in reality, EM, city / county governments / NWS get sued all of the time but rarely lose. They still have to defend themselves which costs time and money.
A valid solution to consider is to follow the path that the ARC and AHA (and others) did and that is to simply provide a "course completion card". An ID number and other information can be included, but just get rid of the word "certification" and all that it implies. Are there other solutions? Sure! This is just one opinion in trying to head off problems down the road.
