The Convention Industry Council next summer plans to introduce what it called the industry's first healthcare meetings certification.

The new certification would serve as a "subspecialty" of CIC's Certified Meeting Professional certification and would be available only to those who already have earned the CMP designation. "The new certification will not repeat information included in the CMP, but will test only on those aspects of planning particular to healthcare meetings," CIC noted in a statement. The association expects to begin within 60 days development of the certification, a process that will include "an in-depth job analysis, assessment of professional qualifications, selection of continuing education requirements and the creation of an examination." CIC cited as the impetus a request from the International Medical Meetings Professionals Association to consider such a certification.