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WAMSS Newsletter - Fall 2026
President's Report
Welcome to Autumn! September 22nd marks the first day of Autumn and with it has brought much cooler temperatures to Wisconsin. Autumn makes me dream about pumpkins, sweaters, and cool nights around the campfire. I would be remiss to say that I wasn’t more than a little sad that summer has come to an end. I found a great quote that said, “The tans will fade, but the memories will last forever”. I love this quote because it reminds me to be thankful for all the fun that summer has to offer and all the great memories that you have when it’s over. I hope that you had a great summer and made lots of lasting memories!
Welcome Ashley Hagen as our new Member-At-Large on the Board of Directors! Ashley was unanimously approved into this position on June 15, 2026, and we are so grateful to have her on our Board.
Welcome New Members
Please welcome the following 16 new members who joined WAMSS in the first and second quarters of 2026:
· Julia Egebrecht
· Miranda Kennedy
· Shelly Ostrowski
· Kari Levin
· John Pethtel
· Stephanie Johnson
· Alli Westbrook
· Jennifer Fjeseth
· Ashley Weinmann
· Kim Johnson
· Colleen Galich
· Erika Werve
· Dorian Collins
· Rachel Arkens
· Megan Miller
· Amanda Becker
We currently have 139 active WAMSS members! Do you know anyone who could benefit from WAMSS membership? Please share the Membership page on the WAMSS website with them or reach out to our WAMSS Membership chair, Melissa Woodworth at [email protected] for more information.
Education Opportunities
The 46th Annual WAMSS Conference “Back to the Basics” starts in just six days! It’s not too late to register and attend the conference that is sure to be a wonderful learning opportunity. Come join us on October 1 & 2 in Stevens Point, WI at the Holiday Inn Convention Center!
Hotel Information: WAMSS Conference or Group Block Code: MSS
715-344-0200 or Holiday Inn Hotel & Convention Center
Brochure link here for your review. The WAMSS Board and Conference Planning Committee can’t wait to see you there!
Scholarships/Awards
My Journey to CPCS Certification
My name is Pauline Shulse, and I joined SSM Health on July 5, 2022, as a Medical Staff Coordinator at St. Agnes Hospital in Fond du Lac. Once I became eligible to sit for the Certified Professional Credentialing Specialist (CPCS®) examination, I began the certification journey by joining NAMSS, registering for the exam, and dedicating time to studying and preparation.
For those who attended the WAMSS Conference in May 2025, you may recall the discussion regarding the relatively low number of certified professionals in Wisconsin. In my opinion, several factors contribute to this, including the cost of certification, the time commitment required, and a general lack of understanding about the certification process.
Initial Certification Costs
Below is a summary of the expenses I encountered when pursuing CPCS certification:
- NAMSS Active Membership (optional, but reduces the cost of exam registration and study materials): $205–$325
- CPCS Exam Registration: $425
- Credentialing Specialist (CPCS®) On-Demand Certification Preparation Course: $279
Estimated Total: $909 (using the lowest membership fee)
Additional optional expenses included:
- NAMSS Practice Exam: $49 per attempt
- Quizlet Premium Subscription: Approximately $10, which allowed me to create custom study materials and access additional learning features
Fortunately, I was awarded a WAMSS scholarship of $599, and my employer covered the cost of my NAMSS membership ($205), significantly reducing my out-of-pocket expenses.
Planning and Preparing
One of the most important pieces of advice I can offer is to familiarize yourself with the exam application deadlines and testing windows early in the planning process. NAMSS offers spring, summer, and fall testing periods, and understanding these timelines can help you create a realistic study plan.
For example, I selected the Spring 2026 testing window. This meant completing the application process and registrations between November 10, 2025, and January 21, 2026. The testing period ran from March 4 through April 1, 2026, allowing me to schedule the exam during a typically slower time of year and ultimately sit for the exam on April 1. Overall, this allowed me to study for approximately 3 months.
The Application and Testing Process
The NAMSS application process was straightforward. It required uploading a résumé or CV and answering eligibility-related questions. Once approved, I received instructions for scheduling my exam.
Candidates have the option of testing at a designated testing center or completing the exam remotely with a live proctor. I chose the home-proctored option and used my personal laptop, as the proctoring software requires administrative access to certain computer settings.
Study Strategies
There are many approaches to exam preparation, including group study and self-study. My preparation primarily consisted of:
- Reading the purchased NAMSS study materials (definitions, court cases, acronyms, meeting rules, comparison grids, etc.)
- Creating a personal spreadsheet to compare and organize key concepts
- Using Quizlet on both my computer and mobile device for review and practice
I found that combining multiple study methods helped reinforce the material and identify areas that needed additional attention.
Exam Day
The CPCS exam is scheduled for three hours and is divided into two sections, with a 10–15 minute break between them. After completing the exam, candidates should expect to wait approximately 6–8 weeks to receive their results from the end of the testing window.
Final Thoughts
Pursuing CPCS certification requires an investment of time, effort, and financial resources, but I found the experience to be both rewarding and professionally valuable. For anyone considering certification, I encourage you to explore available resources, review the testing timelines early, and investigate scholarship opportunities such as those offered through WAMSS. With planning and preparation, the process is very achievable and can be a meaningful step in your professional development.
I hope sharing my experience helps others who may be considering the CPCS certification journey. Best of luck to all future candidates!
Pauline Shulse, CPCS
Credentialing Coordinator Certified
SSM Health – St. Agnes Hospital, Fond du Lac
NAMSS Updates
NAMSS 2026 Conference
The NAMSS 50th Annual Educational Conference & Exhibition in New Orleans is just 25 days away, October 19-21. This will be a celebration of 50 years of NAMSS in Mardi Gras City so it should be an amazing experience. Click the link below for more information and register for the conference.
Newly NAMSS certified
Please congratulate these WI members who are newly NAMSS Certified as of Summer 2026:
· CPCS Certification
o Hannah Engelkes
o Maria Scharf
o Pauline Shulse
o Judy Viczian
o Hannah Engelkes
Are you interested in learning more about NAMSS certifications? Please click on the link to learn more about the types of NAMSS certifications available, exam dates and deadlines, etc.: Certification.
Did You Know?
From Eight Markets to One National Team: Lessons from Building a National Credentialing Operation
Over the past year and a half, I have had the opportunity to step into a national leadership role and help build a brand-new credentialing operations department from the ground up. The work began with bringing together processes, people, and practices from eight different markets, each with its own history, expectations, and way of doing things. Our challenge was not simply to combine those processes, but to create something sustainable, consistent, and scalable for a national organization. We have spent the past year establishing standardized workflows, developing policies and procedures, strengthening quality and training practices, implementing new technology and process improvements, and—perhaps most importantly—learning how to operate as one team rather than eight separate teams. It has been an incredible amount of change in a relatively short period of time, and it has reinforced for me just how complex credentialing operations become when you move from a local perspective to a national one.
One of the biggest lessons I have learned is that standardization does not mean treating every situation exactly the same. A national process needs clear expectations and defined standards, but it also needs enough flexibility to account for the realities of the work. What looks efficient on paper does not always translate perfectly into day-to-day operations. We have had to learn where consistency is essential, where flexibility is appropriate, and where a process simply needs more time to mature before we change it again. I have also learned that meaningful process improvement requires data, patience, and the willingness to listen to the people actually doing the work. We challenged ourselves to rethink how work could be divided among specialized roles rather than having one person carry an entire file from beginning to end. The experience has reminded me that the best operational solutions are rarely created in isolation; they are built through collaboration, testing, measurement, and adjustment.
Perhaps the greatest lesson of the last year and a half has been about leadership. Leading nationally requires stepping back from the individual problem in front of you and looking at the system as a whole. It means being comfortable making decisions without having every answer, giving your team room to do their jobs, and understanding that not every problem needs an immediate process change. I have learned that sometimes the most valuable thing a leader can do is create clarity, remove obstacles, and then allow a good team to operate. Building something new is rarely a straight line, and there have certainly been moments when the path forward was unclear. But looking back, I am proud of how far our team has come and of what we are continuing to build. This experience has taught me that national leadership is not about having all the answers—it is about creating the structure, trust, and space for people to find better answers together.
Thank you,
Staci Krokos, CPMSM
Director Verification Operations
Ascension Credentials Verification Services
Community Service
Did you know that you can email your fellow WAMSS members to get their input, suggestions, best practices, etc.? Just send your questions to [email protected] to get help on issues, share policy standards, and anything else that you are struggling with. You don’t need to re-create the wheel when you can utilize member best practices from your fellow MSP’s. I would like to encourage all members to respond to these requests as it will strengthen our membership knowledge and skills. When responding, please remember to reply to only the person asking the question. If you want to hear people’s responses to other’s questions, reply to the original requestor only and ask them to share their responses received. Together we can learn and grow!
Closing Thoughts
As I welcome autumn, I can’t help but think about the upcoming holiday season. Soon, everything will get crazy busy again. Don’t forget to take the time to enjoy the calm and peace that autumn has to offer. Get outside and take a walk in nature, drive with your windows rolled down, or just sit outside with a hot beverage. Whatever it looks like to you, I encourage you to take the time to slow down and enjoy it!
Is there something that you would like to see added to our quarterly newsletter? Have you learned something new over the past few months in your Medical Staff Professional or Provider Enrollment role? Our membership would love to learn from you! Articles can be 2-3 paragraphs long and would be a great addition to the newsletter. Please submit your article to me via email at [email protected].
Yours in humble service,
Maggie Fuchs, CPMSM, CPCS
WAMSS President, 2025-2026
