Certification, not Guaranteed

Before I turn my attention back to the principle organizational ingredients of a successful Hospital Quality Program, I want to briefly touch upon the CPHQ.

Yes, the Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) is an international accepted certification that provides the job market with a valuable method of evaluating one's knowledge in the content areas of healthcare quality, patient safety, case, utlization and risk management.  I firmly support the certification.  I believe that it has raised both the professionalism, credibility and market competition within the healthcare quality management community.

Yet, the CPHQ certification is not an indicator, nor is it a determinant of successful implementation of a Hopsital Quality Program.  In other words, does the CPHQ program assure the healthcare employer that the individual will be effective in his/her role?  I submit that the answer is "no." 

To be fair, the certification is not designed to measure such a variable.  Rather the CPHQ program certifies that individual possesses the body of knowledge in the field by passing a written examination.

In synthesis, the CPHQ certification is a market recommended pursuit.  It is a world wide seal of approval.  However, this achievement does not mark the end of the journey.  Rather, it is only the beginning.  A far more difficult passage awaits. . . . a passage that must be successfully navigated and aligned.  The work of infusing the Quality and Patient Safety into the strategy and monthly discussions of the organizational Board Room.

-soft on people, hard on processes