CPHQ

CPHQ - Do You Need It?

The CPHQ designation is increasingly becoming the gold standard for those professionals working in the field of health care quality management. The title of CPHQ, which stands for Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality, has been around since 1984, and every year, approximately one thousand people take the certification exam. Do you need the certification? If you are working in health care quality management at any level and want to reach your maximum career potential, the answer is a definitive yes. Without CPHQ certification, you will be at a huge disadvantage when it comes to career advancement.

Here are the facts: Health care, already a huge segment of the U.S. economy, is growing at an unbelievably rapid pace, and the rate of growth shows no signs of slowing down in the foreseeable future. Much of this unprecedented growth is due to the aging Baby Boomer generation, along with several other demographic trends. Meeting these needs will require huge numbers of new workers in every field of health care, including health care quality. That sounds good at first glance, as the demand for health care quality professionals will be strong. However, there are millions of people in America who are looking for careers with good prospects are entering the field of health care, including that of health care quality.

This means that while demand for health care quality professionals will be high, the number of people looking to fill these jobs will also be very high, especially when government incentives for health care education are added into the mix. While there will be a lot of job openings, there will also be a lot of applicants for each position. Many of those applicants will know that possessing the CPHQ will give them an edge over applicants who have not passed the test. On top of that, many employers will start making the CPHQ designation a requirement for hiring and promotions. If you are employed in health care quality management, you most definitely need the CPHQ before someone who already has the certification has a chance to move into your position.

How to Pass the CPHQ Exam

Taking the CPHQ Exam is a big step toward achieving your career goals in health care quality management. Possession of the CPHQ designation is rapidly becoming a prerequisite for both entry-level jobs and promotions in many health care companies, and anyone who does not hold the title is at a serious competitive disadvantage. Every year, around one thousand people take the CPHQ Exam, but shockingly, nearly 25 percent of those people fail the test. Failure will be a serious impediment to success in the career of health care quality management; at the very least, it will cause a delay of several months and require the applicant to pay the exam fee again.

Thankfully, though, there is no reason any health care quality professional should fail the CPHQ Exam. The key is proper preparation; the lack of adequate preparation is the number one reason that test takers fail the CPHQ. Make no mistake-the CPHQ is a comprehensive and very challenging test, and it takes a lot of study and review to achieve a passing grade. Many people put this off until the last minute and then try to prepare for the CPHQ test by cramming for it. This, however, is a very foolish approach and is almost guaranteed to lead to a failing score. The CPHQ Exam is simply too wide-ranging to be mastered by this strategy. There is too much information that needs to be covered, and cramming will not do the job.

The best approach is to plan for the CPHQ well in advance. Ideally, candidates should give themselves at least several weeks to thoroughly prepare for the test. There are some excellent CPHQ study guides and flash cards on the market that not only cover all the necessary material, but also break it down into small, manageable sections. By starting early with these materials and studying an hour or two every other day or so, the candidate will be well poised to achieve a passing score on the CPHQ Exam.

CPHQ Certification: Should You Wait?

CPHQ certification is highly desired by health care companies when hiring and promoting health care quality professionals. A person who holds the CPHQ title will have a clear and strong advantage over job candidates who do not; increasingly in the health care quality profession, not being certified as a CPHQ is a big disadvantage in the job market. Because possessing the CPHQ certification is so important for career advancement, approximately one thousand people take the test every year, including many people who are just beginning their careers and want every advantage they can get. However, many of these less experienced candidates would be better off if they waited to take the exam.

Out of the thousand or so applicants who take the text every year, around 250 fail the exam. At a cost of several hundred dollars in testing fees, failure is very expensive. It is imperative that a person is thoroughly prepared for the exam, and much of this preparation can be gained only through on the job experience. The Healthcare Quality Certification Board of the National Association for Healthcare Quality, which administers the test, strongly cautions potential test takers that the CPHQ certification exam is not an entry-level test. In fact, they highly recommend that only candidates with at least two full years of health care quality experience take the test. The Healthcare Quality Certification Board of the National Association for Healthcare Quality makes this recommendation because it is not in anyone's interest, the agency's or test taker's, to have a large number of people fail the exam. Despite such strong warnings, however, about one in four test takers still fails the exam.

If you are new to the field, you should follow this advice and get a few years experience before seeking CPHQ certification. Nevertheless, the ultimate decision is up to you. While the official board strongly recommends having at least two years of experience, they do not require it, which means you are free to take the test if you believe you are ready. In most cases, though, you are better off waiting instead of finding out that you really were not ready at a cost of four hundred dollars. Get your experience, purchase a good CPHQ study guide for review and practice, and then take the test. Your odds of passing will be much higher, and you will be glad you waited.