Fewer RNs seeking quality credential

Get ready for competition from business types

Increasing numbers of business majors, statisticians, and data management majors are seeking the Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) credential, says Jan Maronde, RN, CPHQ, executive director of the Healthcare Quality Certification Board in San Gabriel, CA. That new breed of candidate may excel in the very areas of expertise that are ascending in importance in your job, and could be a threat to your job security.

"We’re seeing more and more people taking the CPHQ exam and working in our field who don’t have a background in health care," says Maronde. "There’s a definite trend away from RNs in this area."

Only clinicians seem to have a concern about a lack of hands-on experience among quality staffers, she says. "The key point is for the quality professional to know what you don’t know to recognize when you need to seek the assistance of a clinician."

If the dwindling numbers of clinicians in the quality field became a problem, it would self-correct, she explains. When nonclinical quality staff present data to medical professionals, any gaps would be quickly spotted. Clinicians will demand data that incorporate the proper variables. "That’s the safeguard," says Maronde. "The input of clinicians will create a balance."