Healthcare Quality Improvement, Certificate

Program Description

As healthcare continues to evolve, more and more of the healthcare workforce will be involved in quality improvement. You can advance your career and prepare to be an effective leader in improving healthcare quality and outcomes through the innovative hybrid Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Quality Improvement from the Institute for Health Outcomes and Policy (IHOP).

This 12-credit certificate program prepares professionals in healthcare to implement quality improvement initiatives and to manage populations of patients to optimize efficiency and effectiveness of care and services. Participants learn to use the techniques of statistical process control, selected tools from operations research and quality improvement, information management technology, and qualitative decision-making applications to ultimately improve clinical health outcomes for patients and communities.

Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Quality Improvement meets the growing need for healthcare quality and outcomes and population health specialists who can grow and sustain a culture of continuous improvement. Graduates will be prepared for positions within health care organizations or policy agencies requiring skills in quality and health outcome improvement and population health, and be able to:

• Develop, implement, and evaluate healthcare quality and outcomes improvement initiatives
• Translate national quality standards into daily operations
• Apply processes and tools to measure, analyze, and interpret quality improvement data
• Understand information technology systems to support quality improvement

The hybrid format, with mostly online courses and some face-to-face courses with video-conferencing capabilities, allows healthcare professionals to advance their education while working full-time, and also provides students with a rigorous curriculum and access to the resources and experts at IHOP. The program requires at least two terms for completion due to staggered Spring/Fall course offerings.

A successful applicant would be a research-oriented individual, with a GPA of 3.0 or above.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of the degree program, a student will be able to:

• Implement quality improvement initiatives in healthcare
• Apply knowledge, critical thinking, and analysis to manage populations of patients to optimize efficiency and effectiveness of care and services
• Translate national quality standards into daily operations
• Use the techniques of statistical process control and selected tools from operations research and quality improvement to analyze healthcare delivery
• Demonstrate information management technology, and qualitative decision-making applications to improve clinical health outcomes for patients and communities

Admission Standards

The certificate program will follow the admissions standards of the Health Outcomes and Policy Research Program, as follows.

Applications for the Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Quality Improvement are accepted from students with a health profession or health care related degree at the bachelors level or above; exceptions may be made in rare cases for an acceptable certification and significant work experience. The normal admission time for new students is in the Fall Semester, which begins mid-August. Prospective graduate students should submit a completed application form and supporting documents by May 15th for the Fall Semester. The admission requirements are:

• A minimum grade point average of 3.0 from the highest attained degree. Transcripts from non-US institutions may require verification by a NACES member service.
• Any applicant to the graduate program whose first language is not English and who has earned neither a bachelor’s nor a master’s degree from a college or university in an English-speaking country must have achieved a TOEFL score of at least 213/79 on the computer-based/Internet-based exam or an IELTS score of 6.5 (earned within 2 years prior to application). Any applicant whose first language is not English but who has earned a baccalaureate or advanced degree from a college or university in an English-speaking country where instruction was in English may be exempted from the requirement for the TOEFL or IELTS examination.

Graduation Requirements

The Certificate will follow the graduation standards of the Health Outcomes and Policy Research Program, as follows.

Students must accumulate 12 total credit hours (7 credit hours of core courses and 5 credit hours of electives) and maintain a 3.0 grade point average or greater throughout the program.

Certificate Program can be completed in two or four terms.