Approved by the Board of Governors Dec. 5, 2022.
Statement of the Issue
The need for excellence in healthcare leadership is as great as it has ever been. Healthcare organizations require strong, capable, innovative and resilient leaders to deliver high-quality, safe and equitable care effectively and efficiently in a complex and rapidly changing environment. Further, healthcare leaders have a responsibility to serve their communities and the field and provide safe, diverse, equitable and inclusive workplaces. Healthcare organizations are challenged to find those with the expertise to fill these leadership roles. Individuals looking to assume these roles can best position themselves to effectively serve their patients, organizations and communities by committing to a program of leadership development and lifelong learning.
By providing a credentialing program, a professional society helps the field it serves by setting standards for competence and excellence, and assists the public by providing a means by which to identify those who have met this standard. Choosing to become credentialed in healthcare management enables a professional to demonstrate his or her competence, leadership and commitment to the profession. It also provides evidence of that individual’s commitment to lifelong learning, leadership excellence, distinguishing oneself in the field and ethical conduct.
The American College of Healthcare Executives has a comprehensive, multifaceted credentialing program. Healthcare executives who meet the criteria become board certified in healthcare management and are recognized as ACHE Fellows. With this distinction, Fellows earn the right to use the FACHE® credential (Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives).
Policy Position
ACHE believes that by participating in a voluntary credentialing program, healthcare executives are taking a meaningful and visible step toward demonstrating their competence in the field. Through their participation in such programs, healthcare executives are also reaffirming their commitment to lifelong learning, leadership excellence and ethical conduct.
The value of a credential is linked to the credibility of the certifying organization and the rigor of the credentialing process itself. To this end, ACHE has established a voluntary credentialing program that bestows certification in healthcare management with requirements addressing:
- Formal academic preparation beyond a bachelor’s degree.
- Position and responsibility.
- Experience.
Further, ACHE’s credentialing program requires:
- A commitment to the association as demonstrated by tenure in ACHE.
- Participation in continuing education and a program of lifelong learning.
- Evidence of giving back to the field and community through voluntary participation in healthcare and community activities.
- Peer review as demonstrated by two references attesting that the candidate for fellowship possesses the professional attributes required of Fellows, such as competence, sound judgment, integrity and ethics. At least one such reference must be received from an ACHE Fellow in good standing. The other may be supplied by a senior leader in the candidate’s organization.
- Ongoing adherence to an ethical code of conduct, and yearly affirmation of a commitment to uphold the professional Code of Ethics.
- Successful completion of a comprehensive exam that measures knowledge and skills in healthcare management.
For a voluntary credentialing program to be a viable indicator of an individual’s competency, the program must be designed using rigorous standards and periodically refined so that it remains a fair and predictable indicator of professional competence in the changing marketplace. To this end, ACHE’s credentialing body adheres to the following steps as it relates to the development and refinement of its testing mechanism(s):
- Conduct periodic job analyses within the field to ensure the examination is reflective of the frequency and importance of job-related knowledge and tasks performed by healthcare executives.
- Provide for periodic review of the exam by a professional testing service or a psychometric consultant.
- Provide for periodic review of the exam and results by subject matter experts to ensure relevance and fairness of the test, and establish a passing point that is reflective of professional competence, is reasonable and is accepted in the psychometric community.
- Administer each test according to established, consistent procedures that include security measures to protect the integrity of the testing materials and the administration of the test.
- Accessibility of testing and that procedures are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, including those conducted by computerized vendors.
ACHE’s voluntary credentialing program also requires individuals to periodically recertify, documenting their continuing education or successful completion of a comprehensive exam that measures knowledge and skills in healthcare management, and documenting their volunteer activities that are indicators of continued competency and their commitment to the profession.
Finally, ACHE provides for periodic, comprehensive review of the requirements of initial credentialing and recertification to ensure they continue to meet the objectives of the credentialing program in a changing marketplace.
Policy created: November 1997
Last revised: December 2022