NAHQ and GW’s SMHS Health Care Quality Program Join Forces to Support Future Healthcare Leaders

CHICAGO and WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 9, 2021) – As quality improvement emerges as a distinct priority in the healthcare industry, the National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ) and the George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) Health Care Quality Program have agreed to collaborate to equip GW graduates for future success in the industry. The relationship unites two respected organizations that share a mission to advance a qualified and competent healthcare quality workforce across the continuum of care.

Under the terms of the collaboration, GW’s SMHS Health Care Quality Program has approved NAHQ’s Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality^® (CPHQ) designation for master’s level credit. Professionals with CPHQ^®  credentials will be exempt from taking a three-credit introductory course in the master’s degree program.

Through its online graduate certificate program and master’s degree, the SMHS Health Care Quality Program delivers a rigorous curriculum focused on implementing quality and patient safety improvement initiatives, facilitating organizational change toward a quality-focused culture, evaluating processes and tools to measure, analyze, and interpret quality improvement data; and utilizing information technology systems to support quality assurance.

“The mission of the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences’ Health Care Quality Program is to educate quality and patient safety specialists dedicated to a culture of continuous improvement, spurred by the belief that all healthcare should be patient-centered and quality-driven,” said Sabrina Figueiredo, director of GW’s Health Care Quality Program. “Our collaboration with NAHQ will ensure that our students become highly competent quality professionals who reduce variation in care while driving a national quality agenda through policy, improvement science, and culture change.”

NAHQ developed the industry’s only Healthcare Quality Competency Framework, which categorizes healthcare quality work into eight dimensions, 29 competencies and 486 skills, sorted by level. This framework seeks to advance the healthcare quality profession and improve the quality workforce’s readiness by aligning members around quality improvement priorities. These quality workforce competencies support the goals of value-based care by creating better patient and financial outcomes. NAHQ also offers the only accredited certification in healthcare quality, the CPHQ, now held by more than 12,000 individuals world-wide.

In the past, the healthcare quality profession had evolved on an ad-hoc basis without the benefit of national standards. Both GW’s Health Care Quality Program and NAHQ aim to address this issue and meet emerging demand by providing clear training pathways and establishing competency standards for healthcare quality.

About NAHQ
NAHQ is the leader in healthcare quality workforce competencies and creator of the twice-validated, industry-standard Healthcare Quality Competency Framework. NAHQ provides a strategic advantage to healthcare professionals and the organizations they serve by developing and evolving workforce competencies in healthcare quality that result in better patient and financial outcomes to support the goals of healthcare value.

NAHQ offers the only accredited certification in healthcare quality, the CPHQ, now held by more than 12,000 individuals world-wide, extensive educational programming, networking opportunities, and career resources to more than 8,000 members. Learn more about NAHQ at NAHQ.org.

About the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences  
Founded in 1824, the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) was the first medical school in the nation’s capital and is the 11^th oldest in the country. Working together in our nation’s capital, with integrity and resolve, the GW SMHS is committed to improving the health and well-being of our local, national and global communities.

Media Contacts

NAHQ
Brigid Sweeney
bsweeney@nahq.org
(708) 204-4813

SMHS
Lisa Anderson
lisama2@gwu.edu
(202) 994-3121