Ensuring Student Success in the Healthcare Workforce through Preparation and National Certification Featuring the National Healthcareer Association and Broward County Schools Session Agenda • Introductions - we want to learn about you. - who is the National Healthcareer Association (NHA)? • Healthcare industry employment trends • Introduction to national certification – what is it and why is it important? • How NHA ensures student success in the healthcare workforce • Successful Certification Implementation – Broward County Schools • “Best practice” certification preparation. • Benefits of partnering with NHA and getting started Nancy Boulger | PN Administrator| Broward County Schools Nboulger@browardschools.com (754) 321-5157 Lyndsey McDonald | Director, School Partnerships| NHA Lyndsey.Hall@NHAnow.com (978) 460-2605 2 We want to hear from you • Do you offer career-specific health science programs? • Do you currently offer industry recognized credentials as part of your Health Science program(s)? • Do you partner with local healthcare providers to coordinate externships or seek input on program development? • Do you face any challenges related to offering industry certifications? • Why is offering certification important to • You? • Your students? • Your school and/or school district? 3 NHA is leading the way NHA is the leading provider of entry level allied health career certifications. Our Mission is to drive allied health professional excellence to advocate for quality patient care. Our Vision is for our certification and educational solutions to empower allied health professional achievement with proven product efficacy and exceptional support preferred by professionals, educators, and employers. Who We Are The National Healthcareer Association (NHA) is one of the nation’s largest allied health certification providers. Since 1989 NHA has helped thousands of schools across the nation to produce better professionals and better program outcomes. What We Do NHA is dedicated to improving the quality of patient care through education, certification and ongoing professional development of allied health practitioners. Healthcare Industry Employment Trends According to the Huffington Post: • 5.6 million NEW healthcare related jobs by 2020. Allied Healthcare Industry: • Represents over 60% of the healthcare workforce. SOURCE: University of California San Francisco • Considered ‘Career Ladder’ jobs SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • Reasons for growth: • Demographic changes (i.e. aging population is increasing). • Large group of healthcare workers nearing retirement. • Cost-efficiencies. A Positive Outlook for Healthcare Professions NHA CERTIFICATIONS Patient Care Technician (CPCT) 2010 TOTAL MEDIAN PAY 1,505,000 $ 24,190 % GROWTH NEW JOBS BY 2020 20-28% 496,100 Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) 528,000 $ 29,100 29% 243,800 Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA) 509,000 $ 31,060 29% 278,400 Billing & Coding Specialist (CBCS) 505,000 $ 32,880 20-28% 187,600 Pharmacy Technician (CPhT) 334,000 $ 28,940 29% 166,300 Phlebotomy Technician (CPT) 202,000 $ 30,790 10-19% 65,800 Electronic Health Record Specialist (CEHRS) 180,000 $ 33,310 20-28% 73,700 49,000 $ 51,020 29% 22,100 EKG Technician (CET) *Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 6 Certification Defined • What is a national certification? • The process of publicly attesting that a specified quality or standard has been achieved or exceeded. • Third party validation of competency as being able to competently complete a job or task, usually by the passing of an examination. • Typically a voluntary process. • How does certification differ from licensure? • State grant of legal authority to practice a profession within a designated scope of practice. • Why is it important? 7 Why Certify? From an Employer’s Perspective • • • WHY CERTIFY Promote Higher Standard of Practice • Patient Safety • Patient Satisfaction Satisfy Growing Regulatory and Other Industry Compliance Requirements • CMS Meaningful Use Initiatives • - State Regulations Other Important Considerations • Risk Mitigation • Cost Reduction • Employee Satisfaction and Retention • Employee Advancement • Multiple Credentials = More Qualified, Well-trained Professionals. Why Certify? From a Student’s Perspective • Experience a competitive edge during the job search. • Provides a solid foundation for furthering education. • Demonstrates commitment to chosen profession and to patient care and safety. • Improved potential for earnings, career opportunities, and advancement. • National credentials may ensure employment potential nationwide WHY CERTIFY FAQs: http://www.nhanow.com/faq.aspx Why Certify? From a School’s Perspective • • • • WHY CERTIFY Demonstrates commitment to your students’ and contributes to district’s success/funding opportunities. Generally speaking, certification improves student graduation rates and overall achievement of student “work readiness” success measures. Better Professionals through 3rd party validation of students’ competencies. Increases students’ potential for improved earning and advancement opportunities. FAQs: http://www.nhanow.com/faq.aspx NHA Credentials Clinical Medical Assistant Certification (CCMA) Certified Electronic Health Record Specialist (CEHRS) Phlebotomy Technician Certification (CPT) EKG Technician (CET) Pharmacy Technician Certification (CPhT) Patient Care Technician Certification (CPCT) Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA) Making the healthcare industry better one healthcare worker at a time. Certified Billing and Coding Specialist (CBCS) We offer 8 allied health certifications, which have been successfully adopted by over 2,400 educational programs and greater than 400,000 practitioners across the United States. All exams except Pharmacy Technician (CPhT) are offered provisionally. 11 Eligibility requirements for NHA certifications Examination for the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians (ExCPT) Certified Phlebotomy Technician (CPT) Certified EKG Technician (CET) Eligibility Requirements: • Students must be 18 years old and posses a high school diploma (ExCPT) • Students must not have any criminal history (ExCPT) • Students must be within we months of graduating from high school prior (all other certifications) • Phlebotomy certification requires 25 live venipuncture sticks and 10 live capillary sticks • EKG Tech certification requires 10 live EKG’s Students (except for Pharmacy Tech) will receive a provisional certification that expires 12 months after testing unless proof of graduation is presented. Proof of graduation transfers a students certification from provisional to full Stackable Certifications: Ensuring Workforce Success Possible Health Science Programs NHA Certifications Medical Assistant CCMA, CPT, CET, CEHRS, CMAA Medical Administrative Assistant CMAA, CEHRS Medical Billing and Coding CBCS, CMAA, CEHRS Pharmacy Technician^ CPhT Phlebotomy Technician CPT Patient Care Technician CPCT, CPT, CET, CEHRS Training in several areas of expertise will help your students achieve higher levels of accountability and proficiency. Building a stair-step “multi-certification” program makes succeeding more attainable and rewarding. Students stay engaged and experience measurable wins throughout the program(s). ^Must be taken post-graduation. More information: http://www.nhanow.com/schools/multiple-credentials.aspx 13 Student Success from Start to Finish Your Health Science Program(s) + ATI Allied Health Certification Exam Preparation Study Guides, Practice Exams, and Focused Review + Industry Recognized, Accredited Certifications Achieve Career and Work Ready Students 14 14 Broward County Schools Health Science Since 2007 Broward County Schools has partnered with NHA to provide quality industry certifications to secondary and postsecondary students CAPE - The Florida Career and Professional Education Act was enacted through legislation in 2007. Why CAPE? • Improve Florida’s talent pipeline in order to better attract and retain targeted, highvalue industries and to develop a knowledge-based economy • Ensure that education, industry, workforce and economic development partners in every community are collaborating to create new and meaningful opportunities for students. • Provide students with cutting-edge training and the opportunity to earn industry certifications required for high-skill, high-wage jobs in Florida’s target and infrastructure industries (including healthcare) 15 Broward County Schools Health Science Broward County partnered with NHA in 2007 to provide students with the CMAA (Certified Medical Administrative Assistant) as an end of pathway assessment for the Level 3 Health Science course. Year 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Campuses offering NHA Certifications Exams Passed Exams Taken Pass Rate 1 6 6 100% 1 7 8 88% 1 24 29 83% 10 169 184 92% 16 437 481 91% 20 539 566 95% 20 453 759 60% 16 404 571 71% Instructors were provided an intensive Learning Community to achieve the certification, along with necessary resources including a textbook, NHA study guide tutorials, and practice test. Industry certification preparation is infused into the Level 3 course curriculum. • Why? • How? 16 CMAA exam update resulted in poor pass rates Every 3-5 years NHA conducts a Job Task Analysis (JTA) and updates their certification exam to align with the most up-to-date job tasks. The 2010 JTA lead to a new exam for the 2012-2013 SY. As a result of the new exam, student pass rates on the CMAA in Broward County dropped below 60% 17 CMAA exam update resulted in poor pass rates Due to the high volume of students enrolled in the Level 3 health science course and the sudden drop in pass rates, Broward County established a committee to evaluate program effectiveness Throughout the summer the Committee: • Developed a new Level 3 curriculum cross-walked and aligned with the updated CMAA test blueprint • Created rigorous lesson plans including critical vocabulary, role play, hands on exposure through real life shadowing opportunities. 18 NHA Recommended Steps to a Successful Implementation Step Details 1 Review certification exam blueprints (i.e. content outline). 2 Conduct a gap analysis, ensuring content coverage within the program. 3 Establish best practice certification preparation steps within program. 4 Supplement course with certification study guide and practice assessments with focused, accelerated, and customizable remediation (offered online). 5 Pass - Student is prepared to successfully challenge the certification exam and to obtain his/her industry credential! Step 1: REVIEW NHA’s Certification Exam Blueprints …may be accessed online and can be referenced for curriculum alignment! 20 STEP 2: CONDUCT a Gap Analysis for Program Alignment • Review your course/program curriculum + NHA exam blueprint. Seek to – • Ensure all exam competencies are covered within program. • Identify any gaps in the current curriculum and adjust curriculum, as needed. • Review and incorporate NHA certification preparation resources (i.e. study guide and practice assessments) as supplementary preparatory tools for student success – as you deem necessary. • Certification preparation resources are not a replacement for a comprehensive curriculum with more robust learning resources. For example, many medical assisting type programs have been successful using Kinn’s Medical Assisting textbook. Tyler ISD recommends providing your students with externship opportunities. In combination with in-class . labs, externships help students to learn by doing. While the CCMA is a multiple choice exam, students benefit from real world experience conducting EKG’s and live sticks by developing a muscle memory for those job tasks. STEP 3: ESTABLISH Best Practice Certification Preparation Practices Certification Resources Interactive and engaging web-based learning tools, including customized focused remediation! 22 STEP 3: ESTABLISH Best Practice Certification Preparation Practices • The Focused Review©, which is produced upon completion of each practice assessment attempt, tailors the review content to a candidate’s performance on the practice assessment, placing remediation emphasis on components where the candidate struggled STEP 3: ESTABLISH Best Practice Certification Preparation Practices 2 Administer the first ATI Allied Health practice assessment. o Practice assessment mirrors the NHA certification exam in length and format. o Administer towards end of the program - between 10-50 days prior to taking a NHA certification exam. Depends on length and depth of program. o Recommended that rationales are disabled on first attempt. o Allow ample time to review weak areas based on initial results, utilizing the study guide and Focused Review© tool. 24 STEP 4: SUPPLEMENT your program with NHA certification preparation 3 Direct candidates to use ATI Allied Health study guide tutorials (SGT) and Focused Review© tool. • SGTs provide a review of core subjects within test plan. • Focused Review© • Produced after each practice assessment attempt. • Tailors the review content to a candidate’s performance on the practice assessment. • Customizes remediation with an emphasis on components where the candidate struggled. The study guide tutorials may be used as supplementary materials throughout the course, but leveraging these resources, as well as Focused Review©, in a closer proximity to the exam date (data suggests within two weeks) can help to keep tutorial content fresh in the candidate’s mind. 25 STEP 4: SUPPLEMENT your curriculum to ensure student success using the practice assessment 4 Administer the last ATI Allied Health practice assessment. • The last practice assessment should be administered in close proximity to the NHA certification exam date. Data suggests within 5 days. • Administering the last practice assessment in close proximity to the NHA certification exam can – • Keep the candidate more engaged. • Reduce test anxiety through increased familiarity with the exam format. • Improve test outcomes. STEP 5: PASS! Students will achieve a nationally recognized credential. Results: • Students will receive their results immediately when the certification exam is taken onsite and online. • School can manage student results online through our certification portal (i.e. an online candidate management and reporting tool). Converting a Provisional Certification to Standard (i.e. “full”): • A provisional certification expires 12 months after the exam date. It cannot be renewed or reinstated; rather, it must be converted to a traditional certification. • Students or school should supply NHA with proof of graduation for their respective students. NHA will issue a standard certification. • Certifications are verifiable online, cost-free at nhanow.com. Industry Awareness: • NHA certification exams are nationally recognized by healthcare employers. • NHA has a dedicated Industry Awareness team who educates employers on the value of NHA certifications! 27 Broward County Schools Health Science When we compare students at the same school who followed best practices to those who didn’t, we see a meaningful difference in pass rates. This concept applies across districts and states, allowing us to make assumptions about pass rates based on practice test scores. Certification preparation and other educational resources are offered in partnership with ATI Allied Health. The purchase of ATI Allied Health certification exam preparation materials or other educational products is not required to sit for any certification exams offered by NHA. Certification preparation and other educational resources are offered in partnership with ATI Allied Health. The purchase of ATI Allied Health certification exam preparation materials or other educational products is not required to sit for any certification exams offered by NHA. Copyright ©2014 Assessment Technologies Institute, L.L.C. All rights reserved 28 Learning Outcomes o Allied Health jobs are in high-demand. o Industry certifications are valuable for job obtainment and demonstrate a level of commitment and competency for the profession. o NHA promotes quality patient care through the certification of allied health professionals o NHA partners with educators (secondary and post secondary) to provide certification opportunities o Your students may obtain industry certification and be “work ready” upon graduation. o ATI Allied Health provides interactive preparation material o Certification Specialists will help schools implement the certification and preparation process o Campuses nationwide have recognized the benefits of offering their high school students NHA provisional certification o The NHA Industry Awareness team is available to contact employers near you to ensure recognition of NHA credentials o NHA offers 8 accredited certifications o Implementation for student success is simple! Please see our best practice recommendations. o We share a collective goals. First and foremost, student success! 29 Questions and Comments? Lyndsey McDonald 978-460-2605 Lyndsey.McDonald@nhanow.com