EXAM / TESTING
To become certified, a candidate must pass the examination with a score of 73 or higher. This examination is offered online in a computer-based format and may be taken by the candidate at any time after the application has been submitted. Candidates will be contacted by the program when they have been approved to take the examination. Once a candidate starts the exam, he or she will have 30 days to complete it.
The examination is an objective, multiple-choice test consisting of 100 questions. The exam questions have been designed to test the candidate's ability to address the range of real-life problems faced by accreditation professionals today. The questions are updated on a continuous basis to keep them relevant to current realities in healthcare. The examination is an "open book" examination.
Please select a link below for more information on the following topics:
Types of examination questions
Certification examination content
Management and examination services
Examination honors policy
Confidentiality
Application and examination fee
Following the examination
Appeals
Release of test scores
Types of examination questions:
Recall questions test the candidate's knowledge of specific facts and concepts relevant to the day-to-day work of accreditation professionals. Because the examination is an "open book" test, candidates may use reference resources in answering recall questions, as this is the manner in which accreditation professionals frequently carry out their responsibilities.
Application questions require the candidate to interpret or apply information, guidelines, or rules to a particular situation.
Analysis questions test the candidate's ability to evaluate and integrate a range of information in problem solving to address a particular challenge.
The test is designed so that approximately 20% of the questions will be of the recall type, 55% of the application type, and 25% of the analysis type.
Certification examination content:
The exam content is based on analysis of the activities of accreditation professionals in a wide range of settings, hospital sizes, and circumstances. Input from respected leaders in the field was used to identify both the major categories of accreditation professionals' responsibilities and specific competencies within each category. The following is a comprehensive list of the categories to assist candidates in preparing for the certification examination and selecting educational programs that will be most helpful in the certification process.
I. Assessment
a. Maintain expertise on accreditation and regulatory issues
b. Interpret standards and regulations for the organization
c. Assess organizational readiness and vulnerabilities for external evaluation by regulatory bodies
d. Measure organizational compliance with standards
e. Interpret future trends likely to affect organizational compliance
II. Education
a. Disseminate information on standards and regulations to organization
b. Educate organizational staff on standards and regulations (e.g., orientation, in-service)
c. Simplify the link between the standard and the organization's practice
d. Collaborate with leadership in establishing accountability for organizational compliance with standards/regulations
e. Direct organizational staff performance to achieve compliance with standards/regulations
III. Implementation:
Act as a change agent:
a. Build collaborative relationships within the organization
b. Establish multi-disciplinary team
c. Apply meeting management skills
d. Facilitate multi-disciplinary team to achieve standards compliance
e. Employ change management skills to achieve compliance with standards
f. Resolve conflict by employing negotiation and mediation skillsGeneral tasks:
a. Establish position as expert resource
b. Synthesize the roles and responsibilities of the structural components of the organization
c. Translate standards into actions
d. Integrate standards with organizational policies and procedures
e. Implement practical applicability of standards
f. Execute evidence-based approaches to patient safety and performance improvement
g. Represent your organization to regulatory agenciesPreparing for survey:
a. Implement plan for continuous survey readiness (e.g., mock surveys, tracer methodology)
b. Ensure documentation is in compliance with regulations/standards (e.g. PPR, eBBI, PFI)
c. Resolve non-compliance issues with plan of correction (e.g., pre and post)
d. Coordinate site visits
e. Implement follow up to site visits (e.g., reports, clarifications)
f. Coordinate disease specific certification and other related surveys
Management and examination services
The Certified Specialist in Healthcare Accreditation Program contracts with Applied Measurement Professionals, Inc., (AMP) to provide management and examination services. AMP provides administrative support for the certification process, including examination development, validation, and administration. AMP carefully adheres to industry standards for development of practice-related, criterion-referenced examinations to assess competency. AMP offers a full range of services, including practice analyses and development of examination specifications, psychometric guidance to committees of content experts during examination question writing, development of content, valid examination instruments, publishing, examination administration, scoring, and reporting examination results.
Applied Measurement Professionals, Inc. (AMP)
18000 West 105th Street
Olathe, KS 66061-7543
Tel: 913/895-4600
Fax: 913/895-4650
E-mail: info@goAMP.com
www.goAMP.com
The Certified Specialist in Healthcare Accreditation Program maintains records, handles finances, and processes examination applications, certification materials, and requests for continuing education approvals.
Note: The Certified Specialist in Healthcare Accreditation Program and AMP maintain examination administration and security standards that are designed to ensure that all candidates are provided the same opportunity to demonstrate their abilities.
Examination honors policy
The certification examination is an "open book" examination because accreditation professionals customarily carry out their responsibilities with access to numerous informational resources. Candidates may complete the examination online in one sitting or in sections, following the instructions outlined below. However, candidates are requested not to seek assistance from other individuals while completing the examination. The examination is offered on an honors system that assumes all candidates will act in good faith to ensure that their performance on the certification examination reflects their own personal knowledge and skills. If the program becomes aware of candidates not complying with this requirement, the program reserves the right to move the examination into a proctored format, which will create additional costs to candidates for certification .
Confidentiality
Information about candidates and their examination results is considered confidential. Studies and reports concerning candidates will contain no information that is identifiable to any candidate, unless authorized by the candidate.
Application and examination fee
The fee for the certification application process and examination is $300. If a candidate is a member of the Association for Healthcare Accreditation Professionals, the application fee is reduced to $240. The fee may be paid by credit card, personal check, or money order for the total amount, payable to HCPro, Inc. Checks drawn on banks outside of the United States must state: "Payable in U.S. dollars." Please be sure the candidate's name is written on the face of the check. An additional charge of $35 will be added for any returned checks or rejected credit cards. Application fees are non-refundable.
Following the examination
After finishing the examination, the candidate will be asked to complete a short evaluation of the testing experience. The candidate will then be sent (electronically) the results of his or her performance on the certification examination. The score report will reflect either "pass" or "fail," followed by specific performance feedback provided in the form of a raw score indicating the number of questions the candidate answered correctly, plus a breakdown of raw scores for each of the three major content categories. If the candidate exceeds the minimum passing score of 73, the program will send the candidate a hard copy certificate testifying that the candidate has successfully completed all of the requirements of certification and is henceforth designated as a Certified Specialist in Healthcare Accreditation. This can be signified by "CSHA" after the candidate's name. The successful candidate will be authorized to use this designation going forward.
If the candidate does not exceed the minimum passing score of 73, the candidate will receive electronic notification of this result, including the raw score performance feedback. Candidates are encouraged to use this feedback to strengthen their preparation for another attempt to pass the examination. The candidate will be eligible for reexamination once an additional fee of $300 has been processed. Candidates may take the examination a maximum of three times.
Appeals
Please note that, due to the standardized nature of question development and validation and the flexibility of scheduling and completing the examination, no appeals will be allowed regarding the examination process or results.
Release of test scores
The program will not release a copy of an individual's score report to any other individual or organization without the candidate's written authorization. If the candidate would like his or her test scores released to a third party, the candidate must submit a written request for such release and $30 per copy, specifying the party and address to which the scores should be sent. Scores may be released to either an e-mail address or postal address.