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Renewing Your CPHQ Certification: How to Earn CE Hours

To renew Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) certification, healthcare quality professionals must earn 30 continuing education (CE) hours every 2 years. These CE hours may be earned by attending conferences. Each hour of presentation equals 1 CE hour. attending college courses. Courses provide 15 CE hours per semester credit hour and 10 CE hours per semester quarter hour. Examples of approved college courses include statistics, organizational design, business finance, marketing, human resources, ethics, and patient safety.

• engaging in self-study. All 30 required CE hours may be obtained through self-study. Self-study is available through reading and being tested on articles in the Journal for Healthcare Quality that are designated by the Healthcare Quality Certification Board (HQCB) as “CE activity.” Obtain 1 CE hour by completing a posttest related to the article. Another option is to receive a maximum of 10 CE hours by writing questions for the CPHQ examination. Click here for the submission form.
• reading and summarizing articles. Any journal, book, or magazine with content no older than 2 years may be used. Read the article, list the title of each article, and write a summary. Each review earns 3 CE hours.
• participating in volunteer activities, such as CPHQ speaking engagements and workshops. These activities include presenting at meetings of state or local quality associations or speaking at a college healthcare course. (Presenting at your workplace does not qualify.) Each hour of presentation earns 4 CE hours.
• publishing articles or a book. If the content of the published work can be linked to the CPHQ examination content outline, you earn 4 CE hours for each published page.
• presenting posters at conferences. Each poster presentation earns 4 CE hours.

    For auditing purposes, please make sure that you calculate, document, and maintain your CE categories and hours. HQCB is required to conduct random audits of professionals being recertified as CPHQs.
    CE hours must relate to the current CPHQ examination content outline. CE hours for presentations must be approved first by the National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ). NAHQ requires that applications be submitted 6 weeks before the presentation. NAHQ accepts conferences, workshops, and online courses for CE approval, but home-study courses are not accepted.
    HQCB also offers online recertification, and education courses or activities can also be tracked online. Online recertification provides instant feedback and informs CPHQs when they are chosen for audits of their CE hours.

This issue of NAHQ E-News is sponsored by the Baldrige National Quality Program.