Licensing
A Consideration of the Quality and Access of Educational Opportunities for ACHE Members
The ACHE (American College of Healthcare Executives) has introduced a radical new licensing system which, while entirely voluntary at the time that this publication is written, is no mere bureaucratic exercise: it is intended to act as a refining tool to sharpen the mind and test the skill set of the respective ACHE member. The licensing scheme actively requires that its members re-accredit themselves on a 3-year basis in order to continually ensure that the employee is indeed able to maintain the exemplary standards expected and demanded by the ACHE organization.
There have been some who have regarded the licensing and accreditation system operated by the ACHE as too arbitrary and draconian, that it imposes an unnecessary and indeed unfair level of strain upon the member of the organization. In reality, the member will be amply rewarded for their diligence as it provides them with a significant competitive edge over their peers in the industry and, given the current turbulent nature of the economy, every little bit helps.
A particularly commendable perk offered by the ACHE are the so-called “clusters,” which are annual events typified by a series of educational seminars devoted to a particular issue and topic within the healthcare industry. These allow the member to further cultivate their skills and finesse their clinical experience. Provisions have also been made to provide educational and learning resources on the Internet in the interests of cost saving for members and also to reach out to a far wider audience than initially intended.
In addition, there has been the introduction of online seminars which allow a member who is interested to fill out forms and take a brief examination which, if successfully completed as required, will entitle that particular member to earn additional credits toward their current degree. This in turn helps professionals to quickly and easily specialize within a niche.
http://chppm-www.apgea.army.mil/qso/cert/bche2.htm
The Pharmaceutical Association Of Ireland
The Pharmaceutical Association Of Ireland is one of the most important and influential professional bodies within Ireland at the moment in regard to the administration and advancement of healthcare. The pharmacy is a vital element of every healthcare facility and is governed by strict regulations. In Ireland, these regulations not only encompass the national laws but also the European laws that apply now and so the Pharmaceutical Association Of Ireland has been essential in helping pharmacists nationwide to adapt to the change without causing harm to patients.
In fact, the Pharmaceutical Association Of Ireland is the professional body that has effectively liaised with the government in formulating the Pharmacy Act 2007, which has gone a long way to regulating pharmacy professions and making sure that public safety has been enhanced and upheld as a result. This leaves pharmacists and the public with little doubt that the Pharmaceutical Association Of Ireland is looking out for everyone’s best interest, but its involvement with the healthcare industry goes above and beyond just one piece of legislation.
The role of the Pharmaceutical Association Of Ireland is of paramount importance to making sure that pharmacies are available to the public every day. This is largely because all people practicing in pharmaceutical roles have to be registered with the PSI in order to practice in the first place. Without being registered, those in this profession are actually breaking the law and can be held accountable. Employers can check up on registration and so have the peace of mind that they know that they are hiring someone who is qualified to do the job properly. All things pharmacy related go through the Pharmaceutical Association Of Ireland and that includes complaints about those registered. As such, the Pharmaceutical Association Of Ireland is designed and established to make sure that the best possible level of healthcare is being administered. By combining the interests of the pharmacists and the people, they offer excellent peace of mind for everyone concerned.
http://www.pharmaceuticalsociety.ie/
http://www.independent.ie/topics/Pharmaceutical+Association+of+Ireland
An Explanation of the ACHE and How It Can Benefit Your Hospital
Currently within the United States of America, there are no legal provisions (either at state or federal level) requiring a healthcare manager to have any sort of license at all, which has caused a significant amount of concern given that healthcare managers are directly responsible for the allocation of resources, both in terms of manpower and finances. They work in partnership with frontline healthcare providers such as physicians, nurses, and physical therapists in order to more readily identify the priorities and requirements that currently remain outstanding.
The ACHE, or American College of Healthcare Executives, is a professional-based body which has implemented a voluntary licensing system for healthcare managers. It has done so in an attempt to provide a stopgap solution until legislation on this issue is modified. This licensing system, dubbed FACHE (the Foundation of ACHE), will make the identification and ultimate selection of qualified, experienced staff members far more easy as all the administrator has to do is look at the presence (or conspicuous absence as the case may be) of the FACHE license and base their judgment from there.
The benefits of the FACHE pilot scheme are numerous, as the hospital can rest assured that they are employing dedicated personnel who not only have the requisite skill base to successfully perform the job but also that the personnel that they take possess the drive, ambition, and ethics to learn and strive. The FACHE system is useful not only for ensuring that a hospital attracts quality and talent, but also that they get to keep it over the course of the lifetime of the employee.
Given that our healthcare system is governed by the principles of free market economics, ensuring that you operate as competitively as possible is crucial indeed.
http://www.sru.edu/pages/3312.asp
First School of Pharmacy at American Women’s College
It was announced in The Baltimore Sun that August 24, 2009 was the first day of classes at the first school of pharmacy offered at an American women’s college, the College of Notre Dame of Maryland. It is now only the second college in Maryland to train professional pharmacists to help meet the high demand for pharmacists in the U.S. and to address the anticipated increasing shortages in that field within the next decade.
Only 70 students were selected for the program out of 500 applicants hoping to be a part of the first class of this school. And although 28 of the students are men, the pharmacy curriculum will honor its past by focusing on women’s health issues. Led by a 26-member faculty team, the school is stressing patient care and clinical applications over future research and academic careerists.
The dean of the pharmacy school, Anne Y.F. Lin, previously served as dean of the Midwestern University College of Pharmacy in Arizona. She is striving to change the way pharmacy is taught by focusing on serving patients, saying “It’s all about patient care” in an orientation address. This new approach is what has drawn most of the students to this program, choosing it over others with more of a research and academic focus.
The article noted that pharmacy is a good field for students who are looking towards a lucrative future. A pharmacist can expect a yearly salary of $103,000 in current dollars after eight years on the job. There is job security in the field, too, as it is not expected that the demand for pharmacists will decrease at any point in the near future with the growing numbers of seniors continuing to increase. There will be a 22 percent increase in demand for pharmacists by the year 2016 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The goal of the school is to keep classes small and give students direct patient experience starting with their first year. Students don’t work directly with patients until their second or third years at most pharmacy programs.
About the College of Notre Dame of Maryland
The College of Notre Dame of Maryland was founded in 1873 by the School Sisters of Notre Dame, who were dedicated to educating women as “leaders to transform the world.” It was the first Catholic college in America to offer a four-year baccalaureate degree to women. With a rich history of excellence in liberal arts education, the College of Notre Dame of Maryland has been listed among the “Great Schools, Great Prices” in the 2010 edition of America’s Best Colleges, published by the U.S. News & World Report.
http://http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-md.ndpharmacy24aug24,0,4087681.story