Healthcare Quality Improvement Certificate

As healthcare continues to evolve, more and more of the healthcare workforce will be involved in quality improvement. You can advance your career and prepare to be an effective leader in improving healthcare quality and outcomes through the innovative hybrid Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Quality Improvement from the Institute for Health Outcomes and Policy (IHOP).

This 12-credit certificate program prepares professionals in healthcare to implement quality improvement initiatives and to manage populations of patients to optimize efficiency and effectiveness of care and services. Participants learn to use the techniques of statistical process control, selected tools from operations research and quality improvement, information management technology, and qualitative decision-making applications to ultimately improve clinical health outcomes for patients and communities.

Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Quality Improvement meets the growing need for healthcare quality and outcomes and population health specialists who can grow and sustain a culture of continuous improvement. Graduates will be prepared for positions within health care organizations or policy agencies requiring skills in quality and health outcome improvement and population health, and be able to:

• Develop, implement, and evaluate healthcare quality and outcomes improvement initiatives
• Translate national quality standards into daily operations
• Apply processes and tools to measure, analyze, and interpret quality improvement data
• Understand information technology systems to support quality improvement

The hybrid format, with mostly online courses and some face-to-face courses with video-conferencing capabilities, allows healthcare professionals to advance their education while working full-time, and also provides students with a rigorous curriculum and access to the resources and experts at IHOP. The program requires at least two terms for completion due to staggered Spring/Fall course offerings. The minimum cumulative GPA needed for successful completion of the Healthcare Quality Improvement Certificate program may be no lower than a GPA of 3.0.

Requirements:Health professional degree or a bachelor degree, with a grade point average of at least 3.0 from an accredited college or university and official transcripts. Transcripts from non-US institutions may require verification by a NACES member service. In addition, applicants must have sufficient computer literacy, English-language literacy, and technical skills to participate in web-based, graduate level courses. A command of written and spoken English is essential. If there is cause to doubt the student’s proficiency in English, the program may, at its discretion, require additional examinations and/or other evidence of proficiency prior to registration.

Deadline:  May 15

Program Director: Simonne S. Nouer, MD, PhD | 901.448.5189 | snouer@uthsc.edu