Special announcement from MGMA
We are pleased to share with you upcoming enhancements to the ACMPE board certification and Fellowship programs.
In our mission to elevate the ACMPE credentials and secure ACMPE designations that continue to demonstrate value in our ever-changing industry, new program enhancements to the ACMPE board certification and Fellowship programs will take effect Jan. 1, 2019.
After thorough review of our ACMPE programs with current and future medical practice leaders, these updates were unveiled at the 2017 MGMA Annual Conference.
We wanted to remind you of these enhancements by highlighting some of the major changes for each of our programs below. You can also find a full overview of the new qualifications by visiting our 2019 board certification enhancement page or 2019 Fellowship enhancement page.
2019 board certification enhancements:
MGMA is introducing two board certification pathways in 2019 to allow candidates who may not yet meet the educational and experience requirements to enter the program for attaining the Certified Medical Practice Executive (CMPE) credential:
- Pathway One: Applicants must have two years of healthcare experience, hold a bachelor’s degree or 120 hours of college credit, be a current MGMA member and pay the application fee.
- Pathway Two: Applicants must be a current MGMA member and pay an application fee to be eligible to take the multiple-choice exam. Upon passing, applicants become “board eligible” as they work toward earning a bachelor’s degree or 120 hours of college credit, as well as obtaining two years of healthcare experience. Once the 120 college credit hours and two years of experience is obtained, they are then eligible to take the scenario-based exam.
The ACMPE board eligible classification allows candidates to enter the board certification program even though they may not yet meet the education or experience requirements. Passing the multiple-choice exam allows candidates to show understanding and knowledge of the principles of medical practice administration.
Both pathways require registering for and passing both the multiple choice and the scenario-based exam, as well as earning continuing education credit hours. All applicants after Jan. 1, 2019, will have three years from application date to complete their exams and earn the requisite continuing education hours to become certified.
Program nominee requirements:
If current nominees do NOT hold a bachelor’s degree or have 120 college credit hours by Dec. 31, 2018 and are not obtaining college credit, they will need to:
- Have passed both examinations.
- Log all 50 hours of continuing education (CE) hours under the current CE requirements, starting 30 days prior to their acceptance date by June 30, 2019.
2019 Fellowship enhancements:
Education and experience eligibility: To participate in the Fellowship program candidates must either have a Bachelor’s degree AND seven years of healthcare experience, OR a Master’s degree AND five years of healthcare experience. At least two years of this experience must be in a leadership role.
Volunteer hours: Fellows will be required to complete six volunteer hours to showcase commitment to our industry. These hours must include at least three hours from healthcare related opportunities and the remaining can be from general community service.
Business plans: To ensure Fellows are seen as thought leaders within healthcare organizations, program changes focus on demonstrating the ability to execute on dynamic solutions to business problems. Therefore, the professional paper submission will be phased out and replaced with a submission of an innovative business plan. We believe this move will better support our Fellows to concretely demonstrate practical skills to current and potential employers.
Fellowship deadline: Candidates who enter the Fellowship program in 2019 will have two years from their application date to complete their Fellowship requirements.
Continuing education requirements:
Starting Jan. 1, 2019, maintaining ACMPE credentials – CMPE and Fellow of ACMPE – will require 50 hours of continuing education every three years. Of those 50 hours:
- 30 hours must come from MGMA national, state or local offerings (12 from live learning, such as face-to-face events, live webinars or live teleconferences). 20 hours must come from qualified sources or MGMA that pertain to the medical practice management field.
- To maintain Fellowship, we will require six hours of volunteering every three years as well.
The role of certification and Fellowship has always been to distinguish skilled leaders who can solve healthcare’s most pressing business challenges, which is why the Commission firmly believes these new changes will create stronger recognition and demand for our designations in the industry.
As we move forward in implementing these changes, we look forward to your support and thank you for continuing to act as advocates for certification and Fellowship.
If you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact the MGMA certification staff at acmpe@mgma.com or call the service center at 877-275-6462 ext. 1888.
Filed under: Membership, News | Tagged: ACMPE, Certification, CMPE, Fellowship, MGMA | Leave a comment »
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