Professional Achievement: Recognition and Competency
By Jack Gosselin

In any profession, there are many avenues to demonstrate individual achievement. Successful performance in one’s area of responsibility is primary and the acknowledgement by one’s employer substantiates this effort. Our discipline of healthcare facilities management provides many “on the job” opportunities for professional achievement. Additionally, there exist a number of programs through the American Society for Healthcare Engineering that can be utilized to provide individual achievement in our field.

Professional achievement programs can be divided into two distinct categories: recognition and competency. The decision to pursue either or both should be evaluated based on an individual’s needs both professionally and personally. In either case, the achievement is noteworthy and has become universally recognized in the industry.

The Certified Healthcare Facility Manager (CHFM) program is a knowledge verification credential that has been issued to almost 500 applicants in the 5 year term of the certification. The required exam does an effective job in validating the body of knowledge required by our discipline.

I have observed that the CHFM credential has become widely accepted by healthcare hiring managers as the accepted benchmark for competency verification. A growing number of position specifications for healthcare facilities administrators now include the CHFM as a required prerequisite.

Recognition can be achieved through ASHE’s Senior (SASHE) and Fellow (FASHE) initiative. The process involves an application that depicts professional involvement in the areas of continuing education, authorship, and demonstrated participation in society seminars and regional volunteerism. The Senior and Fellow application was rewritten last year making the process more focused and user-friendly.

I would strongly urge NEHES members to take full advantage of these programs and realize the benefits derived from participation. Information is available on ASHE’s web site (www.ashe.org) through links to recognitions programs and the Certification Center of the American Hospital Association.