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BUSINESS
OF MEDICINE

Human capital development
and competency-based education

By Lee W. Bewley, PhD, FACHE, Jeffrey S. Sun, PhD, Ann H. Herd, PhD

The healthcare industry has long been associated with human cap- graduate healthcare management programs that are CAHME ac-
ital development aligned with requisite competencies to achieve cer- credited. These accredited programs have broadly incorporated the
tification and licensure. In order to achieve these market most basic elements of competency-based education ensuring that
requirements, substantial personal and organizational resources are each traditional term-based course, e.g. a one semester, three-credit
perpetually dedicated to achieving and then maintaining competen- hour course in health economics, is directly tied to a healthcare man-
cies and corresponding standing to practice medicine or serve in po- agement competency and that assessments in the course provide a
sitions within healthcare organizations. Within the past decade, new substantive basis to evaluate whether students have attained the re-
developments in Competency-Based Education (CBE) have quired level of competence. 1,2,3,4
emerged with the promise to provide more cost-effective, efficient
educational development for healthcare professional seeking degrees. Even more progressive forms of CBE have been introduced into
the field of education in the past quarter century. Western Governors
Graduate healthcare management has been at the vanguard of University, a public, regionally-accredited institution was founded
contemporary competency-based education since 2008 led by the in 1997 to provide online, CBE-based education. The Competency-
Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Educa- Based Education Network (CBEN) includes more than 17 higher
tion (CAHME). Since 2008, CAHME, the accrediting body for education institutions providing education on more than 40 cam-
graduate healthcare management education, has required that cur- puses across the country providing some form of CBE education in
riculums and assessment methods be tied to a programmatic com- numerous academic program. These innovative programs extend be-
petency model aligned with the mission of the graduate program to yond mapping specific courses to competencies and corresponding
better ensure that accredited programs are providing appropriate de- assessments to offer “non term” courses and direct assessment for
velopment for students that seek employment in healthcare man- credit. The promise of these new educational offerings is that stu-
agement. CAHME programs include Masters in Healthcare dents will be able to save time and money to complete their educa-
Administration (MHA), Masters in Business Administration (MBA) tion by earning credit for competencies that they have already
with Health concentration, or Masters in Public Health (MPH) with mastered and to focus time, as little or as much needed, on those
Healthcare Management concentration. U.S. News regularly ranks competencies that they have not yet learned. 5,6,7,8

44 San Antonio Medicine • November 2016