IHI Open School Online Curriculum and CE Credits

Overview

With self-paced courses in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, faculty from institutions of higher learning and health and health care leaders around the world rely on the IHI Open School as an easy way to bring essential training in quality improvement and patient safety to students and staff — creating a common language around improvement and giving learners crucial skills to become leaders and agents of change in health care.

The IHI Open School Basic Certificate in Quality and Safety, a micro-certification program comprising 13 courses (marked with an * asterisk below; 17.75 total hours), provides a well-rounded introduction to quality, safety, population health, equity, health care leadership, and person- and family-centered care. Completion of these courses earns users the Safety and Quality Improvement Micro-Credential*.

Advanced courses allow learners to go deeper into each of these topics, and our Faculty Guide and library of teaching resources help group leaders engage all types of learners in unique ways.

There are several approaches to integrating IHI Open School content into training programs. For example:

• Choose a few courses to teach specific concepts
• Set students up with a solid foundation in quality and safety by assigning the Basic Certificate in Quality and Safety, comprised of 13 core courses
• Facilitate discussion and applied learning with activities available in the Educator's Toolkit (part of a group subscription)

No matter the approach, our free guide aims to support educators in their efforts to bring training in quality and safety to students or staff — with help from the IHI Open School. We invite you to download and share the IHI Open School Faculty Guide: Best Practices for Curriculum Integration.

Continuing Education (CE) Credits

In support of improving patient care, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement is accredited by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), and the National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ) to provide continuing education for the health care team.

IHI Open School online courses offer more than 35 Continuing Education credits for nurses, physicians (AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™), and pharmacists; Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Part 2 for select medical specialty Boards; CPHQ CE credit from the National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ); and Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS) Recertification credits. 

For help redeeming credits, see Claiming Credits for Your Completed Program.

Learn more about CE credits for IHI Open School courses.

Social Workers

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As a Jointly Accredited Organization, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit.

Nurse Practitioners

For the purpose of recertification, the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board accepts AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ issued by organizations accredited by the ACCME (Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education). We would also suggest that learners check with their state licensing board to ensure they accept reciprocity with AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ for re-licensure.

Physician Associates/Assistants

The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) states that AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ are acceptable for continuing medical education requirements for recertification. We would also suggest that learners check with their state licensing board to ensure they accept reciprocity with AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ for re-licensure.

Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada

The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada have collaborated to enable Royal College Fellows to earn Section 3 credits by participating in accredited CME that counts for MOC. Royal College Fellows will be able to report participation in accredited CME activities that are available on or after November 1, 2019.

European Accreditation

The American Medical Association (AMA) has an agreement of mutual recognition of continuing medical education (CME) credit with the European Union of Medical Specialties (UEMS). Additional information regarding this agreement may be found here.

*A micro-credential shows proof of completion for a series of courses from an accredited learning institution. They let employers and your professional network know that you have proficiency in a subject area. You can reference this micro-credential on your resume or CV as “Safety and Quality Improvement Micro-Credential, Institute for Healthcare Improvement, (Date of completion).”