Quality, Patient Safety and Outcomes Research Certificate Program
NOTE: This certificate program can be completed entirely online
OVERVIEW
The certificate program is designed for graduate students from the Johns Hopkins Schools of Public Health, Medicine, and Nursing and health-related professionals interested in quality, patient safety, and outcomes research.
EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES
Those who complete the certificate program will gain competencies in quality, patient safety, and outcomes research; however, the program does not provide training in conducting research. Students completing the certificate program will be able to:
Quality
- Describe several frameworks and theories for assessing and improving the quality of medical care;
- Describe current key policy and programmatic areas in quality of care;
- Understand how to assess quality of care for a medical condition;
- Describe key elements of published quality assessment and improvement studies;
- Understand how to develop a workable quality improvement and evaluation plan.
Safety
- Recognize the extent of problems in patient safety in medical care;
- Describe the role of various systems and factors in creating safety and in causing errors and adverse events;
- Discuss problems and issues in measuring and reporting safety;
- Demonstrate knowledge of the basics of conducting an incident investigation and disclosing an adverse event;
- Design solutions to improve patient safety;
- Understand the ethical, legal, and regulatory implications related to patient safety.
Patient Outcomes Research
- Argue for the importance and challenges of using patient and consumer-reported measures in research, clinical practice, and program evaluation;
- Compare the different types of instruments available to measure health-related quality of life;
- Critique the use of commonly used patient-reported outcomes in specific applications;
- Plan the development of a new questionnaire;
- Understand the role of patient-centered outcomes research in improving health, including its place in the U.S. research portfolio, the importance of stakeholders in the research process, and policy implications related to implementation;
- Identify study designs and methodologies unique to patient outcomes research.
Admissions
Contact information and complete information about applying to the certificate program are available on the certificate program page on the Bloomberg School of Public Health website.
Sponsoring Department
REQUIREMENTS FOR SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION
The certificate program requires a minimum of 21 term credits, including four required courses and at least six credits of elective courses. All required and elective courses must be taken for a letter grade; a minimum grade of C is required in all certificate coursework, and students must maintain a 2.75 or better overall GPA for all certificate coursework. The certificate program length is flexible and varies from student to student. However, the program must be completed within three years.
The student should review the section of the website that addresses completion before completing certificate program requirements. The student's transcript will not indicate that the certificate was earned until the Notification of Completion has been submitted, verified by the certificate program, and processed by the Registrar.
COURSE OF STUDY
Students should check the BSPH course directory to confirm when the courses are offered. Students should also check for prerequisites and whether instructor consent is required.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PH.550.860 | Academic & Research Ethics at JHSPH (All students are required to complete this online noncredit course in their first term of study) | |
| Required Courses: Students must complete the following required courses | ||
| PH.309.712 | Assessing Health Status and Patient Outcomes (typically offered online in 2nd term) | 3 |
| PH.309.730 | Patient Safety and Medical Errors (typically offered online in 3rd term) | 3 |
| PH.311.615 | Quality of Medical Care (typically offered online in 1st term) | 3 |
| Elective Courses: Students must complete at least nine credits from the following elective courses. Students should select from at least 2 domains, and may select courses from several domains | ||
| Elective Courses:Domain 1: Quality of Care | ||
| PH.221.722 | Quality Assurance Management Methods for Developing Countries (typically offered onsite and online in 1st term) | 4 |
| PH.309.609 | Palliative and Hospice Care: Inequality, Equality and Quality of Care (typically offered alternate years onsite in 3rd term) | 2 |
| PH.390.678 | Introduction to Quality Improvement & Knowledge Translation Research (typically offered online in 1st term ) | 3 |
| Elective Courses: Domain 2: Patient Safety | ||
| PH.309.600 | Evaluating Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Programs (typically offered onsite in Winter Institute and online in 1st term) | 3 |
| PH.312.678 | Introduction to Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety: A Management Perspective (typically offered onsite in 3rd term) | 2 |
| Elective Courses: Domain 3: Health Economics and Economic Evaluation | ||
| PH.313.790 | Introduction to Economic Evaluation (typically offered online in 4th term) | 3 |
| Elective Courses: Domain 4: Health Care Management and Informatics | ||
| PH.309.631 | Population Health Informatics (typically offed online in 2nd term) | 3 |
| PH.312.600 | Managing Health Services Organizations (typically offered online in 3rd term) | 4 |
| PH.312.620 | Performance Measurement in Health Care (typically offered virtually in Winter and Summer Institutes) | 2 |
| PH.312.633 | Health Management Information Systems (typically offered online 3rd term) | 3 |
| Elective Courses: Domain 5: Methods | ||
| PH.340.606 | Methods for Conducting Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (typically offered onsite in 3rd term) | 4 |
| PH.340.686 | Introduction to Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (typically offered onsite and online in Summer Institute) | 2 |
| Elective Course: Domain 6: Practicum | ||
| PH.309.864 | Quality, Patient Safety, and Outcomes Research Practicum (This course is distinct from what students may have completed for their MPH Capstone and/or MPH Practicum. It is typically offered onsite in 2nd, 3rd and 4th terms) | 3 |