Becoming a Compliance Officer

There are different ways to approach “becoming a compliance professional.” 
You could begin by working in a health care setting and “work your way” into the arena.  You could strive to educate yourself in compliance by such methods as attending conferences, reading publications such as  The Health Care Compliance Professional's Manual, and also Compliance 101, both of which are available from HCCA.

Attending conferences such as our large annual conference in April is a great opportunity for networking and meeting compliance professionals. It is also a great learning experience.  See www.compliance-institute.org.

Members of our association can network with other professionals by accessing the members-only section of our website and searching in the member directory for members in their city.  In addition, any compliance professional can join our Social Networking site and interact with other compliance professionals there.

You could become certified in health care compliance.   The CHC credential can be attained by passing the certification exam, with the prerequisite of a year of compliance background and 20 CEUs.  Preparation can occur through self-study, by attending conferences, and/or by attending our four-day Academy, which trains in the skill set that is tested on the CHC (Certified in Health Care Compliance) exam.  See the CHC Candidate Handbook for more details on preparing for the CHC exam,  or visit the certification section of our website.

There are four certificate university programs that we accredit for our Continuing Education:

• Quinnipiac University (Connecticut)
• George Washington University (Washington DC)
• Florida Gulf Coast University (Florida)
• Hamline University (Minnesota)
• Widener Law School (Delaware & Pennsylvania)

You would probably benefit by reading the document “Evaluating and Improving a Compliance Program” available on our website. You may also wish to peruse the Career Opportunities on our website.