Accredited programs overrated

In his commentary on “Paving a path to the C-suite,” (April 23, p. 25), Stephen Loebs cited two competing perspectives on graduate education for future healthcare leaders. I personally (and frankly, professionally) am of the second camp—not having earned a master’s of health administration degree from a Commission on Accreditation Healthcare Management Education program. (I’m a proud Chapman University College graduate.) I fail to see any extraordinary value of a degree from an accredited institution. I have never based a hiring decision on whether a candidate is from such an institution. Instead, my hiring decisions, and those I’ve seen across the industry, are based on a candidate’s reputation: what he or she can bring to the table and a proven track record of performance. Sadly, I’ve also seen graduate students from institutions across the spectrum who had weak quantitative, verbal and written communication skills, and other weaknesses that will preclude them from positions of greater authority and responsibility in their futures.

I’m not sure that CAHME accreditation does any good, however well-meaning. That said, I would hope that the cost of such accreditation does not drive up the cost to the institution.

Mark Lisa

CEO Doctors Hospital

Manteca, Calif.