Why Allied Health Employers Prefer AMT-Certified Professionals

You won’t find much debate among healthcare providers that the quality of their reputation depends on hiring good people who can provide excellent care. 

While advanced care providers earn their credentials through accredited institutions and boards, allied health professionals are qualified by certification agencies. These agencies require no approval to operate, and some may not be subject to any external review. This can make evaluating credentials to find qualified allied health professionals a real challenge.

Employers Push for Rigorous Credentials

But increasingly, states and healthcare employers have taken greater interest in the quality of allied health credentials. Employers are probing what is beneath the surface of a credential. They are considering the reputations of certification agencies in the industry and the criteria used for certifying professionals. 

They’re asking critical questions like:

• What has been the experience of hiring employees with these credentials? Are they competent or did the employer need to do training on basic entry-level tasks?
• Have the professionals passed a test that covers current best practices in the field?
• Do the certified professionals have hands-on clinical experience making them prepared to work? 
• Is the credential recognized by state and federal agencies and by other health care systems? 

What Determines Quality

A certification body’s reputation and length of service are relevant to judgments on its quality and capabilities. Having a reputation for rigor, sound practices and well-prepared certificants is a sign of high quality. 

While some individuals may seek a credential that comes with promises of a guaranteed pass and or exam prep materials that practically tell you the answers on the test, these credentials are not attractive to employers. In fact, a good employer will probably find those kinds of qualities of a credentialing program more negative than positive. If an employer determines that a particular credential is conferred in a manner that doesn’t derive from a well-developed, reasonably directed and secure process, they will think less of that credential. Employers are the driving force in this field. 

Certification agencies can voluntarily subject themselves to external accreditation. AMT has been accredited by NCCA (the National Commission for Certifying Agencies) since the accreditor’s inception. AMT was the first to achieve accreditation in the disciplines it certifies.

AMT Sets Standards Employers Can Trust

AMT requires that all certification applicants comply with certain eligibility requirements, which include completion of an approved education program or work experience. Those who meet the requirements have an excellent chance of passing the certification exam, but more importantly, they will have adequate preparation to perform the duties employers expect of them. AMT certification is a national certification and is not limited to specific states.

Want to Learn More About AMT Eligibility Requirements?

Use our eligibility tool to explore what it takes for your employees to qualify for each of our certifications.

Read more at:

• What lies beneath an AMT credential (americanmedtech.org)
• The man behind the exam (americanmedtech.org)