A credential serves as documented recognition that an individual has achieved specific knowledge, skills, competencies, or a particular professional status. This broad category encompasses various forms, including academic degrees, professional licenses, certificates, certifications, and digital badges. A microcredential, on the other hand, is a more focused and concise form of recognition, verifying mastery of a specific skill, competency, or a narrowly defined area of knowledge through demonstrated evidence or assessment.

At the National Network of Healthcare Hygienists (NNHH), we distinguish between two primary types of credentials:

NNHH Full Credential with Designation

A full credential at NNHH signifies comprehensive expertise within a specialized domain. These programs are characterized by:

• In-depth, Focused Training: Providing extensive education within a specific area of practice.
• Accreditation Standard: Built upon ASTM E2659, the globally recognized standard for certificate program accreditation, ensuring rigorous quality and international recognition.
• Expert-Designed Curriculum: Developed collaboratively by multiple subject matter experts to ensure comprehensive and current content.
• Professional Designation: Successful completion leads to a professional designation (e.g., CH-OSE™), signifying advanced competency.
• Comprehensive Learning Components: Includes structured lectures, a comprehensive summative assessment, and a capstone project to apply learned knowledge.
• Quality Assurance: Involves a manual audit process to maintain high educational standards and verify all requisites.
• Verifiable Recognition: Awarded as a certificate of completion, accompanied by a digital badge, and eligible for continuing education (CE) credits.

NNHH Microcredential

NNHH microcredentials offer targeted validation of specific skills or knowledge. These are defined by:

• Short, Focused Training: Designed for efficient acquisition of specialized competencies.
• Targeted Assessment: Includes a concise assessment to verify mastery of the specific content.
• Automated Recognition: Leads to an automated certificate and/or digital badge upon successful completion.
• CE Credits: Eligible for continuing education (CE) credits.

Microcredentials can serve as integral components of a broader career pathway or as prerequisites for NNHH full credentials, allowing for flexible and stackable professional development. The transparent and accredited nature of NNHH credentials, supported by digital badges, ensures that education and training are easily verifiable and recognized, aligning with the requirements for ISO/IEC 17024 certification of persons where proof of education and training are essential.

You do not need to be working in a hospital or a non-traditional setting to benefit from this training. The IPEC competency framework applies wherever you practice — a private dental office, a community health center, a school, a long-term care facility, or a specialty clinic. What matters is your willingness to think beyond the mouth and show up as a full member of the healthcare team.

This program is also relevant for dental hygiene educators, program directors, and practice owners who want to prepare their students or teams to meet the growing demand for interprofessional, whole-person care.

Absolutely. This course leverages Jamie Dooley’s decades of expertise in career coaching and workforce development to provide the strategic clarity you need to architect your ideal career. Through a series of intentional reflective journal prompts, you will move beyond a traditional focus on clinical dentistry and begin to ground your professional identity in the IPEC competency framework. This process empowers you to define your unique value within interprofessional teams and provides a clear, actionable roadmap for your next professional steps, whether you are seeking a career expansion or a transition into broader healthcare roles.

This fully online, self-paced program is considered a micro-credential. It offers 2.5 AGD PACE credit hours and journal prompts to help you shift your perspective, gain clairity on your barriers, and construct a professional development plan in alignment with one of the 33 subcompetencies.

A resource module is included with downloadable tips, prompts and career coaching guidance.

A digital badge, powered by Accredible, will also be issued upon your completion. We will ask for a link to your digital badge when you apply for a certificate of completion or credential at NNHH moving forward. You only have to take this course once.

Jamie is available inside the program in case you have questions. She is happy to guide you.

That shift does not require a new license or a new job. It requires a new perspective — and that is exactly what this course is designed to create. When you complete this training, you will have the knowledge, the language, and the interprofessional framework to show up differently in any setting you work in.

Your enrollment includes lifetime access to the program and any future updates or versions that are published.

You are only required to complete it once. Your digital badge link will be asked for whenever you apply for a certificate of completion or credential at NNHH.