SHCA New Member Quick Start

Welcome to the Society for Healthcare Consumer Advocacy, a dynamic and growing organization focused on patient's rights, ethics, patient satisfaction/measurement, and service excellence in today’s healthcare facilities and hospitals. We are the heart of the hospitals, advocating in the name of the patient.

Step One: If you haven't already done so, Register with SHCA Online

The first step to taking advantage of the many benefits of membership is registering for a members-only website account. Click here to register if you have not done so already. Note: If you joined SHCA online, you automatically registered when you joined.

Once registered and logged in to the SHCA website, use your email address and the password you received or created when you registered) you will be able to access all of SHCA’s resources, sign up for the SHCA listserv, register for educational events and access the SHCA only bookstore at the member discounted rate.

When you register, you'll gain access to the members-only areas of both SHCA and the American Hospital Association websites. Once you have registered, you will need to enter your user name and password to view members-only material each time you visit so be sure to keep a written copy in your files.

Why is it Important to Register Right Away?

If you have not created or maintained your member account, you could be missing out on valuable member benefits. Most member benefits are communicated on the SHCA website or in e-mails; both of which you need a registered profile to fully access. This is why it's so important to keep a record of your user name, password, and membership number somewhere in your files for easy reference.

When you log in to the SHCA website, you enjoy seamless access to member’s only materials on both the SHCA and American Hospital Association websites. You can also view and change your profile, renew your membership and make an online purchase.

For more information on managing your SHCA online account, visit the FAQ page.

Step Two: Begin Using SHCA Resources

SHCA is committed to providing resources to empower our members to do their jobs better. As a new patient advocate or new to SHCA, we encourage you to take full advantage of the resources and educational programs and invest in your future today.

The SHCA Listserv: the online community to share best practices and ask questions to patient advocates across the nation
Greatly discounted professional development opportunities, including hot topic webinar archives, the SHCA Domains of Practice Certificate Program, Annual Conference and Pre-Conference Workshop
Timely communications including SHCA News, the Society’s quarterly newsletter, and updates from the healthcare industry and AHA leadership
Publications developed by patient advocate for patient advocates to keep you on the cutting edge of the profession
Affiliated local networking through our chapters

AHA Resources

Step Three: Register for the SHCA Domains of Practice educational offerings

Read below to find out more about the SHCA educational programs and invest in your future today.

Domains of Practice Certificate Program (Offered monthly via webinar)
Domains of Practice Pre-Conference Workshop (Offered annually in April in conjunction with the Annual Conference)
Annual Conference (Offered annually in April)

The Domains of Practice are the cornerstone of SHCA’s professional development offerings. Regardless of your level, SHCA offers a variety of programs that are designed to give you the educational foundation for patient advocacy skills and competencies.

SHCA has identified the following as key knowledge for advanced competency in the role of a patient and advocate:

Patient Rights
Grievance and Complaint Management
Measuring Patient Satisfaction
Interpersonal Communication
Customer Service/Service Excellence
Mediation/Conflict Resolution
Crisis Intervention
Data Management
Healthcare Management

Domains of Practice Certificate Program

Offered monthly via webinar (75 minutes each)

The 15-hour curriculum is delivered over a series of 12 webinars and offers a fresh look at the fundamentals of patient advocacy. The webinars are designed to provide convenient, professional development opportunities.

Why should you participate?

The content is designed by patient advocates for patient advocates.
You will gain access to expert, practitioner faculty during and after the webinar including a live Q&A segment.
You will connect and learn from patient advocate peers after the module by participating in the SHCA listserv or other national SHCA events.
Upon successful completion of the domain module, participants will receive a certificate in that area of healthcare patient advocacy.

Purchase the Season Pass to attend all 12 modules for the price of 10. The member rate is $1400. Individual modules are priced for members at $140 per session.

If your facility wants to purchase an individual module or a Season Pass, you only need to pay one fee and everyone who participates will earn a certificate of completion for that module after completing the evaluation.

To learn more about the curriculum that will be discussed each month, please refer to the program website by clicking here.

Domains of Practice Pre-Conference Workshop

Offered face-to-face, April 17, 2012 – Austin, Texas - Renaissance Hotel

Join us at our second annual SHCA Domains of Practice Pre-Conference workshop, an exclusive, face-to-face learning and networking opportunity, where you will participate in interactive exercises, discussions and gain new knowledge necessary to succeed in the patient advocacy field.

Faculty will cover the spectrum of knowledge by reviewing how each domain contributes to a strong foundation and empowers you to take a more active role within your facility to improve the patient experience. They will further explore two of the Domains - Grievance and Complaint Management and Data Management - where you will gain valuable knowledge regarding CMS Conditions of Participation requirements for complying with grievance guidelines, reporting, and data analysis.

Those completing the course will be awarded a certificate of completion. The member rate to attend this 6-hour opportunity is $249.

Registration details can be found in the Annual Conference brochure on the SHCA website.

2012 Annual Conference: Be a Patient Advocate Star
Offered face-to-face, April 17 - 20, 2012 – Austin, Texas - Renaissance Hotel

No matter what type of setting or size your institution is, what role you serve or how many years you’ve been in patient advocacy, the annual conference provides the tools you need today. We constantly reevaluate our educational offerings to ensure we’re giving you the up-to-date subject matter that you can use when you return home.

The early bird member rate of $575 ends February 24. To read full program details, sessions, and speakers, please download the brochure on the conference website by clicking here.

If you have questions or would like more information on how to make the most of your membership, please feel free to contact SHCA at (312) 422-3700 or shca@aha.org.

Thank you for joining SHCA. We value your membership and are proud to be your professional organization of choice! The SHCA Board of Directors and Staff are here to serve you.

Welcome!