An educational certificate is granted to an individual who has participated in a course and achieved specific learning outcomes, such as passage of an examination.¹  Receiving an educational certificate does not mean that a person is certified; it means that a person holds an educational certificate.  A person who holds an educational certificate is not able to say that it is “certified.”  The term “certified” is reserved for those who have achieved professional certification.

Note:  Many individuals and organizations have not taken the time to research and understand the difference between a professional certification and an educational certificate.  Thus, many organizations claim to offer a “certification” course, when they are actually offering an educational certificate  Professional certification is the voluntary process by which an individual proves that it has achieved expertise in a specialty area.  Professional certification is independent of training courses and course providers.

 

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Within the naturopathic medical profession, there is currently 1 specialty educational certificate program offered in Generative Medicine that has 2 subspecialties in Personalized Medicine and Bioinformatics.

Generative Medicine²

• An earner of the Generative Medicine Fellowship specialty educational certificate is known as a Fellow of the Institute for Naturopathic Generative Medicine (FINGM), since the educational certificate course is called a fellowship.
  • Note (on 2017-Mar-15):  The title of the website, “Institute of Naturopathic Generative Medicine” is incongruent with the description of the organization and the contact information, which states that it is the “Institute for Naturopathic Generative Medicine”.

• An earner of the Generative Medicine Diplomate in Personalized Medicine subspecialty educational certificate is known as a FINGM Dipl.Pers.Med.  A naturopathic physician (naturopath) must first earn a Generative Medicine Fellowship educational certificate in order to be eligible to earn a Diplomat in Personalized Medicine educational certificate.

• An earner of the Generative Medicine Diplomat in Bioinformatics subspecialty educational certificate is known as a FINGM Dipl.Bioinfo.  A naturopathic physician (naturopath) must first earn a Generative Medicine Fellowship educational certificate in order to be eligible to earn a Diplomat in Bioinformatics educational certificate.

 

Within the entire medical profession, there are many educational certificates available.

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)³

A naturopathic physician (naturopath), allopathic physician (allopath), or osteopathic physician (osteopath) can earn an educational certificate in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by taking a CPR class and passing the class.  Once an educational certificate is attained, a naturopathic physician (naturopath), allopathic physician (allopath), or osteopathic physician (osteopath) may say it holds a certificate in the level of the CPR course that was taken and successfully passed.  A certificate in CPR is often required for working as a physician in healthcare facilities.

Note:  It is incorrect for one to say that it is CPR “certified”.  It is correct for one to say that it holds a CPR certificate.

 

REFERENCES

1. Educational Certificates

   • National Certification Board for Alzheimer & Aging Care.  What is the difference between a Certificate Course and Professional Certification?.  Accessed on 2017 Mar 14.
   • American Board of Medical Specialties.  Board Certification and Maintenance of Certification.  Accessed on 2017 Mar 14.
   • American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants.  Certification vs. Certificate.  Accessed on 2017 Mar 14.

2. Generative Medicine

   • Institute for Naturopathic Generative Medicine.  Certification.  Accessed on 2017 Mar 14.
   • Institute for Naturopathic Generative Medicine.  Certification in Generative Medicine.  Accessed on 2017 Mar 14.
   • Institute for Naturopathic Generative Medicine.  Diplomate in Personalized Medicine.  Accessed on 2017 Mar 14.
   • Institute for Naturopathic Generative Medicine.  Diplomate in Bioinformatics.  Accessed on 2017 Mar 14.

3. Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)

   • American Heart Association. CPR & First Aid – Emergency Cardiovascular Care:  BLS for Healthcare Providers – Classroom.  Accessed on 2016 Apr 12.
   • American Heart Association. CPR & First Aid – Emergency Cardiovascular Care:  Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support.  Accessed on 2016 Apr 12.
   • American Heart Association. CPR & First Aid – Emergency Cardiovascular Care:  PALS.  Accessed on 2016 Apr 12.
     • World Heart Federation.  CPR – Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).  Accessed on 2017 Mar 14.
   • American Heart Association.  American Heart Association.  Accessed on 2017 Mar 14.
   • American Red Cross.  American Red Cross.  Accessed on 2017 Mar 14.
   • American Red Cross.  Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers.  Accessed on 2017 Mar 14.
   • American Red Cross.  CPR/AED for Professional Rescuers and Health Care Providers.  Accessed on 2017 Mar 14.
   • American Heart Association. CPR & First Aid – Emergency Cardiovascular Care:  Basic Life Support (BLS).  Accessed on 2017 Mar 14.