Credentialing, Licensing, and Education

Credentials, Licenses, Certification—What’s the Difference?

Health care providers’ credentials—the licenses, certificates, and diplomas on their office walls—tell us about their professional qualifications to advise and treat us.

Credentials is a broad term that can refer to a practitioner’s license, certification, or education. In the United States, government agencies grant and monitor licenses; professional organizations certify practitioners.

Certification can be either a prerequisite for licensure or, in some cases, an alternative. To get certified or licensed, practitioners must meet specific education, training, or practice standards. Being licensed or certified is not always a guarantee of being qualified.

How States Credential Practitioners

• States use the following approaches to credential practitioners:
  • Mandatory licensure: requires practitioners to have a license for providing a service.
  • Title licensure: requires practitioners to have credentials before using a professional title.
  • Registration: requires practitioners to provide information about their training and experience to a state consumer protection agency.
  • Graduate from an approved program.
  • Meet certification requirements of a national organization.
  • Complete a specified amount of training.
  • Pass an exam.
  • Participate in continuing education.

  State laws vary widely in the services they allow complementary health practitioners to offer. For example, a national survey of laws governing chiropractic showed substantial differences among states in the number of services and practices that chiropractors are allowed to perform.

  Education and Training

  Professional organizations in some complementary health professions offer certification examinations to graduates of accredited education and training programs. Certification may play a role in qualifying graduates for state licensure.

  For example, in most states acupuncturists must be certified by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine or pass that organization’s exams to be licensed. Some of the other professional organizations involved in certification include the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork, the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE), and the North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners.

  Schools and educational programs across the country train complementary health practitioners and prepare them for certification in their field. The U.S. Department of Education authorizes specific organizations to accredit education or training programs. For example, it has authorized The Council on Chiropractic Education to accredit chiropractic colleges and the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine to accredit acupuncture programs.

  Differences in Licensing Requirements for Complementary Health Practitioners

  The requirements for treating patients vary considerably from state to state and among the different practices.