Is it necessary to take the chronic disease manager exam?

The answer is actually not absolutely "necessary" or "unnecessary", it all depends on your current career stage and development direction - if you meet someone who tells you "everyone must take the exam", there is a high probability that they are selling courses, so you can just leave.

I have worked in the grassroots public health system for two years and got to know Xiao Zhou from the community hospital. A few years ago, she was an ordinary public health post, responsible for more than 300 elderly people with high blood pressure and diabetes in the area. At first, she handed out salt control spoons to the elderly and explained the precautions for medication. Many elderly people thought that she was just a young girl, and what she said was not as effective as the leader of the square dance downstairs. The salt control spoons she handed out were thrown away. Last year, she took the time to become a chronic disease manager and posted a copy of the certificate on the wall of the health education station. The situation immediately changed. The old man saw that she had special qualifications. Everyone was willing to listen to her talk about how to monitor blood sugar and adjust diet. Later, she also took the lead in setting up a community diabetes club. When the professional title was evaluated at the end of the year, this certificate and related project experience directly gave her key points. Not only within the system, now many physical examination centers, high-end health management institutions, and retirement communities’ recruitment JDs directly state “Chronic disease management certificate holders are preferred.” I have a friend who used to do postoperative follow-up in a medical aesthetic institution. Last year, he wanted to switch to health management. , there were two competitors with nursing certificates who were interviewing together. She relied on taking the chronic disease management certificate in advance, coupled with the chronic disease intervention logic she had thoroughly studied during the exam preparation, she answered questions more professionally during the interview, and finally succeeded in getting the offer. The basic salary increased by more than 2,000 compared with before. For newcomers who have just entered the health industry and do not have many core qualifications, the process of preparing for the exam itself is a process of systematically sorting out the common chronic disease management system. The certificate can also be a small bargaining chip to widen the gap between you and competitors with the same background. In this case, it will definitely not be a loss if you take the exam.

But then again, if you have nothing to do with the health industry and have no plans to develop in this direction, then there is really no need to take this certificate. When I was watching short videos, I often saw anchors boasting about this certificate, "You can win easily and earn tens of thousands a year by being affiliated." I really don't believe it. There is no market for affiliated certificates now. If you are an ordinary office worker and do not do relevant work and do not plan to engage in health science popularization or health consulting as a side job, after passing the exam, the certificate will just sit at home gathering dust. Wouldn't it be better to use the registration fee of several thousand to eat a few good meals or sign up for fitness classes? There are also clinicians who are already at the level of attending or deputy director of internal medicine. Their professional qualifications are already strong enough and they have rich experience in daily contact with patients with chronic diseases. This certificate is just an icing on the cake for you. There is no need to squeeze in time and waste energy in preparing for the exam.

I have to warn everyone in advance. The current nationally recognized chronic disease manager certificate is a proficiency evaluation certificate, not a professional admission certificate. To put it bluntly, if you don’t have this certificate, you won’t be able to do work related to chronic disease management. It is more like a bonus item on your resume, not a required item. Don’t be fooled by those who sell courses and say “you can’t get a job without a certificate.” This is purely to create anxiety. If you are really confused about whether to take the exam, it is better to spend 10 minutes first to read the recruitment requirements for your intended position, or ask the personnel of the unit whether this certificate can be used to evaluate professional titles and increase performance. You can even ask colleagues who have already taken the exam whether it is actually useful. It is better to find out the needs and then spend money. It is better than paying the IQ tax when you are hot-headed and leaving the certificate to gather dust at home.