May 2, 2013

Vanderbilt’s Ken Young earns top patient safety credential

Ken Young, MBA

The Certification Board for Professionals in Patient Safety (CBPPS) is recognizing Vanderbilt’s Ken Young, MBA, as a Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS).

Young, who works as a surgical technologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, is one of only five to receive this designation in Tennessee and one of 205 CPPSs worldwide.

The National Patient Safety Foundation created the CPPS program to elevate the patient safety profession. Young earned this credential in part by passing an evidence-based examination that tests candidates on their competency in patient safety science and application.

“This achievement demonstrates his expertise in this critical discipline and positions him among those committed to and leading patient safety work,” said Patricia McGaffigan, R.N., M.S., interim president of CBPPS.

Young’s decision to pursue this certification is evidence of his commitment to safe patient care, said Gerald Hickson, M.D., director of Vanderbilt’s Center for Patient and Professional Advocacy.

“The NPSF Online Patient Safety Curriculum and CBPPS credentials are important,” Hickson said. “We have a national need to make medicine safer and one of the ways we will accomplish our goal is through training and equipping individuals with the right skills to lead the way.”

Young is a 2011 graduate of Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management.