Welcome to the month we celebrate the heart and black history!

It is hard to believe it is already February... 2013 is off to a fast start with lots of possibilities for ASHHRA members and the health care human resource (HR) profession.

ASHHRA membership will offer many opportunities to "exemplify excellence" and "embrace new learning" in 2013. One unique way we will be able to exemplify excellence is by being one of the first health care HR professionals who obtains the new health care HR certification, which will be introduced later this year. The new certification program will be a partnership between ASHHRA and the AHA Certification Center (AHA-CC).

A Job Analysis Advisory Committee consisting of ASHHRA and members has been working over the last several months to assist in the development of the Certification Program. It has been my pleasure to serve on this committee along with Lee Byrd, Maureen O’Keeffe, Deborah Rubens, Joe Micucci, Terri Stevens, Doug Jontz, Amy Schultz, and ASHHRA Staff Liaison Jamie Macander. Please join me in offering our thanks to these committee members for their time and efforts to make certification a reality and advance the health care profession.

Another possibility of how we as HR health care professionals can exemplify excellence is to showcase our successes and best practices. Make 2013 the year YOU get published! ASHHRA is looking for your success stories for issues of the HR Pulse magazine. Please take the time to complete the Call for Articles to share your best practices and experiences. See the following topics:

Issue	Submission Due Dates	Topic
Q2	Feb. 28, 2013 (Mails 5/14/13)	Engagement: Employee / Physician Engagement, Quality / Risk Management, Physician Integration, Patient Satisfaction—HCAHPs & how this relates to employees & physicians
Q3	June 14, 2013 (Conference Edition; Mails 8/28/13)	The Workforce: Labor Relations; Advocacy / ASHHRA Advocacy Committee Hill Visit; Policy and Practice; Organizational Commitment
Q4	Aug. 16, 2013 (Award Announcements; Mails 11/27/13)	People Strategies: Succession Planning; Culture; Employee Engagement; Management and Professional Development; Mentoring / Coaching; Talent Management