Complex care core competencies

The complex care core competencies include:

• Core competencies for complex care team leaders

• Core competencies frontline complex care providers

Each set of competencies captures the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed by complex care team leaders and frontline practitioners respectively, regardless of geographies, settings, and provider types. Both sets of competencies were developed by a dedicated group of leaders from diverse backgrounds and sectors, and were designed to add to rather than replace discipline- and profession-specific competencies.

For team leaders

The core competencies for complex care leaders are for supervisors, managers, program managers, clinical leads, and directors of teams supporting people with complex health and social needs. The competencies capture the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitudes for successful complex care leaders, who must be able to supervise a team, build culture, improve operations, and build relationships across organizations.

Domains

• Multi-level advocacy
• Supervision and development
• Intentional culture development
• Program operations and management
• Building cross-sector ecosystems of care
• Personal values and ethics

Learn more about the core competencies for complex care team leaders:

For frontline providers

The core competencies for frontline complex care providers capture the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitudes for members of teams or individual practitioners that are working in programs dedicated to coordinating and providing services for people with complex needs. These competencies are also for healthcare, behavioral health, and social service practitioners who may not work in dedicated complex care programs, but regularly encounter people with complex needs.

Domains  

• Human complexity and context
• Personal and professional commitment and ethics
• Person-centered, relationship-powered care
• Integrated team collaboration
• Diverse information management
• Systems complexity and context

Learn more about the core competencies for frontline providers:

Implementing the complex care core competencies

The Complex Care Certificate is a comprehensive online certificate based on the core competencies for frontline providers. It includes nine self-paced courses designed to build frontline providers’ knowledge, skills, and confidence in delivering person-centered care for people with complex needs – regardless of discipline, setting, or geography.

A certificate for complex care team leaders is currently in production. The curriculum will be based on the core competencies for complex care team leaders and appropriate for supervisors and managers from all disciplines in all settings who are overseeing teams and programs supporting people with complex health and social needs. The courses will be available to purchase in fall 2025! Sign up here to be notified about their release.

Working groups and support

The complex care core competencies were developed by two dedicated groups of leaders of diverse backgrounds and sectors from across the country. The working groups provided expert insight by participating in thoughtful debate and multiple rounds of feedback on the competencies.

The development of the core competencies for frontline complex care providers was also supported by the following associations:

• America’s Essential Hospitals
• American Academy of Pediatrics – New Jersey Chapter
• American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
• American College of Clinical Pharmacy
• American Society for Consultant Pharmacists
• American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
• Association of American Medical Colleges
• Council on Social Work Education
• National Association of Social Workers
• National PACE (Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) Association