218666 Issues at the forefront of the National Board of Public Health Examiners and voluntary certification in public health

Monday, November 8, 2010 : 1:08 PM - 1:20 PM

J. Jackson Barnette, PhD , Director of MPH Programs, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO
Walter Tsou, MD, MPH, CPH , Tsou Consulting, Philadelphia, PA
Molly Eggleston, MPH, CHES, CPH , National Board of Public Health Examiners, Pittsburgh, PA
        
Certified in Public Health (CPH) professionals represent all sectors and disciplines of public health. Examinees will be described by demographics and educational background. The CPH exams administered to-date have met or exceeded all psychometric benchmarks set for them. We will describe the development of the exams, test administration, exam scoring processes, and evaluation of the core public health credentialing exam. Examinees' performance by domain will be presented, along with sample data released to institutions accredited by CEPH. With a robust and valid item bank underway, the NBPHE has been able to focus on maintenance of certification. The two requirements to maintain certification, Certified in Public Health Continuing Education (CPHCE) and re-assessment every decade, will be outlined. As evidenced by the availability of CPHCE at this annual meeting, CPHCE is available to certified professionals who need it. With the solidity of the exam ensured, the NBPHE has been responding to requests from the field by seeking approval for military support of the exam, becoming the corporate parent to a 501c3 with the mission to promote voluntary certification, verifying the certification of job applicants, and considering allowing the exam to be used as a graduation requirement.

Come learn how the CPH process is professionalizing public health!

Learning Areas:
Ethics, professional and legal requirements
Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines

Learning Objectives:
List two recent innovations of the National Board of Public Health Examiners. Identify the data available as a result of CPH exams administered to-date. Describe the psychometrics of the CPH exams administered to-date.

Keywords: Workforce, Infrastructure

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I serve on the National Board of Public Health Examiners, and chair its Research Committee
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3183.0: Pathways to Careers in Public Health