Student and graduate attitudes toward the NBPHE certification examination

The National Board of Public Health Examiners (NBPHE) has launched the development of a public health certification exam. Plans are to administer this exam beginning in summer 2008. As a part of assessing interest in taking this exam, a web-based survey, completed by 3080 respondents, was conducted through the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH). Of the respondents, 47% were students and 47% were graduates. Thirty-nine percent of the students and 31% of the graduates indicated they were interested in taking the exam. Forty-seven percent of the students and 51% of the graduates indicated they needed more information about the credential and about seven percent of both groups wanted more information about the exam. The three highest reasons for being interested in taking the exam were: to be more competitive when looking for job (26%), proud to have chosen PH as a profession and this is an important step in development of the field (25%), and periodic recertification as a motivator to stay current and pursue continuing education opportunities (20%). The primary reason cited for not being interested, but cited by only seven-percent, was that they did not see any benefit in getting a credential. The top three things that could help the student or graduate decide on taking the exam were: understanding the benefits of having the credential (36%), cost of taking the exam (23%), and more information about the recertification process (22%). Results on these items, and others from the survey, will be presented and subgroups compared.