142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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CHES Exam as a Program Requirement for Undergraduate Students

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014 : 12:50 PM - 1:10 PM

Darson Rhodes, MCHES , Truman State University, Kirksville, MO
Audio (mp3) recording Recorded Presentation (mp4)
The Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) examination is a comprehensive examination that covers all required content knowledge and skills for a qualified health education specialist, and reflects the most current and practical qualification of a health education professional. In addition, the examination is easily accessible, because it is administered twice a year by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing (NCHEC), Inc. and can be taken at more than 120 testing sites nationwide.

This presentation will offer suggestions regarding how professional preparation programs can use the CHES examination as an important and practical capstone activity, or as a required substitute for a comprehensive examination for a specific course, activity, or graduation. An advantage of requiring the CHES exam as a capstone activity is it can be used as a best practice assessment for students’ learning outcomes (SLO) in health education. In addition, the results of the students’ examination could be used to improve and realign the university curriculum that most reflect the current practice in the field.  During this presentation, examples from two universities will be shared as to how the requirements of the CHES examination are incorporated into curriculum at two institutions and a discussion of potential challenges a university may encounter in making the CHES exam a requirement for students will be held.

Learning Areas:

Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines

Learning Objectives:
Explain eligibility for the Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) examination. Describe two examples of how universities are utilizing the CHES examination and related Competencies and Sub-competencies within course curriculum requirements. Describe two strategies to address challenges that universities may face in requiring the CHES exam for students.

Keyword(s): Public Health Curricula & Competencies, Health Promotion and Education

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a Master Certified Health Education Specialist with more than 10 years of experience in health education or related fields. Currently, I am in a tenure track position within a department that requires all health science majors to complete the CHES exam as a graduation requirement, and I am the department’s CHES/MCHES liaison with NCHEC.
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: 3219.0: Verified Health Education Competencies: An Asset to Professional Preparation Programs and the Public Health Education Workforce