The National Board of Public Health Examiners (NBPHE)

1. The National Board of Public Health Examiners (NBPHE) Credentialing Graduates from CEPH-Accredited Public Health Schools and Programs June 2006

2. Historic Goals of Credentialing in Public Health • Increase recognition of the public health professions • Raise the visibility of public health • Measure and improve the competency and consistency of public health workers nationwide

3. Purpose of NBPHE Ensure that students and graduates from schools and programs of public health accredited by the Council on Education of Public Health (CEPH) have mastered the knowledge and skills relevant to contemporary public health practice. This purpose will be accomplished by developing, preparing, administering and evaluating a certification exam.

4. Past Efforts • Both ASPH and APHA established task forces on the credentialing of public health workers in the late 1980’s stimulated, in part, by the call from the U. S. Surgeon General for such an effort • In 1999, APHA and ASPH formed a Task Force on Public Health Workforce Credentialing

5. Recent Efforts • In January of 2002, ASPH’s Executive Committee approved moving forward to develop an independent Board of Public Health to issue examinations and provide those that pass the exam with a public health credential • The board incorporated in September 2005 • In November 2005, the board held its inaugural meeting in Philadelphia, PA

6. Collaborating Organizations According to the by-laws, the 12 board members include representatives from: • APHA (2) • ASTHO (1) • NACCHO (1) • ATPM (2) • ASPH (6*) * Two of the ASPH-nominated individuals must represent private sector employers

7. Representative Board Members APHA (2): • Walter Tsou, MD, MPH Past-President, APHA Public Health Consultant • Diane Matuszak, MD, MPH Director, Community Health Administration Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene ASTHO (1): • Terry Dwelle, MD State Health Officer North Dakota Department of Health Chair, ASTHO Preparedness Policy Committee NACCHO (1): • Alan Melnick, MD, MPH Health Officer Clark County, WA (as of July 1) ATPM (2): • David I. Gregorio, PhD, MS Director, Graduate Program in Public Health University of Connecticut School of Medicine • Sally Guttmacher, PhD Director, Masters in Public Health Program New York University Steinhardt School of Education

8. Representative Board Members ASPH (4): • Patricia Buffler, PhD, MPH Professor of epidemiology and Former dean, UC Berkeley SPH • Bernard Goldstein, MD Professor and former dean, Pittsburgh GSPH • Donna Petersen, PhD Dean, University of South Florida CoPH • Andrew Sorensen, PhD, MPH President, University of South Carolina Former dean, UMass SPH Private Sector Public Health Employers (2): • Cheryl Healton, DrPH President and CEO, American Legacy Foundation • Robert Harmon, MD, MPH President, the Harmon Health Group, Minnesota Former VP of Optum, a UnitedHealthcare company NBPHE Interim President and ex-officio board member Charles Mahan, MD Dean Emeritus University of South Florida CoPH

9. At-Large Board Members • Dr. Jack Barnette Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, University of Alabama at Birmingham SPH • Dr. Mindy Fullilove Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Public Health, Columbia University Mailman SPH • Dr. Kristine Gebbie Director of the Center for Health Policy and Elizabeth Standish Gill Associate Professor of Nursing, Columbia University School of Nursing • Dr. Fernando Guerra Director of Health, San Antonio Metropolitan Health District • Dr. Camara Jones Research Director on Social Determinants of Health, CDC • Dr. Edward Mamary Director, Master of Public Health Program, Department of Health Science, San Jose State University • Dr. Adewale Troutman Director, Louisville Metro Health Department Associate Professor,University of LouisvilleSchool of Public Health and Information Sciences

10. Next Steps

11. Governance • NBPHE is a fully independent organization • The organization is staffed by an Interim President (Dr. Charles Mahan, a nationally recognized leader in academic-practice linkages) and an Interim Administrator, and is supported by ASPH senior staff • Dr. Bernard Goldstein chairs the board

12. Governance Structure

13. Eligibility for the Exam Eligible examinees are masters and doctoral graduates of Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH)-accredited schools and programs of public health (a list is maintained on the CEPH website at http://www.ceph.org).

14. Exam Development NBPHE is contracting with a nationally-reputable vendor to develop the exam, including: • A workshop to train test-item writers • The development of test questions, which would go through an internal pilot and external feasibility stage • Various approaches to develop metrics that would permit a valid and fair examination

15. The Exam • Will consist of approximately 200 questions and will take approximately 4½ hours to complete • Is intended to be offered at testing centers in hundreds of locations nationally • Is estimated to cost around $450

16. Contact Us Gillian Silver, MPH Interim Administratorgsilver@nbphe.org202-296-1099, ext. 132http://www.nbphe.org/