ASCP Board of Certification UpdateCLEC 2019

Susan M. Harrington, PhD, D(ABMM), MLS(ASCP)CM

Chair, Board of Governors

The American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) Board of Certification (BOC) is an independent certification agency that develops relevant standards and procedures to assure the competence of medical laboratory personnel.

The BOC was formed in 2009 by the merger of the two major US credentialing organizations, the ASCP-Board of Registry (BOR) and the National Credentialing Agency (NCA).

While maintaining a corporate relationship with ASCP for fiscal and operational purposes, the Board of Certification has autonomy in all governance and credentialing-related activities.

BOC – Who We Are

BOC Mission & Vision

BOC Mission Statement

Providing excellence in certification of laboratory professionals on behalf of patients worldwide.

BOC Vision Statement

To be the gold standard in global certification for all laboratory professionals

Competence We seek to ensure public safety by providing a competent medical/clinical laboratory workforce

Excellence We strive to be the gold standard in credentialing services throughout the world

Respect We collaborate with our colleagues in many laboratory professions and value their diversity

Trust We expect our Board, committees, staff members and certificants to be honest and forthright in all processes, decisions, and actions

Integrity We comply with the best practices for credentialing organizations by meeting or exceeding industry standards

Stewardship We are dedicated to maintaining the security of the information entrusted to us and judiciously using our resources

BOC Values = CERTIS

BOC ‘s Commitment to You

To fulfill the mission of the BOC, we are committed to:

• Perform practice analyses every five years

• Annually review questions for relevancy and validity

• Update the bank of questions with new content to allow for industry/technology changes

• Engage content experts who represent a broad spectrum of experience and geographical areas

• Publish an exam from revised question bank within five years

• Remain ANSI accredited

BOC Board of Governors (BOG)

The BOG of the BOC is composed of representatives from many laboratory professional organizations including:

• Three sponsoring organizations (AGT, ASCLS, and ASCP)

• Six participating organizations (AABB, AAPA, ASC, ASM, CLMA and NSH)

• Two collaborating partners (AACC and ASH)

• One public member

The BOC BOG and its committees are composed primarily of laboratory professionals and truly represent the laboratory community.

1 Public

Representative

nominated by

ASCP, ASCLS, AGT,

Participating

Societies & Members

of the Board

ASCP

5 Fellows

Nominated by ASCP

1 w/dual ASH membership

5 Lab Professional Members

Nominated by ASCP

1 w/dual AACC membership

Nominating

Research

and

Developmen

t

Editorial

Policy and

Procedure

FinanceExamination

Oversight

Council of

Committee

Chairs

International

Certification

Examination &

Qualification

Apheresis

Biorepository Science

Blood Banking

Clinical Chemistry

Cytometry

Cytogenetics

Cytotechnology

Hematology

Histotechnology/

Immunohistochemistry

Joint Generalist

Laboratory

Management

Laboratory Safety

Medical Laboratory

Assist.

Microbiology

Molecular Biology

Pathologists’ Assistants

Phlebotomy/Donor

Phlebotomy

Executive Credentials

Maintenance

ASCLS

4 Members nominated

by ASCLS

AGT

2 Members nominated

by AGT

1 Representative nominated by

AABB

American Association of

Pathologists’ Assistants

American Society for Microbiology

American Society of Cytopathology

Clinical Laboratory Management

Association

National Society for Histotechnology

Ethics

Review

Board of Governors

Committees

Revised 2/18/19

Sponsoring Societies

Program

Directors

Advisory

Participating/Collaborating

Societies

2018 – 2019 Board of Governors

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Susan M. Harrington, PhD, MLS(ASCP)CM, D(ABMM)Chair

Susan Johnson, MSTM, MT(ASCP)SBBChair-Elect

Patty J. Eschliman, MLS(ASCP) CMDLMCM

Secretary

Laura Lynn Bilodeau, MD, FASCPFinancial Officer

Kathleen Finnegan, MS, MT(ASCP)SHCM

Member-At-Large

Linda Smith, PhD, MLS(ASCP)CMBBCM

ASCLS Representative

Amy Groszbach, MEd, MLT(ASCP)MBCM

AGT Representative

Michael Sovocool, MHS, PA(ASCP)CM

Participating Society Representative

MEMBERS

Thomas Alexander, PhD, D(ABMLI)

Denise Anamani, MA, I(ASCP)MBCM

David Chhieng, MD, FASCP

J.R. Constance, MLS(ASCP)CM

Dana Duzan, MLS(ASCP)CM

William G. Finn, MD, MASCP

Elaine Francis, EdD

Vicki S. Freeman, PhD, MASCP, MLS (ASCP)CM SC, FACB

Catherine Gebhart, PhD, D(ABHI)

Susan Graham, MS, MT(ASCP)SHCM

Alexandra Harrington, MD, MT(ASCP), FASCP

Lee H. Hilborne, MD, FASCP, MPH, DLM(ASCP)CM

Deanna K. Iverson, MHS, MLT(ASCP)SCTCM, HTL

Joan Polancic, MLS(ASCP)CM

Lena Spencer, HTL(ASCP)

8

2019

2018-2019 Board of Governors

2019

Key BOC Staff

Executive DirectorPatricia Tanabe, MPA, MLS(ASCP)CM

Director, Certification ActivitiesJulie Mueller

Manager, BOC OperationsKristin Blake, MA

Senior Manager, Examination ActivitiesDiana Boras, MPH, MLS(ASCP)CM

Manager, International Certification RelationsJoseph Baker

10

2018 Examination Statistics

EXAM MEANSTD

DEV

SCORE

RANGETOTAL PASS (%) FAIL (%)

1ST TIME

NAACLS/

CAAHEP

CERTIFIED

TO

DATE

MLS 492 138 100 926 5,410 3,952 73% 1,458 27% 3,219 82% 266,278

MLT 497 132 105 941 3,488 2,653 76% 835 24% 2,406 82% 99,211

PBT 550 124 172 942 3,164 2,804 89% 360 11% 487 93% 64,086

BB 474 100 162 665 92 73 79% 19 21% 3,415

SBB 406 110 132 717 174 84 48% 90 52% 41 62% 5,802

C 407 109 100 786 246 119 48% 127 52% 5,467

SC 442 116 256 709 36 19 53% 17 47% 1,824

CT 512 121 185 791 135 111 82% 24 18% 102 87% 16,189

SCT 512 120 208 684 15 13 87% 2 13% 708

CG 446 85 179 626 162 117 72% 45 28% 26 87% 4,396

DLM 399 80 200 548 47 24 51% 23 49% 1,079

DPT 477 99 283 688 25 19 76% 6 24% 389

H 456 120 185 714 105 70 67% 35 33% 3,846

SH 388 122 145 590 36 18 50% 18 50% 2,767

HT 448 128 116 812 640 412 64% 228 36% 218 75% 25,646

HTL 443 112 171 771 429 278 65% 151 35% 108 82% 4,784

M 451 128 131 844 243 163 67% 80 33% 6,574

SM 421 91 189 616 63 37 59% 26 41% 3,285

MB 472 132 100 829 682 491 72% 191 28% 69 92% 4,950

SMB1 289 90 146 559 33 2 6% 31 94% 2

MLA 449 122 265 699 70 37 53% 33 47% 1 20% 112

PA 557 99 295 858 149 140 94% 9 6% 138 95% 2,414

SCYM 513 153 207 836 45 32 71% 13 29% 948

TOTAL 15,489 11,668 75% 3,821 25% 6,815 83% 549,704

Examination Statistics 2018

MLS Examination Statistics

2014 2015* 2016 2017 2018

TotalExaminees

4635 4918 5222 4994 5410

Mean 486 469 474 491 492

Pass 3613 3533 3784 3619 3952

Pass % 78% 72% 72% 72% 73%

NAACLS 1st

Time Pass #3043 2975 3100 2954 3219

NAACLS 1st

Time Pass %86% 81% 83% 83% 82%

*New standard set

MLT Examination Statistics

2014 2015* 2016 2017 2018

TotalExaminees

3861 3445 3377 3243 3488

Mean 485 499 500 502 497

Pass 2833 2656 2586 2484 2653

Pass % 73% 77% 77% 77% 76%

NAACLS 1st

Time Pass2070 1962 1894 2211 2406

NAACLS 1st

Time Pass %80% 83% 82% 82% 82%

*New standard set

PBT Examination Statistics

2014* 2015 2016 2017* 2018

TotalExaminees

3378 3121 3339 3344 3164

Mean 520 531 529 552 550

Pass #2880 2695 2856 3003 2804

Pass % 85% 86% 86% 90% 89%

NAACLS 1st

Time Pass # 503 446 468 507 487

NAACLS 1st

Time Pass %88% 90% 91% 93% 93%

*New standard set 10/1/2014

HT Examination Statistics

2014 2015* 2016 2017 2018

Total Examinees

723 676 724 663 640

Mean 449 449 449 455 448

Pass # 462 422 462 428 412

Pass % 64% 62% 64% 65% 64%

NAACLS 1st Time Pass #

286 248 255 244 218

NAACLS 1st Time Pass %

72% 73% 71% 78% 75%

*New standard set 4/1/2015

HTL Examination Statistics

2014* 2015 2016 2017 2018

TotalExaminees

370 328 384 370 429

Mean 427 457 452 440 443

Pass 227 231 265 244 278

Pass % 61% 70% 69% 66% 65%

NAACLS 1st

Time Pass #90 91 124 99 108

NAACLS 1st

Time Pass %78% 83% 86% 82% 82%

*New standard set 10/1/2014

CG Examination Statistics

2014* 2015 2016 2017 2018

TotalExaminees

206 167 162 143 162

Mean 446 454 457 433 446

Pass 143 128 122 97 117

Pass % 69% 77% 75% 68% 72%

NAACLS 1st

Time Pass #37 23 27 17 26

NAACLS 1st

Time Pass %95% 82% 90% 89% 87%

*New standard set 7/1/2014

PA Examination Statistics

2014* 2015 2016 2017 2018

TotalExaminees

116 116 145 155 149

Mean 574 548 555 581 557

Pass 113 109 136 146 140

Pass % 97% 94% 94% 94% 94%

NAACLS** 1st

Time Pass111 104 132 139 138

NAACLS** 1st

Time Pass %97% 95% 95% 95% 95%

*New standard set 7/1/2014**NAACLS is the only eligibility route for the PA exam.

MB Examinations Statistics

2014* 2015 2016 2017 2018

TotalExaminees

597 577 602 615 682

Mean 509 544 541 476 472

Pass 492 486 499 457 491

Pass % 82% 84% 83% 74% 72%

NAACLS 1st

Time Pass56 59 50 70 69

NAACLS 1st

Time Pass %92% 100% 96% 96% 92%

*New standard set 7/1/2014

What’s New at the BOC?

2019 Initiatives

• Brain Dumps/Recalled Exam Questions

• Help Prevent Fraud

• Advocacy

• Value of Certification

Brain Dumps/Recalls

What is a Brain Dump (a.k.a. Recalled Questions)?

• A brain dump is a collection of actual “recalled” exam questions and answers, provided by recent exam takers.

• We have found brain dumps on blogs, social media sites and for sale on websites.

• Using brain dump information is cheating.

Exam Brain Dumps

• Providing recalled BOC exam questions is in violation of confidentiality pledges agreed to during the certification process.

• Some program directors are requiring students to sign a national certification integrity form and will report any violations to the BOC.

• The BOC has authority to revoke certification and permanently bar an applicant from ASCP certification.

Exam Brain Dumps

Help Prevent Fraud

• Discourage students & employees from sharing

documents & certification number with colleagues

or on social media

• Encourage employers to use primary source

verification for certification

Advocacy Efforts

• CMS RFI on CLIA Proposed Changes - Our response and comments made by laboratory professionals opposethose with a nursing degree to perform HCT or serve as a technical consultant in a moderate complexity labs.

• Responded to Louisiana HB748, Missouri HB 1719 & 1500 which undermine certification in state licensure.

• Joined the Professional Certification Coalition (PCC) to address efforts to enact state legislation that would undermine certification.

• Recently responded to Tennessee SB 318/HB 328.

Advocacy Efforts

Value of Certification

• Professional Certification Coalition

Value of Certification Study – Applying to have our certificants be included in this study. Please participate if you receive this survey.

• Working on several projects to support training, education and certification leading to improved patient care and safety.

Value of Certification

A Closer Look at the BOC

If you want to learn more about the BOC and its

Examination Committees and the Certification

Examination, please come to the presentation on

Friday, 2/22 at 10:30 am -12:00 pm

Speakers:

Kathy Finnegan – Exam Committees

Pat Tanabe – Practice Analysis & Standard

Setting

Susan Graham – Writing Exam Questions

Questions?